The Impact of Family Background on Subject Selection in Senior Secondary School Students in the Context of the Reform of College Entrance Examination: An Empirical Study Based on Survey Data from Zhejiang Province

Abstract

Subject selection is one of the key components in the new college entrance examination system. This study analyzed the data from a sample survey of college entrance examination participants in Zhejiang Province between 2017 and 2020 using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, cross analysis, and binary logistic regression in an effort to research into the impact of family background on subject selection and academic achievements in senior secondary school students. Research findings showed that: (i) Students from families of higher social and economic status were more likely to be academically high-achieving; (ii) Student family background had a significant impact on their subject selection, specifically represented by a positive effect of home economic capital on student choice of subjects requiring higher learning costs, a positive effect of family perception of the importance of mathematics, physics, and chemistry on student choice of science subjects, and a positive effect of family cultural environment on student choice of liberal arts subjects; (iii) Personal factors such as gender and academic results are crucial for students’ decisions on subject selection, with male and high-performing students showing preferences for science subjects.