Chen, Xiaodi; (2024) Exploring educational aspirations and expectations of adolescents in rural China: A mixed methods study. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

A review of the literature indicates that adolescents’ educational aspirations and expectations are likely to be influenced by various contextual and individual factors. However, there is little empirical research on the educational aspirations and expectations of adolescents in a rural Chinese context. Therefore, this research aimed to fill this gap by attempting to explore (1) the influences of contextual and individual school-related factors on the educational aspirations of rural Chinese adolescents; (2) the factors contributing to adolescents’ educational aspiration-expectation discrepancies; and (3) the influence of aspiration-expectation discrepancies on adolescents’ mental health and academic outcomes. A two-phase, explanatory mixed methods design was employed. Initially, self-completion questionnaires were administered among grade-9 adolescents (N = 606, aged 13–16) in a rural town in central China. To explore the quantitative results in more depth, follow-up interviews were conducted with 24 14–16-year-olds selected to represent the range of adolescents. Quantitative results showed that (1) individual factors and perceived educational aspirations of others (parents and peers) had significant direct effects on adolescents’ educational aspirations, while parent and peer attachments were significantly related to adolescent educational aspirations via individual factors; (2) parental migration, academic performance, perceived mother’s educational aspirations, and close friends’ educational aspirations were key factors associated with adolescents’ educational aspiration–expectation discrepancies; and (3) adolescents whose aspirations exceeded expectations were more likely to report lower self-esteem, more tendency to depression, lower academic self-perception, and poorer selfregulation than those without such discrepancies. To further explore the quantitative findings related to parental factors and the discrepancies between adolescents’ educational aspirations and expectations, in-depth interviews were conducted, considering parent-child communication dynamics regarding education. Qualitative results (1) validated quantitative trends, highlighting adolescents’ concerns about parents’ aspirations, particularly the pursuit of higher education for family honour and financial success; (2) explained why perceived high maternal aspirations, as well as parental migration, were associated with adolescents’ aspiration-expectations discrepancies; and (3) provided insights into the underlying reasons for adolescents’ negative emotions arising from such discrepancies. Overall, the qualitative findings explained and extended several key quantitative findings. The integration of quantitative and qualitative approaches enhances research validity, highlighting the importance of understanding the educational aspirations and expectations of Chinese rural adolescents within a framework that considers their interactions with their contexts, particularly their families.

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