Pathways to equality: a study on the impact of students' social network and family capital in Chinese Higher Education

Thesis

Higher education institutions in China have increased in popularity over the last decades. Attending average higher education institutions cannot satisfy the current job market anymore. Students have to work harder to be able to graduate from elite universities to compete with others. Nonetheless, elite universities have fewer spots and only admit a few students. Numerous Chinese students are competing for limited spots, and competition is certainly not fair. Even though the Chinese higher education system has been fair to most students by practicing the unified college entrance exam, education inequalities still exist, and students from disadvantaged backgrounds often have a more difficult time competing with their peers. In order to provide equal access to higher education and to help students achieve their goals of attending elite universities, this current study examines students from non-elite universities (also known as non-project universities) in China and through study their past experiences and attitudes toward education inequalities, it becomes possible to know the factors that can influence their academic achievements. By Understanding the causes, it is possible to help students from similar backgrounds in the future to reach their dreams.

This dissertation took the view from both education and sociology and incorporated two social theories, social capital theory and family capital theory, as its theoretical frameworks to examine the possible causes of education inequalities in China. This study integrated mixed methods, a quantitative survey and qualitative semi-structured interviews, to form a more comprehensive understanding of the current issue. All participants were current non-project university students or had graduated from non-project universities. Most of them came from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds and struggled with equal access to educational resources in their careers. This study primarily examined some possible factors, such as social networks, family financial support, and socioeconomic status, that might affect students’ academic achievements and hinder them from getting into elite universities. This study aims to investigate the effect of social capital and family capital on students and hopes to provide new directions for future studies in the field.

Authors: Li, R

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-2rzqm7ymy
• Type of award: MSc taught course
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: academic achievement; education equality; HE; social capital theory; HE2024; social networks; family capital theory
• Subjects: Equality; Social capital (Sociology); Family; Academic achievement; Education