Educating China’s Rural Children for the 21st Century.

Journal article

Educational research in developing countries often investigates school and family socioeconomic influences on children’s achievement and attainment. Less research has sought to identify factors that engage children in the schooling process. Because elements of engagement are likely to play a significant role in decisions about subsequent persistence in schooling, the concept is particularly relevant in developing country settings where early school-leaving remains problematic. Similarly, the social and cultural environments that engage children in schooling are important topics of inquiry in settings where families and schools operate under extreme economic constraints over which they have little control. Analyzing a survey of 2000 children and their parents and teachers in Gansu, China, we investigate four dimensions of engagement: aspirations, academic confidence, industriousness, and alienation. Results show lower aspirations among girls and, to some degree, reduced engagement among low socio-economic status children. Net of family socio-economic status and school and teacher characteristics, family and classroom environments matter. At home, parent-child interactions and the presence of books significantly predict engagement. In the classroom, stable access to classes and peer disruptiveness are significant predictors. Results demonstrate significant mechanisms linking families and classrooms to the educational outcomes of children--mechanisms that would be obscured within conventional school and family effects research frameworks.

Authors: Hannum, E; Park, A

• Publisher: Harvard China Forum
• Journal: Harvard China Review
• Volume: Spring
• Pages: 8 - 14
• Publication date: 2002-01-01
• Language: English