scholarly journals Family Capital, Learning Engagement, and Students’ Higher Education Gains: An Empirical Study in Mainland China

Author(s):  
Shutao Wang ◽  
Cui Huang

This study aimed to determine whether learning engagement plays a mediating effect on the relationship between family capital and students’ higher education gains in mainland China. We used family capital, learning engagement, and higher education gains as measures and analyzed data using a structural equation model. Data were collected from 1334 students at a Chinese university. The results show that family cultural capital had the most significant effect on students’ learning engagement, while economic capital also played a positive role, and social capital had no significant impact. Learning engagement played a mediating role in the relationship between cultural capital and higher education gains, as did the relationship between economic capital and higher education gains. However, learning engagement did not have a mediating effect on the relationship between social capital and higher education gains. Our results show that we should focus on the importance of students’ learning engagement, improve the cultural capital of disadvantaged groups, and provide financial support for students from low-income families.

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1351
Author(s):  
Jing Xu ◽  
Jing Huang ◽  
Zhengfeng Zhang ◽  
Xiaokun Gu

Family capital provides diverse and effective resources for production and livelihood of farmers, and thus profoundly determines farmers’ behavior in the decision-making process, yet the specific impact of family capital on farmers’ participation in farmland transfer has not been adequately examined. Based on a theoretical analysis, this paper divides family capital into four dimensions: human capital, economic capital, social capital, and cultural capital, and empirically analyzes the impact of different types of family capital on farmers’ participation in farmland transfer by using data on farmers in the 2018 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) database. The results show that human capital, economic capital, and cultural capital all have significant impacts on both farmland transfer-out and transfer-in behavior, while social capital only plays a significant role in farmland transfer in. In order to accelerate the development process of farmland transfer in China, it is necessary to actively guide surplus rural labor towards non-agricultural employment, improve the farmland system and build a land transfer trading platform to promote the transfer of farmland to households with a good agricultural base, and strengthen social security construction to reinforce the enthusiasm of farmers engaging in land transfer.


Author(s):  
Meruert K. Shnarbekova

Introduction. The article explores strategies of young people in the choice of higher education in Kazakhstan. There are discussions about the interrelations of family resources and socio-economic determined strategies of higher education choice, where the latter is viewed as the process involving a decision to continue / not to continue the study, university and specialty choice. The changes in the process of transformation of the economic capital of parents into the cultural capital of children and then into the economic capital of young people are analyzed for the first time in the context of post-Soviet Kazakhstan. The purpose of the article is to study the main mechanisms shaping the educational strategies of youth with different social and economic status. Materials and Methods. Four sociological studies were conducted in 2014-2017, based both on qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. This article presents results of research that was conducted among high school students of urban and rural, private (fee-paying) and public, general and specialized schools and their parents that represent different socio-economic groups. The sample size is 500 respondents. Results. On the basis of developed methodology of integrated assessment of family resource potential, the direct and indirect impact of family resources on youth strategies in higher education choice has been revealed. Direct impact is seen in the range of available higher education institutions. In case of insufficient family resource potential, young people face economic difficulties related to the payment of education. In this case, the yang people are on participating in the distribution of educational grants, on receiving social benefits while entering the university. While indirect influence has a hidden character, it manifests in the differentiation of the level of a starting educational capital. The high resource potential of the family allows parents to send a child to private school, to pay extra (paid) courses, thus forming the foundation for the accumulation of high educational capital in advance. In this aspect, young people with low family resource potential become less competitive in the sphere of higher education. This category of youth faces structural barriers, which manifested in a low level of start-up education al capital. Discussion and Conclusion. The research tools of youth strategies in higher education choice could be applied in the work of scientific and research organizations and state bodies, scientists and experts. The obtained scientific data and results provide relevant and reliable information to reduce or eliminate barriers specific to young people of “unprivileged” groups. Keywords: choice of higher education, influence of family capital, choice of university, social background, educational plan, social capital, family cultural capital Acknowledgments. The study was carried out within the framework of the project of the Committee of Science of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MES RK) “Sociological indicators for measuring the competitiveness of Kazakhstan university graduates in the professional labor market: comparative country study” 5480/GF4 (2014-2017). The author is grateful to the editorial staff and reviewers for useful comments and recommendations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Asrar-ul-Haq ◽  
Hafiz Yasir Ali ◽  
Sadia Anwar ◽  
Anam Iqbal ◽  
Muhammad Badr Iqbal ◽  
...  

Purpose Organizational politics has been a topic of conceptual and empirical interest for researchers and practitioners for many years. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between organizational politics and employee work outcomes in educational institutions. In addition, this paper also aims to assess the moderating role of social capital. Design/methodology/approach Employee perceptions about organizational politics and its impact on their work outcomes have been assessed empirically with a sample of 270 full-time employees in higher education institutions of Pakistan. The data have been collected from faculty members of five universities of Pakistan using survey method. SPSS and AMOS have been used to analyze the data and SEM has been used to test the hypotheses. Findings The results indicate a moderating effect of social capital on the relationship between perceived organizational politics and employee outcomes, and the most significant employee outcomes are job stress, job satisfaction and turnover intentions. The findings of the study support the view that organizational politics has negative association with employee job stress and turnover intentions. Research limitations/implications Higher education sector in Pakistan is facing certain challenges, which affect talent retention. The findings of this study will help the administration of higher education institutions to develop effective strategies to cope with the challenges of organizational politics, such as motivation, satisfaction and retention of their employees. Originality/value The study adds to the literature on organizational politics by highlighting and validating its adverse effects on employee work outcomes in the context of Pakistani higher education.


