British–Chinese pupils' and parents' constructions of the value of education

Abstract

The high achievement of British–Chinese pupils in the British education system is established in the official literature, but few studies have asked British–Chinese pupils or parents about the factors contributing to their success. This paper explores value of education as a possible contributory aspect. It investigates the extent to which British–Chinese pupils and their parents value education, and the rationale behind their constructions in this regard. Cultural issues in the transmission of values are also explored. The findings demonstrate that British–Chinese pupils and their parents place an extremely high value on education, irrespective of social class and gender. However, pupils and parents do not necessarily provide the same explanations for this value. There is evidence, though, that the discourse of ‘value of education’ is mobilised as part of a cultural construction of racialised boundaries relating to the diasporic habitus of the Chinese in Britain. The paper discusses the benefits, costs and consequences for Chinese parents and pupils of their elevation and prioritisation of education.

Notes

The educational success of British–Chinese pupils should not be taken as an indication that members of the Chinese community do not face problems in Britain. Owen (1994) and Cheng and Heath (1993) show that Chinese graduates experience higher unemployment levels compared to white graduates, and gain lower graduate earnings (Cheng & Heath, 1993). The Runnymede Trust (1986) and Chau and Yu (2001) found that Chinese people sometimes have difficulty accessing public and social services.

The project is titled, ‘British‐Chinese Pupils’ Constructions of Education, Gender, and Post‐16 Pathways', ESRC project no. R000239585.

We did not ask the parents from Hong Kong about their work and educational trajectories before their emigration to the UK, bar a basic question about the extent of their education, as our concern was their perspectives on their children's education.

Francis has conducted work with mixed‐ethnicity mixed‐sex sample from this age group (e.g. Francis, 2000); Archer has conducted work with South Asian samples groups from this age group (Archer, 2003); and they have jointly researched a mixed‐ethnicity sample of female school pupils from this age group (Francis et al., 2003).

In Hong Kong and Mainland China parents are required to pay for many aspects of their children's education.

Although the British–Chinese are high achievers as a group in the British education system, it is important to remember that this is not true of all British–Chinese pupils.