2017 Volume 29 Issue 1 Pages 19-33
This study discusses the relation of social stratum to parental education strategies based on an analysis of shadow education employed in 47 families from Cixi City, Zhejiang Province, China. The data reveal that the parents generally prefer shadow education regardless of their social stratum. However, their focuses depend on their social stratum. Parents in the lower class prefer their children to take supplementary lessons and rarely care for enrichment lessons, while those in the upper class, excluding private entrepreneurs, emphasize competence in entrance examinations and show a predilection for enrichment lessons. Parents in the self-employed class generally send their children for supplementary lessons because of their inferior education and lack of time to accompany their children. However, they are rarely concerned with enrichment lessons, regardless of whether they are rich or poor. As for parents who are teachers, they like to guide their children by themselves, since they regard themselves as experts in education. They also show an interest in enrichment lessons. Finally, this paper offers a general discussion of parental education strategies in the social strata of modern China.
