Maternal Employment and Educational Investment during Kindergarten to Primary School Transition in China, 2014-2020

• In Event: 21020 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 9: Childhood Experiences and Educational Outcomes

Abstract

While the postpartum period is a hurdle for women at work, the requirement of intensive mothering raises new challenges for maternal employment due to educational investment in children. Using data from the 2014-2020 waves of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study analyzes: (1) how maternal employment status and parental educational investment are affected during the transition from kindergarten to primary school, and (2) how the pattern differs by mother’s educational backgrounds. To address these questions, this study utilizes regression discontinuity design (RDD) to investigate the causal effect of kindergarten to primary school transition. The findings reveal that higher-educated mothers are more likely to sustain monetary investments in their children, take full-time jobs, or transition out of homemaker after their children enter primary school. These findings highlight two key dynamics: (1) monetary and non-monetary educational investments are both stratified by parental educational backgrounds, and (2) families with greater resources may leverage maternal careers as potential educational assets for their children. Under the resurgence of traditional gender values and growing inequality, this study provides insights into how gender inequality at work intertwined with intergenerational educational inequality in China and possibly in other cultural contexts.

Author

• Jierui Li, The Ohio State University