Different Educational Trajectories in China

A Bourdieusian Perspective

Zi Yang

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Hardback

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English

Routledge
07 November 2025

Regional studies; Humanities; Cultural studies; Moral & social purpose of education; Teaching of a specific subject

This book explores how family background, geographic location, and institutional settings profoundly shape educational journeys in China, with a particular focus on English language learning. It reveals the deeply entrenched inequalities within the education system.

Drawing on in-depth interviews with 36 English majors from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds at an elite Chinese university, the study traces their educational trajectories in a longitudinal framework. It offers a novel application of Bourdieu’s theoretical constructs—capital, field, and habitus—by extending the concept of institutional habitus to the Chinese context. Through this lens, the analysis uncovers how the interplay of social and institutional forces influences access, opportunity, and academic outcomes.

This title is essential reading for sociologists of education, comparative education researchers, policymakers, educators, university administrators, and students in China and beyond. It provides critical perspectives for anyone interested in educational equity, social mobility, and language policy.

By: Zi Yang
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781041132288
ISBN 10: 104113228X
Pages: 128
Publication Date: 07 November 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Zi Yang, a Cambridge Ph.D. graduate, is affiliated with the Institute of Education, Xiamen University. Her research focuses on the sociology of education, and teaching and learning in the digital age, with recent work on educational inequality and digital pedagogy.