Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T22:36:46.810Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Reforming Rural Education in China: Understanding Teacher Expectations for Rural Youth*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2013

Lisa Yiu*
Affiliation:
Stanford University.
Jennifer Adams
Affiliation:
Stanford University. Email: [email protected].
*
Email: [email protected] (corresponding author).

Abstract

The Chinese state's commitment to improve teaching quality in rural regions is a key component of national efforts to close the rural–urban education gap. In this paper, we investigate an understudied but critical dimension of quality teaching: teacher expectations. We employ longitudinal data gathered in Gansu Province in 2000 and 2007 to first examine whether teacher expectations for rural youth are conditioned by students’ social origin and teacher background characteristics. Next, we determine the predictive accuracy of their expectations. Our results highlight the ways in which teacher expectations condition the sorting of rural children among different schooling tracks with distinct life trajectories. Significantly, teachers are more likely to hold lower expectations for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition, non-local teachers hold lower expectations for rural children compared to local teachers. Finally, a low percentage of teachers expect students to enrol in post-compulsory vocational education. We consider the implications of these results for both educational policy and social inequality.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

The Gansu Survey of Children and Families is supported by a grant from the United Kingdom Economic and Social Research Council and Department for International Development (ESRC RES-167-25-0250). Earlier support for data collection came from The Spencer Foundation Small and Major Grants Programs, The World Bank, and NIH Grants 1R01TW005930-01 and 5R01TW005930-02.

