Educational Reform Preferences And The Educational Involvement Of Middle-class Mothers

The reproduction theory mainly studies the reproduction of ruling class and working class,and considers that the family class background and the school education can be "automatic correspondence",emphasizing the power of class structure rather than agency,not taking into account the differences among individuals within the class.This article reviews education policies since the founding of the country,makes the field investigation in Baiyun primary school with middle-class children and Lantian primary school with working-class children,and conducts in-depth interviews with 20 mothers,4 fathers and other relevant personnel.Using the theories of field,power and codes,this article explores how to reproduce middle class in the process of state dominating education practice and middle-class mothers adapting to education practice,and puts forward "China's middle-class reproduction" theory that middle class reproduction is together influenced by the state and middle-class mothers,has both education advantage and education risk,and includes class habitus and academic achievement,namely "new reproduction" theory.Through analysis of interview data,we found that the education involvement of middle-class mothers mainly included intensive education intervention,education response,education selection and education participation.These four kinds of education involvement is involved in "elaborated codes" preference of quality-oriented education policies,"weakening school functions" preference of burden-lightening policies,"tracking" preference of compulsory education policies and"parental responsibility" preference of home-school cooperation policies.Among them,the first two policy preferences have distinct middle-class character,and match the middle-class mothers'habitus,giving their children potential education advantage."weakening school functions" preference has both advantages and disadvantages for both middle-class and working-class mothers without distinct middle-class character."parental responsibility" preference reflects interests of some middle-class mothers with incomplete middle-class character.According to the field survey,we found that education practice under education reform policies has "Parentocracy" preference with weak countries,strong markets and strong parents in general,in spite of the differences of education practice between two case schools.The weak national function is reflected in the weakening of "education function" in two primary schools and"selection function" of primary education system in X city.Strong market function is reflected in nearby enrollment system of public schools,the system of private schools and the rise of after-school tutoring fields in X city and "semi-elaborated education code" of Baiyun primary school.Strong parental responsibility is reflected in school-home cooperation system of two primary schools.The education practice not only requires parents to "own" capitals,but also requires parents to exert individual motility to "effectively activate" capitals and adapt to education practice in order to realize class reproduction.which makes education attainments rely on parents'capitals and subjectivity,rather than students' ability and effort.Therefore,there is education risk.Facing "Parentocracy" preference of education practice,most of middle-class mothers are able to "adapt effectively".Under the impetus of emotional capitals,they activate habitus,and then play the subjectivity,adopt various strategies and activate economic capitals,cultural capitals,social capitals,becoming the agencies of new reproduction.Emotional capitals includes education responsibility,high education expectation,education anxiety,and education worry.They are formed by the gender structure,the social structure of the middle position and the education field.they are dominated by middle-class mothers,and are the root cause of middle-class mothers as agencies of new reproduction.In addition,habitus,field and subjectivity are motivation factors of middle-class mothers' education involvement.Middle-class reproduction in China has sequentially two paths.First,class habitus reproduction mainly happens before children are the middle grades of elementary school.The mechanism is as follows:Middle-class mothers are activate medium taste,personalized disposition,scientific parenting preferences,and then play the subjectivity,activate all kinds of capitals to implement intensive education intervention under the impetus of the education responsibility.It cultivates children with not only subjectivity but also all-round development on knowledge competencies,interests and specialties,cultural taste,etc.Meanwhile,they choose primary schools with relatively open expressive order.Home and school together shape children "expansive habitus".Working-class mothers implement extensive education intervention and let children attend elementary school with closed expressive order.Home and school together shape children "public habitus".Second,academic achievement reproduction mainly happens after Children are the middle and high grades of elementary school.The mechanism is as follows:Middle-class mothers are driven by high education expectations,influenced by constructed fields of primary and secondary schools,mothers' professional field in the system,hot knowledge,etc.They activate"asceticism" disposition,unschooling disposition,risk awareness,and then play the subjectivity,activate various capitals to implement concentrated education response through the choice of superior and delicate private tutoring class,group-buying courses,etc.Under the impetus of the education of anxiety,affected by the local knowledge,they activate dispositions of pursuing education advantage and class habitus exclusion,then play the subjectivity,activate a variety of capitals to make a education choice through depending on the house for choosing a school,depending on certificates for a class,depending on exam scores for a class.Under the impetus of "education worry",they activate kinds of capitals to participate in school education in the form of personal activities,and use strategies of keeping unequal relationship on the basis of equality with teachers to have education participation.Middle-class mothers' education involvement is conducive to attainment of children's academic achievement.but it also carries heavy learning burden.Due to influence of capitals and habitus,working-class mothers give children poor tutoring institutions or don't give children any private tutoring,don't have the ability to make education choices,and have negative education participation.It is not conducive to attainment of children's academic achievement.But learning burdens can be alleviated.Due to the influence of China's entrance system,there is little correlation between class habit and academic achievement,it is of independent significance to middle class reproduction.However,there are differences within classes.Not all middle-class mothers can adapt to"Parentocracy" preference.The lack of time capital and the remoteness of living places inhibits intensive education intervention;new opinions of "famous university is useless",pedagogy knowledge and reflective practical knowledge restrain mothers from make concentrated education response;teachers' arbitrary power and the lack of collective social capital in the forms of parent committee and trust restrain from participating in the school education;pedagogy knowledge inhibits participation in family education;below average amount of children's academic capital,the habitus of mothers' following teacher ethics,paying attention to knowledge,superiority of graduating from famous universities inhibits them from interacting with teachers.Pedagogy knowledge and reflective practical knowledge enable middle-class mothers to become reflective agencies and resisters.In addition,activating capital does not necessarily produce education profit.Missing the best time and attempting to maintain an absolute equal relationship with the teacher will not be good for getting the education resources that teachers control.This makes the middle class reproduction more diverse and risky.Therefore,it is necessary to strengthen education function of schools,regulate after-school tutorial institutions,weaken education "tracking" mechanism,change "parental responsibility"preference in home-school cooperation.It should change "parentocracy" preference of education practice through increasing "national responsibility",in order to solve the problems of education inequality between classes and heavy learning burden of middle-class kids in compulsory education reform.