Equal Opportunities: A Comparative Study of the Graduate Education Expectations of Chinese College Students of Different Ethnicities

Abstract

An analysis of nationwide multi-year data from the "China College Student Survey" (CCSS) found: compared to Han college students, minority college students around China had lower graduate education expectations, but the gap mostly came from ethnicities with lower average years of education and college students who come from areas with concentrated minority populations. There is a significant correlation between family background and educational experience and the domestic graduate education expectations of Han and minority college students. Educational experience is a dominant factor in the domestic graduate education expectations of Han and nationwide minority college students, but family background has a greater impact on minority college students. After comprehensive payment reforms, the domestic graduate education expectations of college students of all ethnicities fell precipitously, but compared to international graduate education expectations, comprehensive payment reforms were not the only factor that led to the fall in domestic graduate education expectations. For all minorities nationwide and minorities in some instances, comprehensive payment reforms enlarged the corresponding effect of family background on domestic graduate education expectations, which may cause college students with worse family conditions to give up on earning a graduate education.