Guanxi, Social Capital and School Choice in China: The Rise of Ritual Capital

by Ji Ruan

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783319407548
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	11/01/2016
Series:	Palgrave Studies on Chinese Education in a Global Perspective
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	194
File size:	406 KB

About the Author

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

Table of Contents

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.