Guanxi, Social Capital and School Choice in China

This book focuses on the use of guanxi (Chinese personal connections) in everyday urban life: in particular, how and why people develop different types of social capital in their guanxi networks and the role of guanxi in school choice. Guanxi takes on a special significance in Chinese societies, and is widely-discussed and intensely-studied phenomenon today. In recent years in China, the phenomenon of parents using guanxi to acquire school places for their children has been frequently reported by the media, against the background of the Chinese Communist Party's crackdown on corruption. From a sociological perspective, this book reveals how and why parents manage to do so. Ritual capital refers to an individual's ability to use ritual to benefit and gain resources from guanxi.

Explores the phenomenon of guanxi in relation to school choice in China Develops a new concept of 'ritual capital' as vital to the practice of guanxi Draws on in-depth ethnographic research in Chinese schools

Auteur
Ji Ruan is Lecturer at Hanshan Normal University, China. His research interests include Educational Sociology and Elderly Studies.

Texte du rabat

This book focuses on the use of guanxi (Chinese personal connections) in everyday urban life: in particular, how and why people develop different types of social capital in their guanxi networks and the role of guanxi in school choice. Guanxi takes on a special significance in Chinese societies, and is widely-discussed and intensely-studied phenomenon today. In recent years in China, the phenomenon of parents using guanxi to acquire school places for their children has been frequently reported by the media, against the background of the Chinese Communist Party s crackdown on corruption. From a sociological perspective, this book reveals how and why parents manage to do so. Ritual capital refers to an individual's ability to use ritual to benefit and gain resources from guanxi.

Contenu
Introduction.- Chapter 1. Using Guanxi to Gain School Places.- Chapter 2. Guanxi and Social Capital.- Chapter 3. How is Guanxi Used?.- Chapter 4. Why is Guanxi Used?.- Chapter 5. Ritual Capital.- Chapter 6. A Weak-Strong-Weak Pattern.- Chapter 7. Trust in Ritual Capital.- Chapter 8. Conclusion.