The Influence Of Family Education Background On Child Attainment Of Higher Education In China

In order to investigate the influence of family education background on child's education attainment in China comprehensively and meticulously, choosing higher education attainment which is very representative to be the entry point, using the method of estimating linear and nonlinear probability model and 2012 data of China Family Panel Studies, this article studies the effect of family education background which is measured by parent's level of education on their child's higher education attainment.In this study we find that, father's and mother's education all have significantly positive effects on the probability of their child's higher education attainment, and we have captured the increasing trend of this effect over time. Father's and mother's politics status,which to a certain extent reflect the condition of family basic social relations, also have positive effects which is however not significant statistically on child's higher education attainment, and we haven't discovered some certain time trend of this effect. In other factors that affect higher education attainment, the probability of going to college for male is remarkably higher than that for female; the probability for urban people is also remarkably higher than that for rural ones; the probability is no difference for ethnic han and minority; after controlling household registration variable and area variable abundant with higher education resources, the possibility of getting a higher education for children in mid area and east area is remarkably lower when comparing with west area, and the possibility for those people living in big cities and area abundant with higher education resources is obviously higher.The analysis of heterogeneous effects of family education background on child's higher education attainment indicate that, the effects are differential between boys and girls, they are stronger between father-son relationship than father-daughter, so does mother-daughter to mother-son; the effects rely on external environment, mother's effect is remarkably greater in regions abundant with higher education resources when comparing the regions short of higher education resources, however father's is obviously no difference; the effects are differential between different stage of education, as child's minimum level of education grows up, mother's influence gradually weaken, meanwhile father's constantly strengthen.