Utility of education and educational aspiration of urban and rural high school students over the past 20 years: A historical comparative study based on three birth cohorts

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2024.00926

Abstract

Key words: social change, Urban/rural differences, adolescent, utility of education, educational aspiration

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ZHANG Liang, ZHANG Wenxin. (2024). Utility of education and educational aspiration of urban and rural high school students over the past 20 years: A historical comparative study based on three birth cohorts. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 56(7), 926-937.

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URL: https://journal.psych.ac.cn/acps/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1041.2024.00926

https://journal.psych.ac.cn/acps/EN/Y2024/V56/I7/926

Figures/Tables 9

Table 1 Information about Participants

Year	Rural or urban	Gender		Grade		Only child
Year	Rural or urban	male	female	Grade 10	Grade 12	Yes	No
1999	Urban	163	181	172	172	285	59
	Rural	212	152	196	168	83	281
2010	Urban	238	247	248	237	376	109
	Rural	254	301	297	258	200	355
2018	Urban	340	344	319	365	365	319
	Rural	257	360	311	306	183	434

Table 1 Information about Participants

Year	Rural or urban	Gender		Grade		Only child
Year	Rural or urban	male	female	Grade 10	Grade 12	Yes	No
1999	Urban	163	181	172	172	285	59
	Rural	212	152	196	168	83	281
2010	Urban	238	247	248	237	376	109
	Rural	254	301	297	258	200	355
2018	Urban	340	344	319	365	365	319
	Rural	257	360	311	306	183	434

Table 2 Means and Standard Deviations of Utility of Education and Educational Aspiration (M ± SD)

Year	Rural or urban	Utility of Education	Educational Aspiration
1999	Urban	3.93 ± 0.87	4.48 ± 0.63
	Rural	3.79 ± 0.76	4.16 ± 0.84
2010	Urban	3.53 ± 1.00	4.39 ± 0.64
	Rural	3.48 ± 0.99	4.32 ± 0.81
2018	Urban	3.59 ± 0.98	4.42 ± 0.66
	Rural	3.68 ± 0.90	4.54 ± 0.54

Table 2 Means and Standard Deviations of Utility of Education and Educational Aspiration (M ± SD)

Year	Rural or urban	Utility of Education	Educational Aspiration
1999	Urban	3.93 ± 0.87	4.48 ± 0.63
	Rural	3.79 ± 0.76	4.16 ± 0.84
2010	Urban	3.53 ± 1.00	4.39 ± 0.64
	Rural	3.48 ± 0.99	4.32 ± 0.81
2018	Urban	3.59 ± 0.98	4.42 ± 0.66
	Rural	3.68 ± 0.90	4.54 ± 0.54

Figure 1. Utility of Education of High School Students.

Figure 1. Utility of Education of High School Students.

Figure 2. Educational Aspiration of High School Students.

Figure 2. Educational Aspiration of High School Students.

Table 3 Hierarchical Regression Analysis with Utility of Education as the Dependent Variable

Predictors	Step 1			Step 2			Step 3			Step 4
Predictors	β	t	p	β	t	p	β	t	p	β	t	p
Gender	?0.08	?4.45	< 0.001	?0.08	?4.17	< 0.001	?0.08	?4.11	< 0.001	?0.08	?4.10	0.000
Only child	?0.02	?0.82	0.411	?0.01	?0.46	0.645	?0.01	?0.47	0.637	?0.01	?0.45	0.653
Grade	?0.10	?5.38	< 0.001	?0.10	?5.38	< 0.001	?0.10	?5.37	< 0.001	?0.10	?5.35	< 0.001
Year (2010)	?0.13	?6.88	< 0.001	?0.13	?6.87	< 0.001	?0.13	?6.88	< 0.001	?0.13	?6.87	< 0.001
Year (2018)	?0.02	?1.28	0.200	?0.03	?1.33	0.183	?0.03	?1.33	0.183	?0.03	?1.33	0.182
Urban/rural	?0.01	?0.71	0.480	?0.02	?0.86	0.392	?0.02	?0.85	0.396	?0.02	?0.86	0.391
Year (2010)×Urban/rural	?0.01	?0.42	0.675	?0.01	?0.41	0.682	?0.01	?0.41	0.684	?0.01	?0.41	0.685
Year (2018)×Urban/rural	0.04	2.13	0.033	0.04	2.22	0.026	0.04	2.22	0.027	0.04	2.22	0.026
Academic Performance				0.11	6.46	< 0.001	0.11	5.95	< 0.001	0.11	5.97	< 0.001
Parental Education				0.01	0.82	0.412	0.01	0.61	0.539	0.01	0.59	0.557
Year(2010) ×Academic Performance							0.04	2.28	0.023	0.04	2.25	0.025
Year(2018) ×Academic Performance							?0.01	?0.40	0.693	?0.01	?0.42	0.676
Year(2010) ×Parental Education							0.02	0.86	0.388	0.02	0.87	0.382
Year(2018) ×Parental Education							0.01	0.35	0.723	0.01	0.35	0.730
Urban/rural ×Academic Performance							0.02	1.17	0.241	0.02	1.15	0.248
Urban/rural ×Parental Education							?0.03	?1.62	0.105	?0.03	?1.37	0.172
Year (2010) ×Urban/rural ×Academic Performance										0.00	0.03	0.979
Year (2018) ×Urban/rural ×Academic Performance										0.00	0.00	0.999
Year (2010) ×Urban/rural ×Parental Education										0.00	0.00	0.997
Year (2018) ×Urban/rural ×Parental Education										?0.02	?0.78	0.433
R²	0.037^***			0.050^***			0.053^***			0.054^***
ΔR²	0.037^***			0.013^***			0.003^?			0.001