References

Adams, Jennifer. 2005. “The teacher gap in rural China.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society, Stanford University, California, 22–26 March 2005.Google Scholar
Adams, Jennifer. 2008. “How are children faring under China's rural boarding school construction program?” Paper presented at the Conference on “Poverty, Health, and Education in China,” Oxford University, December 2008.Google Scholar
Adams, Jennifer, and Hannum, Emily. 2005. “Children's social welfare in China, 1989–1997: access to health insurance and education.” The China Quarterly 181, 100121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adams, Jennifer, and Sargent, Tanja. 2009. “Curriculum transformation in China: Trends in student perceptions of classroom practice and engagement.” Paper presented at the Association of Asian Studies Conference, Chicago, Illinois, 26–29 March 2009.Google Scholar
Alexander, Karl L., Entwisle, Doris R. and Thompson, Maxine S.. 1987. “School performance, status relations, and the structure of sentiment: bringing the teacher back in.” American Sociological Review 52(5), 665682.Google Scholar
Alexander, Karl L., Eckland, Bruce K. and Griffin, Larry J.. 1975. “The Wisconsin model of socio-economic achievement: a replication.” American Journal of Sociology 81, 324–42.Google Scholar
Ashton, Patricia T., Webb, Rodman and Doda, Nancy. 1983. “A study of teachers’ sense of efficacy: final report.” Gainsville: University of Florida.Google Scholar
Benner, Aprile D., and Mistry, Rashmita S.. 2007. “Congruence of mother and teacher educational expectations and low-income youth's academic competence.” Journal of Educational Psychology 99(1), 140153.Google Scholar
Bognar, Carl J. 1983. “Teacher expectations and student characteristics.” Canadian Journal of Education 8(1), 4756.Google Scholar
Brophy, Jere E., and Good, Thomas L.. 1970. “Teachers’ communication of differential expectations for children's classroom performance: some behavioral data.” Journal of Educational Psychology 61, 365374.Google Scholar
Brophy, Jere E., and Good, Thomas L.. 1974. Teacher–Student relationships: Causes and Consequences. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.Google Scholar
Brophy, Jere E., and Good, Thomas L.. 1985. “Teacher–student interaction.” In Dusek, Jerome B. (ed.), Teacher Expectancies. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum, 303328.Google Scholar
Carter, Prudence. 2005. Keepin’ It Real: School Success Beyond Black and White. Oxford, Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Casteel, Clifton. 1997. “Attitudes of African-American and Caucasian eighth grade students about praises, rewards, and punishments.” Elementary School Guidance and Counseling 31, 262272.Google Scholar
Cheng, Gang. 2009. “Funding for compulsory education in rural areas.” In Yang, Dongping (ed.), The China Educational Development Yearbook. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press, 2536.Google Scholar
Chi, Jin, and Rao, Nirmala. 2003. “Parental beliefs about school learning and children's educational attainment: evidence from rural China.” Ethos 31(3), 330340.Google Scholar
Clifton, Rodney A. 1981.“Ethnicity, teachers' expectations, and the academic achievement process in Canada.” Sociology of Education 54(4), 291301.Google Scholar
Croll, Elisabeth. 1999. “Social welfare reform: trends and tensions.” The China Quarterly 159, 684699.Google Scholar
Darling-Hammond, Linda, Chung, Ruth and Frelow, Red. 2002. “Variation in teacher preparation: how well do different pathways prepare teachers to teach?Journal of Teacher Education 53(4), 286302.Google Scholar
Davis, Deborah, Landry, Pierre, Pang, Yusheng and Xiao, Jin. 2007. “Gendered pathways to rural schooling: the interplay of wealth and local institutions.” The China Quarterly 189, 6082.Google Scholar
Farkas, George, Grobe, Robert P., Sheehan, Daniel, and Shuan, Yuan. 1990. “Cultural resources and school success: gender, ethnicity, and poverty groups within an urban school district.” American Sociological Review 55, 127142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, Ronald F. 2003. “Teacher perceptions and expectations and the black-white test score gap.” Urban Education 38(4), 460507.Google Scholar
Goyette, Kimberly, and Xie, Yu. 1999. “Educational expectations of Asian-American youths: determinants and ethnic differences.” Sociology of Education 72, 2236.Google Scholar
Hannum, Emily. 2003. “Poverty and basic education in rural China: communities, households, and girls' and boys' enrollment.” Comparative Education Review 47(2), 141159.Google Scholar
Hannum, Emily, and Park, Albert. 2007. “Academic achievement and engagement in rural China.” In Hannum, Emily and Park, Albert (eds.), Education and Reform in China. Oxford: Routledge, 154172.Google Scholar
Hannum, Emily, and Adams, Jennifer. 2007. “Girls in Gansu, China: expectations and aspirations for secondary schooling,” In Lewis, Maureen and Lockheed, Marlaine (eds.), Exclusion, Gender and Schooling: Case Studies from the Developing World. Washington, DC: Center for Global Development, 7198.Google Scholar
Honig, Emily. 1992. Creating Chinese Ethnicity: Subei People in Shanghai, 1850–1980. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Jussim, Lee, Eccles, Jacquelynne, and Madon, Stephanie. 1996. “Social perception, social stereotypes and teacher expectations: accuracy and the quest for the powerful self-fulfilling prophecy.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 28, 281388.Google Scholar
Jussim, Lee, Smith, Alison, Madon, Stephanie, and Palumbo, Polly. 1998. “Teacher expectations.” In Brophy, Jere E. (ed.), Expectations in the Classroom: Advances in Research on Teaching Vol. 7. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press Inc., 148.Google Scholar
Kedar-Voivodas, Gita. 1983. “The impact of elementary children's school roles and sex roles on teacher attitudes: an interactional analysis.” Review of Educational Research 53, 415437.Google Scholar
Kleinfeld, Judith. 1972. “The relative importance of teachers and parents in the formation of Negro and white students' academic self-concept.” Journal of Educational Research 65(5), 211–12.Google Scholar
Kong, Peggy. 2008. “Old Man Moves a Mountain: Rural Parents’ Involvement in Their Children's Schooling.” PhD diss., Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2008.Google Scholar
Ma, Laurence J.C., and Xiang, Biao. 1998. “Native place, migration and the emergence of peasant enclaves in Beijing.” The China Quarterly 155, 546581.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Min, Wei-Fang, and Tsang, Mun. 1990. “Vocational education and productivity: a case study of the Beijing General Auto Industry Company.” Economics of Education Review 9, 351364.Google Scholar
Ministry of Education. 2002. Suzhi jiaoyu guannian: xuexi tiyao (The Concept of Quality Education: Key Points for Study). Beijing.Google Scholar
Paine, Lynn, and Fang, Yanping. 2007. “Supporting China's teachers: challenges in reforming professional development.” In Hannum, Emily and Park, Albert (eds.), Education and Reform in China. New York: Routledge, 173190.Google Scholar
Postiglione, Gerry. 2007. “School access in rural Tibet.” In Hannum, Emily and Park, Albert (eds.), Education and Reform in China. London: Routledge, 93116.Google Scholar
Ross, John A. 1998. “The antecedents and consequences of teacher efficacy.” In Brophy, Jere (ed.), Expectations in the Classroom: Advances in Research on Teaching Vol. 7. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 4974.Google Scholar
Sargent, Tanja. 2009. “Revolutionizing ritual interaction in the classroom: constructing the Chinese renaissance on the 21st century.” Modern China, 632661.Google Scholar
Sargent, Tanja, and Hannum, Emily. 2005. “Keeping teachers happy: job satisfaction among primary school teachers in rural China.” Comparative Education Review 49(2), 173204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sewell, William H., and Hauser, Robert M.. 1980. “The Wisconsin longitudinal study of social and psychological factors in aspirations and achievements.” Research in Sociology of Education and Socialization 1, 5999.Google Scholar
Slaughter, Diana T., and Epps, Edgar G.. 1977. “The home environment and academic achievement of black American children and youth: an overview.” Journal of Negro Education 56(1), 320.Google Scholar
Soodak, Leslie C., and Podell, David M.. 1998. “Teacher efficacy and the vulnerability of the difficult-to-teach student,” In Brophy, Jere (ed.), Expectations in the Classroom: Advances in Research on Teaching Vol. 7. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 75100.Google Scholar
Tsang, Mun C. 1997. “The costs of vocational training.” International Journal of Manpower 18(1/2), 6389.Google Scholar
Tsang, Mun C. 2000. “Education and national development in China since 1949: oscillating policies and enduring dilemmas.” China Review, 579605.Google Scholar
Tschannen-Moran, Megan, Hoy, Anita W., and Hoy, Wayne K.. 1998. “Teacher efficacy: its meaning and measure.” Review of Educational Research 28(2), 202248.Google Scholar
Wang, Xiufang. 2003. Education in China since 1976. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company.Google Scholar
Warren, Susan S. 2002. “Stories from the classroom: how expectations and efficacy of diverse teachers affect the academic performance of children in poor urban schools.” Educational Horizons 80(3), 109–16.Google Scholar
Weinstein, Carol S. 1988. “Preservice teachers’ expectations about the first year of teaching.” Teaching and Teacher Education 4, 3140.Google Scholar
Yang, Jin. 1998. “General or vocational? The tough choice in the Chinese education policy.” International Journal of Educational Development 18, 289304.Google Scholar
Zhang, Yuping. 2012. “The hopes carry them on: early educational expectations and later educational outcomes in rural, Gansu, China.” Paper presented at The Education and Inequality Workshop, University of Pennsylvania, 23 March 2012.Google Scholar