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TYPE Original Research
PUBLISHED 23 August 2022
DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.963216
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EDITED BY
Graham Frederick Welch,
University College London,
United Kingdom
REVIEWED BY
Mytien Nguyen,
Cornell University, United States
Austin Griths,
University College London,
United Kingdom
*CORRESPONDENCE
Cixian Lv
499752787@qq.com
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Frontiers in Psychology
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PUBLISHED 23 August 2022
CITATION
Xu J and Lv C (2022) The influence of
migrant children’s identification with
the college matriculation policy on
their educational expectations.
Front. Psychol. 13:963216.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.963216
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does not comply with these terms.
The influence of migrant
children’s identification with the
college matriculation policy on
their educational expectations
Jingjing Xu and Cixian Lv*
Institute of Educational Economics and Management, Normal College, Qingdao University,
Qingdao, China
Based on the theoretical framework of cultural reproduction theory and
ecosystem theory, this paper explores the impact of migrant children’s
identification with the college entrance examination policy on their
educational expectations and the associated underlying mechanisms from the
micro, meso, and macro levels. In total, 1,770 questionnaires were collected
from students, and 436 people were interviewed, including students, their
teachers, and their parents. They are all from China. Through multidimensional
analysis, the results indicated that both individual academic achievement and
family social capital have positive impacts on migrant children’s educational
expectations and that social class segregation in school and perceived
social discrimination have negative impacts on their educational expectations.
Migrant children’s identification with the policy has a significant positive impact
on these children’s educational expectations. Their identification with the
policy enhances the positive impact of individual academic achievement and
family social capital on their educational expectations and partially weakens
the negative impact of social class segregation in school and perceived social
discrimination on their educational expectations. The analysis suggests that
college matriculation policy for migrant children drives a compensation
mechanism that involves the “principle of justice”, a cultural mechanism
that involves “promoting learning through examinations”, and an institutional
mechanism involving “urban-rural integration” to increase educational
expectations. This study enriches and develops the expectation theory of
migrant children and provides a policy reference for local governments to
improve their policies for college entrance examinations for migrant children
and to promote household registration system reform.
KEYWORDS
college matriculation policy, policy identification, migrant children, educational
expectation, influencing mechanism, moderating eect
Introduction
According to the 2020 National Education Development Statistical Bulletin, among
the students in the compulsory education stage, there were 14,297,300 children of
migrant workers with about 9.1% (10.348 million in elementary school with about 9.6%
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and 3.948 million in junior high school with about 8%) (Ministry
of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2020). As such,
there are currently a large number of migrant children in cities.
Whether migrant children can obtain a high-level education
is an important social issue that needs to be considered in
modern society because it directly affects the overall level
of human resources in the country. Therefore, subject to
the household registration system, how migrant children can
take the entrance examination for higher education in the
place of inflow is an important item in China (Feng and
Liu, 2018). In this context, China has introduced the college
matriculation policy. In addition, a large number of domestic
and foreign studies have shown that human capital is the
main determinant of modern social stratification and mobility
and that educational expectations have a direct, stable, and
effective explanatory power for the acquisition of human capital
(Davis-Kean, 2005; Brand and Xie, 2010). Therefore, studies
of the impact of the college matriculation policy for migrant
children on their educational expectations have very important
practical relevance.
In the environment surrounding migrant children, there are
various factors that affect their educational expectations, such
as individual academic achievement, family social capital, social
class segregation in schools, and perceived social discrimination.
Relevant studies from different countries have investigated how
the educational expectations of migrant children are affected in
such contexts (Goyette and Xie, 1999; Yan and Lin, 2005; Berry
et al., 2006; Wu and Huang, 2017). However, existing studies
have not yet clearly elucidated whether migrant children’s
identification with the college matriculation policy has had
a significant impact on their educational expectations, nor
have studies investigated this impact from the perspective of
ecosystem theory.
This study will further explore this issue through a
combination of quantitative and qualitative methods.
Specifically, drawing on questionnaire data and students’
essays about their educational experience, stratified sampling
was used in this study to select students in grades 8–11 in
11 regions of 10 provinces. These provinces have substantial
migrant population groups and were among the first to
implement the college matriculation policy specifically for
migrant children. And all 11 regions studied have a high
concentration of migrant children. Subsequently, combining
correlation analysis, regression analysis, and moderating effect
tests, this study analyses the mechanism by which migrant
children’s identification with the college matriculation policy
impacts their educational expectations. The results of this
study can enrich both the theories related to the sociology
of education in the context of college entrance examination
reform as well as the theoretical framework and evaluation
system of educational policy analysis. Furthermore, the results
can contribute to revealing the mechanism by which migrant
children’s identification with the college matriculation policy
influences their educational expectations.