Table 3 Hierarchical Regression Analysis with Utility of Education as the Dependent Variable

Predictors	Step 1			Step 2			Step 3			Step 4
Predictors	β	t	p	β	t	p	β	t	p	β	t	p
Gender	?0.08	?4.45	< 0.001	?0.08	?4.17	< 0.001	?0.08	?4.11	< 0.001	?0.08	?4.10	0.000
Only child	?0.02	?0.82	0.411	?0.01	?0.46	0.645	?0.01	?0.47	0.637	?0.01	?0.45	0.653
Grade	?0.10	?5.38	< 0.001	?0.10	?5.38	< 0.001	?0.10	?5.37	< 0.001	?0.10	?5.35	< 0.001
Year (2010)	?0.13	?6.88	< 0.001	?0.13	?6.87	< 0.001	?0.13	?6.88	< 0.001	?0.13	?6.87	< 0.001
Year (2018)	?0.02	?1.28	0.200	?0.03	?1.33	0.183	?0.03	?1.33	0.183	?0.03	?1.33	0.182
Urban/rural	?0.01	?0.71	0.480	?0.02	?0.86	0.392	?0.02	?0.85	0.396	?0.02	?0.86	0.391
Year (2010)×Urban/rural	?0.01	?0.42	0.675	?0.01	?0.41	0.682	?0.01	?0.41	0.684	?0.01	?0.41	0.685
Year (2018)×Urban/rural	0.04	2.13	0.033	0.04	2.22	0.026	0.04	2.22	0.027	0.04	2.22	0.026
Academic Performance				0.11	6.46	< 0.001	0.11	5.95	< 0.001	0.11	5.97	< 0.001
Parental Education				0.01	0.82	0.412	0.01	0.61	0.539	0.01	0.59	0.557
Year(2010) ×Academic Performance							0.04	2.28	0.023	0.04	2.25	0.025
Year(2018) ×Academic Performance							?0.01	?0.40	0.693	?0.01	?0.42	0.676
Year(2010) ×Parental Education							0.02	0.86	0.388	0.02	0.87	0.382
Year(2018) ×Parental Education							0.01	0.35	0.723	0.01	0.35	0.730
Urban/rural ×Academic Performance							0.02	1.17	0.241	0.02	1.15	0.248
Urban/rural ×Parental Education							?0.03	?1.62	0.105	?0.03	?1.37	0.172
Year (2010) ×Urban/rural ×Academic Performance										0.00	0.03	0.979
Year (2018) ×Urban/rural ×Academic Performance										0.00	0.00	0.999
Year (2010) ×Urban/rural ×Parental Education										0.00	0.00	0.997
Year (2018) ×Urban/rural ×Parental Education										?0.02	?0.78	0.433
R²	0.037^***			0.050^***			0.053^***			0.054^***
ΔR²	0.037^***			0.013^***			0.003^?			0.001

Table 4 Hierarchical Regression Analysis with Educational Aspiration as the Dependent Variable

