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Parenting strategies around young children’s education in urban China : intensive, responsible and stratifying

Eklund, Lisa LU (2019) ESA 14th Conference of the
European Sociological Association p.830-830
Abstract
This project investigates the empirical realities of shifting
norms and practices around young children’s education in
urban East Asia. In particular, it examines how parenting
strategies are entangled with aspirations for human capital
accumulation and upward social mobility, as well as the best
interest of the child, and how these notions are reconciled and
enacted differently along gender, generation, and class lines.
Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Beijing and Shanghai, the
paper outlines the ways in which parents’ strategies around
their children’s cognitive and academic development are
motivated, negotiated and prioritised and how parents
navigate through compromises,... (More)
This project investigates the empirical realities of shifting
norms and practices around young children’s education in
urban East Asia. In particular, it examines how parenting
strategies are entangled with aspirations for human capital
accumulation and upward social mobility, as well as the best
interest of the child, and how these notions are reconciled and
enacted differently along gender, generation, and class lines.
Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Beijing and Shanghai, the
paper outlines the ways in which parents’ strategies around
their children’s cognitive and academic development are
motivated, negotiated and prioritised and how parents
navigate through compromises, sacrifices and contestations to
realise these strategies. Working with the concepts of
intensive motherhood, responsible parenting and stratified
reproduction it serves to illuminate ways in which parenting
cultures both reflect and reproduce inequalities not only with
regards to gender and class, but also with regards to
intergenerational relations. In order to understand parenting
strategies around young children’s education in urban China it
is argued that the familialistic welfare policy context, which
strengthens dependencies within families both between
parents and across generations, as well as the low-fertility
context need to be taken into account, as many children are
their parents’ ‘only hope’. Parents’ strategies also mirror well
China’s ambition to take a lead in the global economy by
raising competitive producers and consumers. Yet, among
some upper middle-class families, the interest of the child is
taking precedent over human capital accumulation, which
gives a different meaning to responsible parenting, but at the
same adds to intensive motherhood by balancing demands on
children’s mental and emotional wellbeing and demands on
cultivating and nurturing their skills and knowledge. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
published
subject
pages
830 - 830
conference name
ESA 14th Conference of the <br/>European Sociological Association
conference location
Manchester, United Kingdom
conference dates
2019-08-20 - 2019-08-23
project
Parenting strategies around children's education in urban China, South Korea and Singapore: A comparative ethnographic study
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
263f4b62-7f68-4086-a6b2-8ccf38ec3fc9
date added to LUP
2025-02-25 11:04:01
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:20:24
@misc{263f4b62-7f68-4086-a6b2-8ccf38ec3fc9,
  abstract     = {{This project investigates the empirical realities of shifting <br/>norms and practices around young children’s education in <br/>urban East Asia. In particular, it examines how parenting <br/>strategies are entangled with aspirations for human capital <br/>accumulation and upward social mobility, as well as the best <br/>interest of the child, and how these notions are reconciled and <br/>enacted differently along gender, generation, and class lines. <br/>Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Beijing and Shanghai, the <br/>paper outlines the ways in which parents’ strategies around <br/>their children’s cognitive and academic development are <br/>motivated, negotiated and prioritised and how parents <br/>navigate through compromises, sacrifices and contestations to <br/>realise these strategies. Working with the concepts of <br/>intensive motherhood, responsible parenting and stratified <br/>reproduction it serves to illuminate ways in which parenting <br/>cultures both reflect and reproduce inequalities not only with <br/>regards to gender and class, but also with regards to <br/>intergenerational relations. In order to understand parenting <br/>strategies around young children’s education in urban China it <br/>is argued that the familialistic welfare policy context, which <br/>strengthens dependencies within families both between <br/>parents and across generations, as well as the low-fertility <br/>context need to be taken into account, as many children are <br/>their parents’ ‘only hope’. Parents’ strategies also mirror well <br/>China’s ambition to take a lead in the global economy by <br/>raising competitive producers and consumers. Yet, among <br/>some upper middle-class families, the interest of the child is <br/>taking precedent over human capital accumulation, which <br/>gives a different meaning to responsible parenting, but at the <br/>same adds to intensive motherhood by balancing demands on <br/>children’s mental and emotional wellbeing and demands on <br/>cultivating and nurturing their skills and knowledge.}},
  author       = {{Eklund, Lisa}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{830--830}},
  title        = {{Parenting strategies around young children’s education in urban China : intensive, responsible and stratifying}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}