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Tackling rural-urban inequalities through educational mobilities: rural-origin Chinese academics from impoverished backgrounds navigating higher education

Xu, Cora Lingling

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Authors

Profile image of Cora Xu

Dr Cora Xu lingling.xu@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor



Abstract

Existing scholarship on marginalised academics is mostly western-based and concerned with inequalities caused by class, gender and/or racial and ethnic differences. This article adds to this literature by highlighting how inequalities caused by the urban-rural divide in China adversely impact on the academic trajectories of rural-origin academics from impoverished backgrounds. To mitigate such inequalities, the 26 interviewed academics drew on their academic capital to achieve institutional and geographic mobilities, both within and beyond China. Such educational mobilities further allowed these scholars to convert into and accumulate economic, social, cultural and symbolic capitals (after Bourdieu). Importantly, their rural-origins and disadvantaged positioning had cultivated in them a productive habitus that is characterised by hard work, perseverance and self-discipline. Such a habitus played a pivotal role in orchestrating their academic ascension and upward social mobility. However, despite these successes, this article also reveals these academics’ perennial financial struggles in lifting their rural-based families out of poverty, and the exclusive nature of educational mobilities, which are manifestations of systemic structural inequalities caused by urban-biased policies.

Citation

Xu, C. L. (2020). Tackling rural-urban inequalities through educational mobilities: rural-origin Chinese academics from impoverished backgrounds navigating higher education. Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 4(2), 179-202. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322969.2020.1783697

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 8, 2020
Online Publication Date Jun 22, 2020
Publication Date 2020
Deposit Date Aug 26, 2020
Publicly Available Date Dec 22, 2021
Journal Policy reviews in higher education
Print ISSN 2332-2969
Electronic ISSN 2332-2950
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 4
Issue 2
Pages 179-202
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/23322969.2020.1783697
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1263076
Related Public URLs https://eprints.keele.ac.uk/8157/

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