Theoretical foundation and research
hypothesis
In the context of China’s social transformation and large-
scale population migration, the extent to which the social
mobility of migrant children who are enrolled in urban schools
or schools specifically for migrant workers is constrained, and
whether there is a possibility of social mobility outside the
logic of social class reproduction, remains unclear. The research
about this should pay more attention to the cultural mechanisms
and ecosystems behind the differences in educational outcomes.
The “cultural reproduction theory” (Bourdieu, 1997) and the
“ecosystem theory” (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), which originated
in Western countries, have important theoretical guiding
significance with regard to this issue. First, these theories shifted
the focus of theoretical attention from the analysis of differences
in educational outcomes to the mechanism of the educational
process. Second, these theories provide a multidimensional
perspective, from the micro to macro levels, for the analysis
of influencing mechanisms. Finally, the theories provide a
theoretical analysis framework revealing the mechanism by
which educational policies impact the educational expectations
of migrant children.
Cultural reproduction theory
The cultural reproduction theory by Pierre Bourdieu, a
French sociologist, originated in the 1970s. In contrast to the
popular belief of the time, Bourdieu (1997) believed that school
is the main arena which can produce and reproduce culture and
social inequality (p. 192–200). Bourdieu has introduced three
key concepts in his cultural reproduction theory. One concept
is “cultural capital”. Lamont and Lareau (1998) believe that
cultural capital is “widely accepted high-level cultural signals,
such as attitudes, behaviors, preferences, formal knowledge,
and diplomas. These signals are used to distinguish between
cultural and social”. Another concept is “habitus”. Nash (1990)
considered that habitus in Bourdieu’s work refers to a system
of embodied dispositions that generate practice in accordance
with the structural principles of the social world. Therefore,
habitus constitutes the principles guiding people’s behaviors
and tends to reproduce ambitions, feelings, and practices.
Children of the advantaged class with specific cultural capital
often have a certain habitus, which will reflect the values and
behavior patterns recognized and appreciated by the school
and the social environment, thereby helping them to establish
higher educational expectations and obtain good educational
achievement. The last concept is “field”. Actually, Bourdieu’s
work has provided a series of analyses of different social fields.
For example, Bourdieu and Terdman (1987) analyzed what
they term the “juridical field”. They believed that “a ‘field’ is
an area of structured, socially patterned activity or ‘practice’,
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in this case disciplinarily and professionally defined.” And
this also applies to the “school field”. In conclusion, Bourdieu
and Wacquant (1992) believed that “practice” is the result
of a person’s “habitus” and his or her position in the field
(capital), both of which operate together in a certain social
environment (field).
The cultural reproduction theory has the following main
viewpoints. First, the distribution of cultural capital is unequal.
Children of the disadvantaged class can only obtain a small
amount of cultural capital in a single form from family and
residential communities; in contrast, children of the advantaged
class can obtain rich and diverse forms of cultural capital from
family and residential communities (Barn, 2010; Wu et al.,
2014). Therefore, before children enter the formal education
system, there has been a large degree of differentiation in
cultural taste, rule identification, educational expectations and
even behavioral habits (Li, 2013; Mu and Jia, 2016). Second,
school education expands the difference in cultural capital.
Bourdieu (1979) is persuaded that in contemporary societies
social classes preserve a strong cultural identity (Schwartz,
1997).Bourdieu (1997) believes that school culture is the
culture of the middle class or other ruling classes. Children
who grow up in this cultural background are in a favorable
position in school-based education, while children of the
working class and other lower classes often do not adapt to
this culture, becoming laggards in school-based education. In
addition, children with a larger amount and form of cultural
capital are more likely to understand the content of the
courses taught at a school, more easily interact with peers,
and know how to better use school resources to fight for their
own interests. These groups with higher cultural capital can
often develop higher educational expectations through school-
based education, potentially translating into higher academic
achievements. Third, cultural reproduction achieves hierarchical
reproduction. DiMaggio (1982) made a hypothesis in his
article, “Returns to cultural capital are highest for students
from high-status families and least for students from low-
status families”. Bourdieu (1997) proposes that schools with the
cultural characteristics of the ruling class and a differentiated
education system have become the cultural capital that continues
to widen the cultural differences among different classes. This
cultural capital plays the role of “gatekeeper” in maintaining
class boundaries and completing the process from cultural
reproduction to class reproduction by transforming academic
advantages into professional advantages.
