Abstract
Education has been used extensively as a means of social mobility. Parents invest much time and effort in finding the best school for their children, which is critical to their success. This study identifies the perceptions of middle-class parents about educational quality, their school choice rationales and specific admission strategies. It gives a comprehensive picture of parental school choices across the various types of public-funded secondary schools in Hong Kong, accounting for around 89% of secondary schools. I conducted semi-structured online Skype interviews with 18 middle-class parents selected by purposeful and snowball sampling methods. Bourdieu’s habitus, capital and field concepts (Bourdieu, 1986) were used to examine how capital operates within the educational field and what distinguishes middle-class practices. The results were analysed qualitatively.Middle-class parents select schools primarily based on their perceptions of educational quality, including five major attributes: child-centred learning, teaching quality, academic performance, school culture and socio-economic status. They translate their perceptions of educational quality into school choice factors, which vary according to parents’ capital, family values, and children's needs. They value holistic education and enrol their children in academically appropriate schools. They desire that their children grow up in a well-disciplined, English and culturally homogeneous environment. They strategically mobilise their economic, cultural and social capital to gain advantages during the school choice process, which may result in educational inequity.
| Date of Award | 27 Sept 2022 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Jennifer Rowsell (Supervisor) & Richard P Watermeyer (Supervisor) |