Intergenerational Replication or Breakthrough? Exploring the Socio-Emotional Mechanism Linking Digital Deprivation and Career Readiness among Chinese Adolescents

• In Event: Bridging the Digital Divide: Intergenerational Inequality, Technology Acceptance, and Educational Equity

Proposal

Research Background
Despite expanded access to schooling, intergenerational occupational patterns often persist, as disadvantaged children frequently end up in jobs similar to their parents（Lee, 2024). The digital revolution adds a new dimension to educational equity: unequal access to information and communication technologies (“digital deprivation”) may reinforce existing inequalities by depriving marginalized youth of learning resources and opportunities（Ruiu, 2020). Conversely, digital tools could potentially help disadvantaged students access new knowledge and networks, breaking traditional cycles. Evidence shows this double-edged dynamic: for instance, during China’s COVID-19 school closures, students without adequate internet or devices struggled more with online learning (Guo & Wan, 2022). These trends raise the question of whether digital deprivation reproduces or disrupts intergenerational occupational pathways.

Theoretical Framework
We draw on three lenses. Social reproduction theory (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977) holds that education systems reproduce social inequality, privileging those with greater cultural capital. Digital capital theory (Ragnedda & Ruiu, 2020) extends this idea to the digital realm, seeing digital access and skills as a form of capital that can yield social and economic advantages; lacking digital capital can thus exacerbate disadvantage. Socio-emotional learning (SEL), as outlined by the OECD, emphasizes that competencies like perseverance, empathy, and self-control are key to students’ academic success and future employability. Notably, socio-economically advantaged students often exhibit higher SEL skills than disadvantaged peers. Integrating these frameworks, we posit that digital deprivation undermines the development of SEL skills, which in turn hampers students’ career readiness. In other words, lacking digital access may indirectly perpetuate intergenerational occupational replication by impeding SEL, whereas digital inclusion combined with strong SEL could facilitate breakthroughs beyond one’s parental status.

Research Questions and Hypotheses
This study asks:
(1) Does digital deprivation among Chinese adolescents affect their career readiness, and is this effect mediated by SEL?
(2) Does the combination of digital access and SEL influence whether students follow their parents’ occupational footsteps (replication) or aspire to higher-status careers (breakthrough)? We hypothesize that digital deprivation is linked to lower SEL and lower career readiness, with SEL mediating this relationship. We also expect that digitally deprived youth will more often have career expectations aligned with their parents (occupational replication), whereas those with better digital access and strong SEL will be more likely to envision higher-status careers than their parents (occupational breakthrough).

Data and Methods
We use data from the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES) of 15-year-old students in China. Digital deprivation is measured by limited home ICT resources (e.g. no internet or computer at home). SEL is measured by students’ scores on SSES social-emotional skill scales across domains such as emotional regulation, collaboration, open-mindedness and task performance, combined into an overall SEL index. Career readiness is proxied by students’ aspirations for further education (e.g. expecting to complete tertiary education) and their self-reported preparedness for career planning. To assess career replication vs. breakthrough, we compare students’ expected education levels with their parents’ education. If a student expects a similar level as their parents, we classify it as replication; if they expect to attain a much higher level, it indicates a breakthrough. We employ regression-based mediation analysis to test whether SEL mediates the effect of digital deprivation on career readiness, and logistic regression to examine predictors of occupational replication (versus breakthrough). Our analyses are informed by prior OECD data: for example, SSES 2019 results showed that Chinese students with higher SEL (e.g. curiosity) held significantly higher educational aspirations despite disadvantaged background.

Key Findings
The results support our model. Digital deprivation is strongly associated with lower SEL and lower career readiness. Students lacking home internet or devices have lower SEL scores and are less likely to expect to complete higher education or enter skilled jobs. Mediation analysis indicates that about one-quarter of the total effect of digital deprivation on career readiness is explained by deficits in SEL (significant indirect effect). Furthermore, we observe an “occupational replication or breakthrough” pattern. Adolescents with high digital deprivation and low SEL are much more likely to stick to a career similar to their parents’, reflecting intergenerational replication. By contrast, those with ample digital access and strong SEL skills tend to envision more ambitious, higher-status careers beyond their parents’ occupations. Even among lower-SES youth, having high SEL corresponds to markedly greater upward career aspirations. These findings highlight SEL’s pivotal role: it significantly buffers the adverse impact of digital deprivation and can help enable upward mobility.

Contributions and Implications
This study provides new insight into how digital inequality and socio-emotional competencies jointly shape students’ futures. We extend social reproduction theory by identifying a socio-emotional mechanism (SEL) through which digital deprivation can perpetuate disadvantage, while also showing that strengthening SEL can counteract this effect and promote social mobility. For education policy, the implication is that bridging the digital divide and investing in SEL should go hand in hand. Providing disadvantaged students with digital access (devices, internet connectivity) and integrating SEL training into curricula could enhance career readiness and help break cycles of occupational inheritance. These findings from China echo global concerns about ensuring all youth have the digital tools and social-emotional skills needed to thrive. Bridging these gaps is essential for more equitable education and career outcomes.

Author

• LIANG CHENXI