The cultural production of “bad” rural schools in China

Abstract

Rural schools in China have long been in a state of underdevelopment. Studies have mainly addressed this issue from the perspective of rural–urban structural inequality, while neglecting the cultural processes that lead to inequality reproduction. Through the lens of cultural production, this study analyses qualitative data gathered in Gongshui county in central China, revealing how rural teachers and parents construct a negative perception of rural schools, evoked by devalued meanings associated with schools’ physical appearance, teaching staff characteristics and academic performance. Influenced by the discourse on rural inferiority, teachers and parents have cultivated a collective identity of becoming “less” rural and adopt strategies to disassociate themselves from rural education and community. Their cultural production of “bad” rural schools perpetuates and reinforces the underdevelopment of rural schools. This study draws attention to the cultural misconceptions surrounding rurality and the cultural processes by which educational inequalities are produced and reproduced in rural areas, both in China and globally. 中国农村学校长期处于欠发展状态。已有研究主要从城乡结构性不平等的视角来探讨这一问题, 而忽视了导致不平等再生产的文化过程。基于文化生产的视角, 本研究通过分析在中国中部贡水县收集的定性数据, 揭示了农村教师和家长将农村学校的外观、师资特征和学业成绩与负面意义相联结, 从而建构其对农村学校负面认知的文化过程。受“农村落后”论调的影响,这些教师和家长形成了一种“去农化”的集体认同, 并采取逃离策略与农村教育和社区进行脱钩。他们对“差的”农村学校的文化生产延续并强化了农村学校的发展不足。本研究旨在呼吁关注当下对农村性的文化误认, 并关注中国乃至全球背景下产生和再生产农村地区教育不平等状况的文化过程。