Ecosystem theory
The ecosystem theory proposes that individual development
is always nested in a series of mutual influences. That is,
the interaction between the individual and the environmental
system and the interaction between environmental systems
together affect the development of individual cognition and
behavior (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). According to this theory,
there are microsystems, outer-layer systems, macrosystems, and
a chronosystem. Migrant children are also in an educational
ecosystem like other children, and their educational expectations
are also affected by changes in various subsystems caused
by changes in the chronosystem. Therefore, we borrowed the
ecosystem theory to construct an ecosystem of educational
expectations mainly from the micro level (individuals), the meso
level (families and schools), and the macro level (social policies).
Individual academic achievement at the micro
level
An individual’s academic achievement is the logical starting
point for educational expectations. According to the “looking-
glass self” theory of social psychology, an individual’s self-
evaluation is based on the judgments they receive from others
as a “mirror”, and the individual understands and grasps himself
or herself through this “mirror” (Cooley, 2015).Goyette and Xie
(1999) analyzed the educational expectations of Asian American
students in high schools and found that students with better
academic achievement were more positively strengthened in
their interactions with teachers, parents, and other peers, thereby
promoting higher levels of educational expectations. However,
students with poor grades often receive negative feedback in the
process of interacting with others; therefore, they lose confidence
and generally hold low educational expectations. Rutchick et al.
(2009) propose that there is a significant independent influence
between students’ academic achievement and educational
expectation. According to the cultural adaptation theory, as
migrant children of disadvantaged groups, although there is
heterogeneity and discontinuity between their family cultural
background or early cultural acquisition and the urban school
culture, there is still a certain correlation between their academic
achievements and educational expectations (Segall et al., 1998).
Based on the studies above, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H1. The existing academic achievements of migrant
children have a significant positive impact on their
educational expectations.
Family social capital at the micro level
Since the economic reforms, rural people have been
permitted to move to urban areas. The immigrant family
mentioned in this paper refer to this category who do not
have rich family capital; therefore, can their family social
capital effectively predict their educational expectations? James
(2001) proposes that the value standards of migrant families
for education often reflect the principles of “safety first” and
“risk aversion” (p. 33). However, more scholars believe that
although minority groups and migrant workers lack family
social capital, they still maintain the confidence to achieve social
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mobility through education. Yan and Lin (2005) argue that
family social capital, such as participation in education by people
in lower classes, is very beneficial for children to establish good
education expectations. Gonzalez-Dehass et al. (2005) propose
that the participation behaviors of self-supporting parents
can significantly increase children’s educational expectations,
with further improvements in reading, communication, and
participation in sports activities. Xu et al. (2017) found that
parental rearing styles and emotional attitudes can reduce the
level of social anxiety in migrant children but that excessive
protection will increase the level of social anxiety in children.
The family has a very important impact on migrant children.
In the interviews in this study, we found that many parents
of migrant children believed that although it is difficult for
the family to provide all types of capital needed for their
children’s educational expectations, if there are no expectations,
the children will not be motivated to learn, and life will become
more difficult in the future. The family social capital of migrant
children affects the transmission of intergenerational values and
educational preferences. Based on the above analysis, the second
hypothesis is proposed:
H2. Family social capital has a significant positive impact on
the educational expectations of migrant children.
Social class segregation in schools at the meso
level
Currently, the schools that migrant children attend are often
marginalized public schools or low-class schools for children
of migrant workers (Chen and Feng, 2013). The Coleman
report noted that there was a correlation between educational
segregation and educational consequences and that educational
integration had different effects on the academic achievements
of students of different races and had a positive effect on
the academic achievements of black students but did not
have significant effects on the academic achievements of white
students (Coleman et al., 1966). Therefore, it can be inferred
that different degrees of household registration integration in
China affect migrant children, with no significant negative
impact on non-migrant students. Wu and Huang (2017) used
the class composition at school as the core independent variable
to explore the impact of class segmentation in schools on
students’ educational expectations. Model analysis revealed that
student class heterogeneity within schools was a significant
factor, i.e., for every 1-unit increase in the standard deviation
of the within-group composite socioeconomic status index,
the odds of students expecting to attend college increased by
7.3%. Additionally, there were group differences in the effect of
class heterogeneity on educational expectations, with a 1-point
increase in the mean class status index associated with a 0.018-
year increase in educational expectations for students at the
bottom of the achievement scale. In summary, an increase in the
average class level and class heterogeneity in schools and classes
will affect the educational expectations of the students, especially
for those students with low grades or low cognitive ability. The
gap between such students and students with high educational
expectation scores needs to be decreased significantly. Based on
the above analysis, the following hypothesis is developed:
H3. Social class segregation in schools has a significant
negative impact on the educational expectations of
migrant children.
