Reduction or Restrain? Social Reproduction in Chinas Compulsory Education under the Double Reduction Policy

Abstract

The double reduction policy was issued in 2021 in China as a means of reducing students schoolwork and restricting extracurricular tutoring, thereby alleviating students pressure and promote education equality. This paper investigates whether this policy eases educational inequality and promotes social mobility, or it reinforces social reproduction and intensifies social stratification. This paper begins with a brief introduction to Chinas compulsory education and the background of the double reduction policy. Afterwards, core and related theories of social reproduction are introduced and critically analysed. According to the theories and the context, it is examined how reproduction occurs through Chinas compulsory education. Subsequently, a review is conducted of the current impact of this policy, particularly on the acquisition of educational resources by students from different backgrounds. Schools, families, and tutoring institutions are considered the main fields where reproduction take place. It turns out that the double reduction policy to students, appears not only as a burden-reduction mechanism, but more like a restriction that hinders the acquisition of necessary assistance by ordinary families while ensuring the availability of high-quality resources for elite families, thus marginalising education resources, privatising education, and perpetuating class privileges among elite families.