TY - JOUR
T1 - Ethnic disparities in educational attainment in China
T2 - Considering the implications of interethnic families
AU - Hannum, Emily
AU - Cherng, Hua Yu Sebastian
AU - Wang, Meiyan
PY - 2015/1/2
Y1 - 2015/1/2
N2 - This paper addresses the question of whether the classification of interethnic children, defined as those with one parent who is ethnic majority Han and one parent who is a member of an officially designated minority group, shapes observed patterns of educational advantage and disadvantage across official ethnic groups in China. Utilizing census data from 2000 and focusing on junior high school attainment as an outcome, we address three questions: among children classified as members of officially recognized minority groups, are interethnic children systematically different in terms of educational outcomes from non-interethnic children?; are interethnic children who are classified as minority systematically different in terms of educational outcomes from interethnic children who are classified as Han?; and, are observed patterns of educational stratification by ethnic group sensitive to the classification of interethnic children? Results show that interethnic children-whether classified as Han or minority-are generally educationally advantaged compared to their non-interethnic co-ethnics, and, in some cases, are faring comparably to or better than Han children. Moreover, the classification of interethnic children does make a difference for observed patterns of stratification. Interethnic childrens access advantage contributes to the observed advantage among historically advantaged groups and mitigates some of the disadvantages observed among historically disadvantaged groups. Better understanding of ethnic stratification in China will require additional information on the boundaries and porousness of ethnic categories. Future survey data collection efforts should consider adding questions about ethnic heritage, identity, and classification changes to the standard question about official ethnic classification.
AB - This paper addresses the question of whether the classification of interethnic children, defined as those with one parent who is ethnic majority Han and one parent who is a member of an officially designated minority group, shapes observed patterns of educational advantage and disadvantage across official ethnic groups in China. Utilizing census data from 2000 and focusing on junior high school attainment as an outcome, we address three questions: among children classified as members of officially recognized minority groups, are interethnic children systematically different in terms of educational outcomes from non-interethnic children?; are interethnic children who are classified as minority systematically different in terms of educational outcomes from interethnic children who are classified as Han?; and, are observed patterns of educational stratification by ethnic group sensitive to the classification of interethnic children? Results show that interethnic children-whether classified as Han or minority-are generally educationally advantaged compared to their non-interethnic co-ethnics, and, in some cases, are faring comparably to or better than Han children. Moreover, the classification of interethnic children does make a difference for observed patterns of stratification. Interethnic childrens access advantage contributes to the observed advantage among historically advantaged groups and mitigates some of the disadvantages observed among historically disadvantaged groups. Better understanding of ethnic stratification in China will require additional information on the boundaries and porousness of ethnic categories. Future survey data collection efforts should consider adding questions about ethnic heritage, identity, and classification changes to the standard question about official ethnic classification.
KW - China
KW - education
KW - ethnicity
KW - minorities
KW - stratification
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84938214864&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1080/15387216.2015.1056745
DO - 10.1080/15387216.2015.1056745
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84938214864
SN - 1538-7216
VL - 56
SP - 8
EP - 23
JO - Eurasian Geography and Economics
JF - Eurasian Geography and Economics
IS - 1
ER -