A Study On The Role Of Teachers And Their Action Logic In Rural Students’ Access To Elite Universities

Education plays an important role in social stratification and stratum mobility.However,due to the limitation of social structure and family background,the proportion of rural children in elite universities is not high."It is difficult to produce a rich child from a poor family" and "the theory that it is useless to study" have become hot topics in the society in recent years,and aroused a lot of discussions and concerns about the consolidation of social class.According to the theory of cultural reproduction,school education is an important reason for the reproduction of social strata,and teachers represent the culture of the upper middle class and are the gatekeepers of the solidification of social strata.In spite of this,we can still see many rural children successfully enter elite universities every year,breaking through the bondage of class.As important people in students’ academic life,do teachers in Chinese context really become pushers of cultural arbitrary as cultural reproduction says? The appropriateness of cultural reproduction in China has become a theoretical and realistic question that needs to be answered urgently.Some existing researches have responded to this question,but they are only based on the perspective of students and lack the voice of teachers.Therefore,based on the autobiographical sociological analysis of 75 rural children and in-depth interviews with 20 teachers and students,this paper explores the role of teachers in the elite university education opportunities of rural children and the action logic behind this role.The research finds that teachers in the Chinese context are not reduced to tools to maintain class solidification as the cultural reproduction theory advocates,but play the role of " savior " in the cultural rebellion.Through creating the class style of fighting side by side,giving careful guidance,giving inspiring learning power,bringing teachers love like spring breeze,providing rich and colorful opportunities for rural children’s academic life to provide full support.The main reason why such supportive behaviors can be effective and help rural children to enter elite universities successfully and break the shackles of class is that teachers can compensate and activate the economic capital,cultural capital and social capital of rural children to some extent and narrow the gap between them and the children of middle and upper class.At the same time,this research has entered into the inner world of teachers through in-depth interviews.It is found that the reason why teachers have such behavior is mainly based on the following three logic of action: first,the sense of conscience under moral obligation.It is the duty and mission of teachers to teach and devote themselves to the cause of education,and it is also the moral obligation that teachers have to fulfill since ancient times,which makes teachers have a sense of conscience in the process of professional development without seeking return.In the face of "trapped" peasant children,they choose to provide help within their power without hesitation.The second is empathy under emotional connection.The teachers who were born in the labor class did not reject the bottom culture as the reproduction theory said,but showed their insight into the disadvantage of the peasant children,their identity of the character of the peasant children and their identity of the character of the peasant children.They said that from these rural children,they saw their own shadow and are well aware of the importance of education and teachers to them.It is this kind of empathy that drives them to do their best to "fulfill" the farmers’ children want to rely on education to change the fate of faith.Third,the impact of rational calculation performance.Under the evaluation standard of "performance is king",teachers’ salary,bonus and promotion of professional title are all linked to students’ performance in order to achieve KPI,so that teachers show rational calculation thinking.These rural children,who are obedient,studious,diligent and good at academic performance,just cater to teachers’ calculation of their own "performance".Under the circumstance of different students’ levels and limited energy,teachers give priority to farmers’ children with correct attitude and more potential and try their best to support them.Based on the triple action logic of moral obligation,emotional connection and rational calculation,teachers use their own experience and mastered information and resources to fully support rural children,effectively activate and compensate the family capital of rural children,so that the rural children successfully enter the elite university,realize the upward mobility of social class.This paper reflects and criticizes the views of cultural reproduction theory that teachers represent the culture of the upper middle class and are the gatekeepers of the solidified social class.By means of autobiography,in-depth interviews with teachers and students,and other research methods,this paper explores the role of teachers and their action logic in rural children’s access to elite university education.This paper reexamines the applicability of cultural reproduction theory to school education and the interpretation of teacher role in the Context of China,revises cultural reproduction theory to some extent,and enriches the research on teacher role.It is of great significance to get rid of the stigmatization of teachers and to see the importance of teachers in the academic success of rural children in the Context of China.