How have international schools become a new hub for Chinese middle-upper-class families? A socioeconomic perspective

How have international schools become a new hub for Chinese middle-upper-class families? A socioeconomic perspective

Philosophy

Enzo Wei

2024

Dr. Bing Lu

This study investigates how Chinese parents decided to send their children to international schools based in China and the mechanism behind their consideration. This study conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with Chinese parents (n=7) who satisfied the recruitment criteria. The findings discovered that parents’ decision was mostly influenced by how they perceive the difference between national education and international education systems’ capacity to fulfil their expectation towards the return of education. While the parent participants generally value the socio-cultural capital potentially brought by the international schools, the high cost of international education was less considered. Parents’ responses reveal a great diversity in their decision-making process and ways of comparison.

Education, Sociology, Economics