Perceived social discrimination at the macro
level
Domestic and international studies on the impact of
perceived discrimination on the children of immigrants have
focused on psychological status, cultural adaptation or social
integration and have reached a relatively consistent conclusion
that the impact of perceived discrimination is generally negative.
Lazarus and Folkman (1984) argue that discrimination is a
source of stress for individuals and that individuals need
to have certain resources to cope with it. However, due to
the lack of an adequate social support system for migrant
children, they are prone to a series of negative reactions under
this source of stress, for example, anxiety and depression.
Xiong et al. (2021) proved that there is a significant positive
correlation between perceived social support and the pro-social
tendencies of migrant children. Berry et al. (2006) studied
5,366 immigrant adolescents from 13 countries and found that
perceived discrimination was significantly negatively correlated
with their sociocultural adaptation status. Berkel et al. (2010)
found that a discriminatory experience had a partial impact on
mental health and the experience caused changes in academic
self-efficacy and academic performance. The ecosystem theory
proposes that the development of individuals is nested in
a series of interacting environmental systems. That is, the
interaction between the individual and the environmental
system and the interaction between environmental systems
together affect the development of individual cognition and
behavior (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The psychological state,
school adaptation, and social integration of migrant children
under the influence of perceived discrimination will inevitably
affect their educational expectations. Based on the above
analysis, the fourth hypothesis is proposed:
H4. Perceived social discrimination has a significant negative
impact on the educational expectations of migrant children.
Correlations between migrant children’s
identification with the college
matriculation policy and their
educational expectations
Will children’s identification with the college matriculation
policy have an impact on their educational expectations?
Many studies have shown that there is a significant negative
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correlation between segregation, such as regional segregation,
racial segregation and educational segregation, and students’
educational expectations (Alan, 1959; Tienda, 1998). Scholars
in China have also found that there is a correlation between
migrant children’s identification with the college matriculation
policy and their educational expectations. Due to the
special household registration system in China, before the
implementation of the college matriculation policy for migrant
children, migrant children in schools were marginalized and
treated differently (Guo, 2007). This is because household
registration (hukou system) results in different cultural capital
and determines eligibility and access to government provision
of social services and benefits (Cheng and Selden, 1994). There
is a big huge gap between urban household registration and
agricultural household registration. This embarrassing situation
has greatly weakened the enthusiasm for learning by migrant
children and hindered the possibility of them establishing
good educational expectations. Wu (2011) found that there
was a significant education gap among people with different
household registrations and that migrant children who could not
take local entrance examinations were disadvantaged in terms
of expected years of education. Song et al. (2017) conducted a
long-term follow-up survey of migrant children and found that
only 56.12% of the children in the survey had expectations of
attending college or higher levels of education. He proposed that
the college entrance examination policy, which was based on
household registration, was the institutional factor causing low
educational expectations. The boundary permeability theory
proposes that only a flexible social structure that is dynamic and
permeable can prompt a disadvantaged group to obtain a new
dimension of intergroup comparison through individual efforts
to change an individual’s survival state (Tajfel, 1978). Before the
implementation of the college matriculation policy for migrant
children, migrant children encountered dual obstacles, i.e., the
household registration system and the education policy, and
the impermeability of the group boundary seriously dampened
their psychological capital; therefore, it was impossible for them
to form positive educational expectations. The introduction of
the policy, although the conditions of policy vary from place
to place, undoubtedly enhances the permeability of intergroup
boundaries and provides migrant children with an opportunity
to establish positive educational expectations. Aligned with
the analysis above, this paper introduces migrant children’s
identification with the college matriculation policy as a variable
and develops the following hypotheses:
H5. Policy identification has a significant positive impact on
the educational expectations of migrant children.
H6a. Policy identification has a moderating effect between
the individual academic achievement and educational
expectations of migrant children.
H6b. Policy identification has a moderating effect between
the family social capital and educational expectations of
migrant children.
H6c. Policy identification has a moderating effect between
social class segregation in schools and educational expectations
of migrant children.
H6d. Policy identification has a moderating effect between
the perceived social discrimination and educational expectations
of migrant children.