Predictors	Step 1			Step 2			Step 3			Step 4
Predictors	β	t	p	β	t	p	β	t	p	β	t	p
Gender	?0.14	?7.42	0.000	?0.13	?6.94	0.000	?0.12	?6.54	0.000	?0.12	?6.53	0.000
Only child	?0.04	?1.74	0.082	?0.01	?0.72	0.473	?0.01	?0.68	0.495	?0.01	?0.49	0.623
Grade	0.04	1.98	0.048	0.04	2.15	0.032	0.04	2.09	0.037	0.04	2.06	0.039
Year (2010)	?0.04	?1.98	0.048	?0.04	?1.91	0.056	?0.04	?1.91	0.057	?0.04	?1.89	0.059
Year (2018)	0.11	5.55	0.000	0.10	5.56	0.000	0.10	5.59	0.000	0.10	5.58	0.000
Urban/rural	?0.05	?2.33	0.020	?0.06	?2.81	0.005	?0.06	?2.84	0.005	?0.06	?2.93	0.003
Year (2010)×Urban/rural	0.01	0.46	0.647	0.01	0.48	0.632	0.01	0.49	0.624	0.01	0.49	0.624
Year (2018)×Urban/rural	0.11	5.37	0.000	0.11	5.70	0.000	0.11	5.74	0.000	0.11	5.78	0.000
Academic Performance				0.20	11.74	0.000	0.21	11.80	0.000	0.21	11.99	0.000
Parental Education				0.06	3.30	0.001	0.07	3.75	0.000	0.07	3.73	0.000
Year(2010) ×Academic Performance							0.02	1.10	0.270	0.02	0.90	0.369
Year(2018) ×Academic Performance							?0.04	?2.32	0.021	?0.05	?2.45	0.015
Year(2010) ×Parental Education							0.00	0.13	0.895	0.01	0.30	0.767
Year(2018) ×Parental Education							?0.04	?1.86	0.063	?0.04	?1.91	0.056
Urban/rural ×Academic Performance							0.00	0.25	0.800	0.01	0.35	0.724
Urban/rural ×Parental Education							?0.06	?3.37	0.001	?0.04	?2.24	0.025
Year (2010) ×Urban/rural ×Academic Performance										0.00	0.22	0.830
Year (2018) ×Urban/rural ×Academic Performance										0.00	?0.16	0.870
Year (2010) ×Urban/rural ×Parental Education										?0.04	?2.38	0.017
Year (2018) ×Urban/rural ×Parental Education										?0.05	?2.66	0.008
R²	0.045^***			0.091^***			0.097^***			0.103^***
ΔR²	0.045^***			0.046^***			0.006^**			0.006^***

Table 4 Hierarchical Regression Analysis with Educational Aspiration as the Dependent Variable

Predictors	Step 1			Step 2			Step 3			Step 4
Predictors	β	t	p	β	t	p	β	t	p	β	t	p
Gender	?0.14	?7.42	0.000	?0.13	?6.94	0.000	?0.12	?6.54	0.000	?0.12	?6.53	0.000
Only child	?0.04	?1.74	0.082	?0.01	?0.72	0.473	?0.01	?0.68	0.495	?0.01	?0.49	0.623
Grade	0.04	1.98	0.048	0.04	2.15	0.032	0.04	2.09	0.037	0.04	2.06	0.039
Year (2010)	?0.04	?1.98	0.048	?0.04	?1.91	0.056	?0.04	?1.91	0.057	?0.04	?1.89	0.059
Year (2018)	0.11	5.55	0.000	0.10	5.56	0.000	0.10	5.59	0.000	0.10	5.58	0.000
Urban/rural	?0.05	?2.33	0.020	?0.06	?2.81	0.005	?0.06	?2.84	0.005	?0.06	?2.93	0.003
Year (2010)×Urban/rural	0.01	0.46	0.647	0.01	0.48	0.632	0.01	0.49	0.624	0.01	0.49	0.624
Year (2018)×Urban/rural	0.11	5.37	0.000	0.11	5.70	0.000	0.11	5.74	0.000	0.11	5.78	0.000
Academic Performance				0.20	11.74	0.000	0.21	11.80	0.000	0.21	11.99	0.000
Parental Education				0.06	3.30	0.001	0.07	3.75	0.000	0.07	3.73	0.000
Year(2010) ×Academic Performance							0.02	1.10	0.270	0.02	0.90	0.369
Year(2018) ×Academic Performance							?0.04	?2.32	0.021	?0.05	?2.45	0.015
Year(2010) ×Parental Education							0.00	0.13	0.895	0.01	0.30	0.767
Year(2018) ×Parental Education							?0.04	?1.86	0.063	?0.04	?1.91	0.056
Urban/rural ×Academic Performance							0.00	0.25	0.800	0.01	0.35	0.724
Urban/rural ×Parental Education							?0.06	?3.37	0.001	?0.04	?2.24	0.025
Year (2010) ×Urban/rural ×Academic Performance										0.00	0.22	0.830
Year (2018) ×Urban/rural ×Academic Performance										0.00	?0.16	0.870
Year (2010) ×Urban/rural ×Parental Education										?0.04	?2.38	0.017
Year (2018) ×Urban/rural ×Parental Education										?0.05	?2.66	0.008
R²	0.045^***			0.091^***			0.097^***			0.103^***
ΔR²	0.045^***			0.046^***			0.006^**			0.006^***

Figure 3. Relation between Academic Performance and Utility of Educational.

Figure 3. Relation between Academic Performance and Utility of Educational.

Figure 4. Relation between Academic Performance and Educational Aspiration.

Figure 4. Relation between Academic Performance and Educational Aspiration.

Figure 5. Relation between Parental Education and Educational Aspiration.

Figure 5. Relation between Parental Education and Educational Aspiration.

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