2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim R. Manturuk

What are the mechanisms responsible for homeowners’ better mental health? Social disorganization theory suggests that the relationship between homeownership and mental health is mediated by perceived sense of control, trust in neighbors, and residential stability. This hypothesis is tested using data collected from respondents in 30 low–wealth urban areas. Using propensity score matching and regression models, I find that low–income homeowners report a greater sense of control and trust in their neighbors than comparable renters. Homeownership likewise has an impact on mental health, but the effect is entirely mediated by perceived sense of control. Part of that mediating effect is related to avoiding serious delinquency in mortgage payments. However, subjective trust and residential mobility did not mediate the relationship between homeownership and mental health. The study findings are discussed in light of the need for a cohesive theory of homeownership, particularly given changing economic realities.


2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariam Ashtiani ◽  
Cynthia Feliciano

Youth from advantaged backgrounds have more social relationships that provide access to resources facilitating their educational success than those from low-income families. Does access to and mobilization of social capital also relate to success among the few low-income youth who “overcome the odds” and persist in higher education? Using nationally representative longitudinal data over a 14-year period, this study shows that although access to social capital in families, schools, and communities is positively related to entry into higher education, most forms of adolescent social capital are not independently associated with degree attainment. However, the mobilization of social capital through certain types of mentorship benefits both the college entry and bachelor’s degree attainment of low-income youth, more so than for their more economically advantaged peers. Findings suggest that developing enduring mentoring relationships and new social resources rooted in the higher education context may be especially important in facilitating degree attainment for young adults from low-income backgrounds.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda Lunnay ◽  
Barbara Toson ◽  
Carlene Wilson ◽  
Emma R. Miller ◽  
Samantha Beth Meyer ◽  
...  

Introduction: Before the pandemic, mid-life women in Australia were among the “heaviest” female alcohol consumers, giving rise to myriad preventable health risks. This paper uses an innovative model of social class within a sample of Australian women to describe changes in affective states and alcohol consumption patterns across two time points during COVID-19.Methods: Survey data were collected from Australian mid-life women (45–64 years) at two time points during COVID-19—May 2020 (N = 1,218) and July 2020 (N = 799). We used a multi-dimensional model for measuring social class across three domains—economic capital (income, property and assets), social capital (social contacts and occupational prestige of those known socially), and cultural capital (level of participation in various cultural activities). Latent class analysis allowed comparisons across social classes to changes in affective states and alcohol consumption patterns reported at the two time points using alcohol consumption patterns as measured by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test—Consumption (AUDIT-C) and its component items.Results: Seven social classes were constructed, characterized by variations in access to capital. Affective states during COVID-19 differed according to social class. Comparing between the survey time points, feeling fearful/anxious was higher in those with high economic and cultural capital and moderate social capital (“emerging affluent”). Increased depression was most prominent in the class characterized by the highest volumes of all forms of capital (“established affluent”). The social class characterized by the least capital (“working class”) reported increased prevalence of uncertainty, but less so for feeling fearful or anxious, or depressed. Women's alcohol consumption patterns changed across time during the pandemic. The “new middle” class—a group characterized by high social capital (but contacts with low prestige) and minimal economic capital—had increased AUDIT-C scores.Conclusion: Our data shows the pandemic impacted women's negative affective states, but not in uniform ways according to class. It may explain increases in alcohol consumption among women in the emerging affluent group who experienced increased feelings or fear and anxiety during the pandemic. This nuanced understanding of the vulnerabilities of sub-groups of women, in respect to negative affect and alcohol consumption can inform future pandemic policy responses designed to improve mental health and reduce the problematic use of alcohol. Designing pandemic responses segmented for specific audiences is also aided by our multi-dimensional analysis of social class, which uncovers intricate differences in affective states amongst sub-groups of mid-life women.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amrik Khalsa ◽  
Kristen Copeland ◽  
Roohi Kharofa ◽  
Sheela Geraghty ◽  
Thomas DeWitt ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between infant feeding styles (the attitudes and behaviors parents use to direct their child's eating) and infant BMI z-score in a low-income, predominately non-Hispanic Black population. Methods Parent-infant dyads were recruited during the infant's 6, 9, or 12 month well-child visits from two urban primary care clinics that primarily serve a Medicaid population (89%). Feeding styles were measured using the Infant Feeding Style Questionnaire (IFSQ) and categorized into: pressuring, restrictive, responsive, or laissez-faire. Predominant feeding style was defined by selecting the style with the greatest deviation from the mean score of each style. Infant anthropometrics were extracted from the electronic medical record from birth through 18 months. Infant BMI z-scores were calculated based on WHO growth charts. Associations between feeding styles and BMI z-scores were examined using mixed models controlling for multiple measures per person, demographics and feeding covariates. Results Data from 198 dyads were analyzed for this study (Table 1). Parents identified as mothers (n = 196), non-Hispanic Black (n = 136), with a median age of 27 years (IQR 23.0 – 30.0). Half the infants were male (n = 99) with a median age at enrollment of 8.98 months [IQR 6.8-10.3]. Parent's predominant feeding style were (in descending order): Laissez-faire: 30%; Restrictive: 28%; Responsive: 23%; and Pressuring: 19%. Predominant feeding style at enrollment was not associated with BMI z-score between 0–18 months, but there was a significant sex differences in BMI z-score for the Laissez-faire and Restrictive feeding styles (Figure 1). Additionally, parents with higher education and a predominately Restrictive feeding style had children with higher BMI z-scores whereas parents with higher education and a Laissez-faire or Pressuring feeding style had children with lower BMI z-score (Figure 2). Conclusions Parent's predominant feeding style during infancy in a low-income population is not associated with infant's BMI in the first two years of life, but some styles demonstrate differences by sex or parental education. Further studies are needed to better understand the modifiable factors for increased BMI in the first 2 years. Funding Sources NIH T32 Institutional grant. Supporting Tables, Images and/or Graphs


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document