摘要
This paper discusses the status and changes in educational attainment and gender inequality in education for the Chinese population based on the data from the 7th National Census of China and previous censuses since 1982.The results indicate that gender inequality in education has lessened while educational attainment has improved.However,it is necessary to continue to eradicate illiteracy in the West,further promote compulsory education rates,increase the advancement rate to high school,and reduce the urban-rural gap in education to further develop education.This paper indicates that the increased educational opportunities for women combined with their relatively superior academic abilities have resulted in a new reversed gender inequality in that males are at a disadvantage,especially in higher education.The fact that women have benefited more from the expansion of higher education than men have was an unintended consequence of China's one-child fertility policy since the family resources are less diluted by fewer children in a household and daughters are regarded as long-term family members.This paper further reveals that although women outperform men at every level of the educational system,they often voluntarily withdraw from pursuing doctoral degrees due to the increasing pressure as they age and age discrimination which drives them to enter marriage and the labor market earlier than men do.
作者简介
Haidong Xu Ph.D.candidate at Department of Sociology,Peking University,China.His research interest lies in demographic sociology,educational development,family studies and health inequality;Hao Zhou Ph.D.,professor at Department of Sociology and senior researcher at Center for Sociological Research and Development Studies of China,Peking University,Beijing,China.His main areas of interest are population migration and mobility,children's development,and social survey and statistical methods.zhouh@pku.edu.cn;Yuqian Xu Senior Student,Henry M.Gunn High school,Palo Alto,CAUSA.
