The Vulnerable Future Competitive Potential Of China And The Causes

The competitiveness of a country is an important indicator to measure the national social and economic development power and an important basis for the national long-term development strategy. Since the reform and opening up, China’s economy has sustained a rapid growth and become the world’s second largest economy. Therefore, China’s future national competitive penitential has gained sufficient attention from home and abroad, and has been given various optimistic estimation and even many studies indicate that China would overtake the United States in economy so as to constitute a new threat to other countries. However, whether all these optimistic estimations have national political intention, China’s future national competitive potential is indeed an urgent issue which needs to be focused on. Some related studies have fully proved that human is the most important predictor of future national competitive potential. Talent competition is subject to the objective competitive power and the subjective competitive power which is much influenced by the individual achievement motivation. Therefore, individual achievement motivation is the core indicator to predict national competitiveness. As the future constructor and successor of China, the achievement motivation of the generation born in1990s indicates China’s future competitive potential to a large degree.Domestic studies on the achievement motivation of the post-90s generation just focus on the group born in90s. Because of the lack of reference group and the comparison of longitudinal data, it’s difficult to find solutions in the dynamic development process of social change and reveal the specific location and the trend in the current social groups of the post-90s generation’s achievement motivation, and thus it’s more difficult to predict the future development trend of China’s national competitiveness. Intergenerational comparisons can break through this limitation by comparing the generation of post-90s with their parental and grandparental generation, so as to make deepen research conclusions. Therefore, the study adopts the perspective of intergenerational comparison. By putting the post-90s in the background of social change and by the comparison of different historical backgrounds and social environment of different generations, the thesis tries to reveal the characteristics and evolution of different generations’achievement motivation, more deeply explore the influence mechanism of social times characteristics, family education ideas and methods of different times on achievement motivation and thus predict our country’s future competitive potential.The core issue of this study is what are the generational characteristics of the achievement motivation of post-90s generation and the causes? This problem is further divided into five sub-problems as:(1) What are the generational characteristics of post-90s generation’s achievement motivation in intergenerational level and dimension level?(2) How can we predict China’s future national competitive potential according to the post-90s generation’s characteristics of achievement motivation?(3) What are the macro and micro reasons in forming the above features?(4) What is the core variable in affecting the level of post-90s generation’s achievement motivation?(5) How to effectively improve the levels of the achievement motivation of post-90s generation so as to enhance China’s future national competitive potential?Mixed research methods with a combination of quantitative and qualitative research approaches are adopted in this study. By stratified cluster sampling, questionnaires are conducted among the sophomore grade students of16high schools in four districts of Shanghai (Jing’an District, Putuo District, Pudong New District and Songjiang District). All these schools are of four types (including city key high school, district key high school, general high school and vocational high school). The number of valid questionnaires of post-90s generation (birth years are mainly on1994and1995) is1778, and that of their parental generation (birth years are mainly in1960s and1970s) is2128, and that of their grandparental generation (birth years are mainly in1960s and1970s) is787. Then by using statistical methods such as T-test, variance analysis and multiple linear regression analysis of the data, the research tries to explore the hidden essential logical relations and the significant influencing factors. Meanwhile, in-depth interviews are also carried out with the interviewees as27post-90s students from junior three in middle schools to high schools (12boy students and15girl students) and their parents (12fathers and14mothers). By this way, the research can access to a large number of first-hand data and qualitative and quantitative results can confirm each other.This study finds that:(1) The achievement motivation of post-90s generation falls behind their parental and grandparental generation’s in general. Compared with their parents and grandparents, the levels of the achievement motivation of post-90s generation are lower. They have high expectations of themselves but lack effort, self-confidence and self-control. Their cognitions of the achievement motivation are not in line with their behaviors, which lead to some unrealistic expectations.(2) The causes of post-90s’achievement motivation indicate some distinctive characteristics of the times. For instance, contemporary family background such as wealthy material living conditions, the only-one child family mode, the doting family upbringing pattern and insufficient participation of father hinders the development of post-90s’ achievement motivation. School education in the context of the examination-oriented system does no good to stimulate the students’internal motivation, but may weaken their wills to challenge difficult task. Extensive penetration of the modern life style (such as the impacts of consumerism, fashion and the decline of traditional culture) contributes to post-90s’"Feeling Style Culture" in pursuit of happiness, enjoyment, utilitarian rather than "Achievement Style Culture" in pursuit of success, hard-working and self-realization.(3) Parenting patterns are the most important variables to construct the generational features of post-90s generation’s achievement motivation. Among many factors influencing post-90s’achievement motivation, family rearing patterns play the most important role. In general, contemporary family upbringing is not advantageous to cultivate children’s achievement motivation, which is mainly due to the only-one child family mode. Findings also show that democratic parenting pattern helps to cultivate post-90s’achievement motivation, while the doting parenting pattern are disadvantageous for the development of post-90s’ achievement motivation.Conclusions of this study can be summarized as follows:Firstly, the achievement motivation of the post-90s generation is characterized by a desire for enjoyment. Secondly, the achievement motivation featured by enjoyment may imply a potential crisis of future national competitive power. Thirdly, the positive function of contemporary family education tends to weaken while the negative function tends to strengthen, which calls for a reconstruction of new family education mode. Finally, it is in an urgent need to construct a new education system that ties family, school and society closely.Therefore, in order to enhance the national competitive potential, it is desirable for the country and the government to pay enough attention to the achievement motivation of post-90s generation and to be committed to improving the level of post-90s’achievement motivation, so that we would be prepared for danger in times of peace and be able to stand on a forward-looking height to explore countermeasures. Suggestions raised by this study:(1) A new generation should be cultivated to be committed to self-realization;(2) Parents’ most important impact on post-90s generation should be paid particular attention;(3) Father involvement should be strengthened which helps to enhance the youth’s achievement motivation (4) Sub-gender education contributes to make the gender advantage to a full play;(5) School education should be oriented by stimulating the internal motivation of the youth;(6) The community should create a good social atmosphere of proactive, positive and down-to-earth;(7) A new system and positive energy mechanism should be constructed that family, school and society could make a joint effort in improving the achievement motivation of the youth.The thesis is based on the National Social Science Fund Youth Project "Talent Cultivation of Post-90s Generation and China’s Future Competitive Potential"(11CZZ044) which is committed by the author.