The Choice of Academic Profession: Class Taste or Personal Opportunities

Abstract

From a historical perspective, it was only in the modern era that the academic profession was favored by the middle and upper classes who came to dominate it. This article shows that, in contemporary China, the pattern of the middle and upper classes dominating the academic profession results from their families having a good early education and access to educational resources, although these advantages decrease through the years of schooling as they are replaced by the effects of the institution. Overall, class differences behind the choice of academic profession result from the differences in economic conditions of families and the inequality in resource distribution at all levels of education, rather than class culture and taste. Therefore, it is essential to implement a strategy to prioritize education, to enrich educational resources for all, and to extend the years of schooling for all. This will not only improve the quality of the workforce, develop personal potential, and cultivate creative and highly talented people, but also help to promote the development of society and steadily build a harmonious and orderly society.

Keywords:

• Academic profession
• class difference
• education equity

Notes

1 Zhou Yi, 2015.

2 Lide Simengsi (Hilde de Ridder-Symoens), 2008a, pp. 180-182.

3 Lide Simengsi (Hilde de Ridder-Symoens), 2008b, pp. 260-263.

4 Zhu Keman (Zuckerman), 1979, p. 92.

5 Cong Cao, 1999.

6 Cited in Crane, 1969.

7 Berry, 1981.

8 Crane, 1969.

9 Liu Baozhong, 2015; Yang Chunhua, 2006.

10 Census Office of the State Council, 2010.

11 Ostrove, Stewart & Curtin, 2011.

12 Warren, Sheridan, & Hauser, 2002.

13 Liang Zhen, Li Zhongqing, et al., 2012.

14 Goldstein, 1974.

15 Xie, 1992, pp. 259-279.

Additional information

Funding

The research for this paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant No.71373083.

Notes on contributors

Yan Guangcai

Yan Guangcai is Professor of Education, Institute of Higher Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China. Translation © 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, from the Chinese text “Xueshu zhiye xuanze, jieceng quwei yu geren jiyu” in Journal of East China Normal University – Educational Sciences, 2017, No. 6, pp. 1–10, by Desmond Cheung.