The Stratified Power of Beliefs: Parenting Values, Social Class, and Educational Investment in Contemporary China

• In Event: Parental Involvement in Education

Abstract

Against the backdrop of intensifying educational “involution” in China, identifying the cognitive drivers of intensive parenting is essential to understanding families’ high-stakes investment behaviors. Using data from the 2020 Chinese Family Panel Survey (CFPS), this study investigates associations between parenting values, social class, and educational investment. We find that: (1) While meritocracy remains the dominant ideology among Chinese parents, a distinct “high dual consciousness” profile emerges, characterized the simultaneous acknowledgment of individual effort and structural constraints; (2) Parenting values are socially stratified; “high dual consciousness” is prevalent among manual laborers and middle-income families, challenging assumptions of fatalism in lower strata; (3) The association between parenting values and investment is highly heterogeneous: meritocratic beliefs act as a significant driver for low- and middle-income families but showing no significant effect for high-income households. These findings indicate that meritocratic faith serves as a “psychological anchor” to justify sacrifice for the disadvantaged, highlighting the stratified power of beliefs in social reproduction.

Authors

• Fan Zhang, Shanghai University

• Jingjing Wang, Nanjing University