A Study on the Collective Anxiety of Upward Mobility Among “Small-Town Swots” Based on the Perspective of the Sociology of Education Theory

Abstract

Education has always been the pursuit of many for “knowledge changes destiny,” and it has become animportant way for disadvantaged students to achieve upward social mobility. However, when children from lower-middle-class cities or rural areas enter elite universities, they often feel like they are lagging behind other students. The aura ofelite universities and the bleak reality causes anxiety among “small-town swots.” This article finds that the collectiveanxiety of upward mobility among “small-town swots” involves three aspects: academic anxiety, employment anxiety, andability anxiety. According to the sociology of education theory, this anxiety is caused by the frustration experienced duringthe process of field transformation and the lack of competition for inherent advantages.