Life satisfaction, higher education aspirations and parental support of Chinese high school (Gaokao) students

• In Event: Centering Youths' Perspectives and Experiences in Policy and Social Justice

Proposal

Introduction
High school is a critical stage for Chinese youth to get prepared for the high-stake college entrance examination (known as Gaokao in Chinese). Higher education aspirations (the desire to be admitted to the ideal university) have always been the most important goal for high school students from China and other East Asian societies which are deeply influenced by the Confucian examination culture (Yi, 2012). It should be noted that the high stake Gaokao imposes threats to Chinese high school students’ global well-being as studies reveal that their physical, mental, and overall health levels are lower than those of the general population (Ji et al., 2016) and one thirds of them were suffering from anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders (Chen et al., 2017; Yu et al., 2022). Hence, the well-being of young people in preparation of high-risk examinations should be given more attention.
Wang et al., (2021) found that increasing Gaokao students’ educational aspirations and motivation is more effective to raise their wellbeing score than directly decreasing their academic stress. Higher education aspirations are proven to have positive effects on the well-being of Chinese young people (Cao et al., 2022). Besides, both youth well-being (Danielsen et al., 2009) and higher education aspirations (Fischer et al., 2013) are closely associated with parental support. Parents are the primary caregivers and educators of their children. It has been confirmed that parental support is more influential than school-related support on youth’s well-being (Blau et al., 2019) and goal pursuit (Koestner et al., 2020).
Despite the existing literature reveals that there are potential relationships among higher education aspirations, parental support, and well-being, very few research considers these three variables together. This study is one of the few attempts. Conducted in the China’s context, this study aims to unravel the interrelationship between well-being, higher education aspirations, and parental support of Chinese high school students, and provide evidence and contextual suggestions for improving the well-being of young people in China and other Asian societies.

Theoretical Framework
This study employed Hart’s framework of aspiration formation and realization (2012) together with both the perspective of social capital theories and self-determination theory (SDT).
SDT deems that people’s well-being is linked with the satisfaction with their psychological need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Ryan & Deci, 2007). Personal goal pursuit can contribute to people’s well-being if their psychological needs are satisfied during goal progress (Ryan & Deci, 2000). For example, students can experience well-being when they strive for educational aspirations which satisfies their need for competence. Similarly, parental support promotes youth well-being by satisfying the needs for relatedness and competence.
Based on social capital theories (Bourdieu, 1986; Coleman, 1994), the formation of educational aspirations is a socialization process that originates from the family (Mordkowitz & Ginsburg, 1986). Parent-child interaction can be regarded as rewarding social capital for youth growth in giving care and material resources (Coleman, 1988; 1994) that cultivate students’ scholastic competence and subsequently predict their life satisfaction (Danielsen et al., 2009).
Inspired by Bourdieu’s theories (1977, 1986) and Sen’s capability approach (1992), Hart (2012) put forward a framework to explain the formation and contribution of aspirations which offers a lens to understand the relationship between parental support, aspirations, and well-being. Hart deems that socio-cultural capital plays a vital role in promoting an individual’s capability for high life aspirations. Then, personal aspiration for life is an essential factor for generating capability and leading to flourishing.

Research Hypotheses
1.Life satisfaction and higher education aspirations are positively predicted by parental support across parental education.
2.Higher education aspirations mediate the impact of parental support on life satisfaction across parental education.
3.Parental education moderates the interrelationships among parental support, higher education aspirations and life satisfaction.

Method
1.Sampling: by convenient sampling and stratified sampling, a sample of 3,810 students aged between 16 and 19 from eight high schools in Jiangsu, China was surveyed by a validated context-relevant questionnaire.
2.Measurement: life satisfaction was measured by an adapted Multidimensional Student Life Satisfaction Scale (Yuen & Lee, 2016). Higher education aspirations were assessed by two indicators, namely students’ goal aspirations and goal commitment--the extent to which students attach importance to and put efforts into achieving their goals. Goal commitment was measured by the five-item Hollenbeck, Williams, and Klein Goal Commitment Scale (Klein, et al, 2001). Parental support (including two dimensions, namely parental tangible and intangible support) was evaluated by the sub-scale of academic-related support in Yuen (2016)’s questionnaire that has been used for Hong Kong adolescents’ well-being.
3.Major analytical strategies: we utilized Structural equation modeling (SEM) via Mplus 8.0. to test the hypotheses. Path Analysis was performed to examine the relationships among the key variables. Mediation and multiple group analysis were conducted to verify the last two hypotheses.

Major Results
1.Both tangible and intangible parental support significantly contributed to life satisfaction. Parental intangible support significantly predicted higher education aspirations and consequently predicted life satisfaction positively through goal commitment.
2.Goal commitment carried significant partial mediating effects on the relationship between parental intangible support and life satisfaction.
3.Parental education backgrounds moderate the relationship between parental intangible support and goal commitment. The impact of parental intangible support is stronger among students whose parents had college experience than their counterparts.

Conclusion and Insights
1. Higher education aspirations and well-being are intangible outcomes and relational constructs rather than tangible ones, which is a new finding compared to previous work.
2. Family factor and the quality of parent-child relationship account for the most effect of well-being of Chinese students, might be rooted in China’s culture and tradition, which has rarely been explained before.
3. Higher education aspirations seem to be a culture-related and family-oriented motivator rather than a self-oriented motivator. This seems to be the biggest cultural construct. This contributes to deeper understanding of the role of Chinese family culture in youth’s well-being literature.
4. Parents’ education backgrounds moderated the effect of parental intangible support on goal commitment, which provides empirical evidence for offering career education and compensating for inequality.

Authors

• Feng Freda HAN, Institute of Education, Tsinghua University

• XuanYu CHEN, Beijing Normal University