The Experience of Boarding at School and Students’ Well-Being? The Case of Rural China

• In Event: 3429 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 19. International Topics in Student, Family and School Relationships: China

Abstract

This study sought to understand how boarding at school impacts children well-being in the context of rural China. Using China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) 2010 data and a data set collected from three provinces in rural China, we examined multiple dimensions of the consequences of living at school for children between ages 10 and 15 in rural China. Fixed effects regression models and propensity score matching methods were used to correct the potential selection bias. From CFPS data, we found that boarding at school is beneficial for students’ academics in both word recognition and numerical skills. However, boarding students are also more likely to have higher depression scores and to be sick, albeit less likely to be overweight or underweight. We also examined the mechanisms of time use and parent-child relations to study why this is the case, and found that the positive influence of boarding on students’ academic skills may be due to their increased exposure to the learning environment. In contrast, detachment from the home environment has partially contributed to higher levels of depression. With regards to physical health, we showed that the regular exercise, eating and sleeping habits might have contributed to the low incidence of overweight or underweight conditions for boarding students. We are still working on the three province data at this stage.

Author

• Yuying Tong, Chinese University of Hong Kong