Materials and methods
Research background
In this study, we used stratified sampling to investigate
8th to 11th grade students, as these students will take the
entrance examination in the near future. The samples were
collected from 15 schools in 11 regions of 10 provinces that have
substantial migrant population groups and were among the first
to implement the college matriculation policy specifically for
migrant children. All 11 regions have a high concentration of
migrant children. Among the schools surveyed above, 11 were
public schools, and four were private schools. The research team
conducted on-site application of the questionnaires and then
used list-wise deletion to further screen the sample.
A total of 1,770 valid questionnaires were obtained, all of
which were valid. As shown in Table 1, more than half of the
respondents were male (54.1%), and 75.1% (n=1,329) of the
sample attended local public school. There are two types of
household mobility, and 79.4% (n=1,405) of the sample had
undergone rural to urban mobility. With regard to personnel
structure of residence, 38.6% (n=683) of the respondents
reported that the numbers of locals and outsiders were “about
the same”. Nearly half of the sample had lived in their current
region for 3–4 years (n=864, 48.8%).
On the basis of factors such as household registration type,
family background, and school type, the research team randomly
selected migrant children, parents, and teachers for in-depth
interviews. Altogether, the research team conducted interviews
with 312 migrant children, 89 parents of migrant children, and
35 teachers.
In addition, the data were supplemented using the
qualitative research tool “proposition composition”, which
required the students to write about their “learning experience
and future expectations in a place far from home”. The
students’ essays responded to the following questions: (1) What
differences do you see between yourself and other students with
regard to school and life? (2) Will you take the college entrance
examination in the city where you live? What are the reasons for
your choice? (3) What education level do you want to achieve?
What type of work do you want to do in the future? What social
achievements do you want to achieve? Overall, a total of 293
propositional essays were collected.
This study is mainly quantitative and is complemented by
qualitative research methods. On the one hand, the quantitative
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TABLE 1 Demographic characteristics of the sample.
Variable nPercentage
Sex
Female 813 45.9%
Male 957 54.1%
Type of household mobility
“Rural-urban” mobility 1,405 79.4%
“Town-town” mobility 365 20.6%
School type
Voluntary school (migrant children) 441 24.9%
Local public school 1,329 75.1%
Personnel structure of residence
Mostly locals 481 27.2%
About the same 683 38.6%
Mostly outsiders 606 34.2%
Duration of residence
1–2 years 201 11.4%
3–4 years 864 48.8%
5–6 years 500 28.2%
≥7 years 205 11.6%
N=1,770.
method based on surveys was adopted to determine whether and
the extent to which the college matriculation policy for migrant
children has had an impact on their educational expectations.
On the other hand, to explore how the matriculation policy
affects children’s educational expectations, qualitative methods
based on in-depth interviews and proposition compositions are
used to explore the mechanism underlying this impact. And
then, we summarize three mechanisms which are expressed in
Section Discussion.
Instrumentation
This study included a total of six variables: (a) migrant
children’s identification with the college matriculation policy
(ICMP); (b) migrant children’s educational expectations (EE);
(c) individual academic achievement (IAA); (d) family social
capital (FSC); (e) social class segregation in schools (SCS);
and (f) perceived social discrimination (PSD). These variables
were developed based on prior literature and the interviews
conducted in this study. The items were rated on a 5-point scale
ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).
Migrant children’s identification with the
college matriculation policy
Migrant children’s identification with the college
matriculation policy refers to their psychological acceptance
and identification with the policy. This sentiment is expressed
both in terms of belief in the spirit and value of the college
matriculation policy for migrant children and in terms of
loyalty and support for this policy. Based on a literature
review (Wu and Zhu, 2016), we compiled a questionnaire on
policy identification. The Cronbach alpha value was 0.965,
and the corrected item-total correlation (CITC) value for each
measurement item was >0.5. A validity test was conducted
through confirmatory factor analysis, and the combined
reliability was 0.967, the construct validity was 0.768, and the
first-order confirmatory factor model was consistent with the
formal sample data.
Educational expectations of migrant children
The educational expectations of migrant children refer
to their subjective cognition formulated on the basis of the
objective reality and their life experience, that is, their belief
and desire for some education results (including academic
achievement, moral performance, interpersonal relationship,
and social achievement) that may be realized after their efforts
(Rodman and Voydanoff, 1978; Spenner and Featherman,
1978). Based on a literature review (Liu, 2013) and the actual
situations of migrant children, we developed an educational
expectation questionnaire with a Cronbach alpha value of
0.968. A confirmatory factor model of educational expectations
was constructed. The combined reliability values for its four
dimensions were 0.933, 0.873, 0.912, and 0.879, and the
construct validity was 0.779, 0.635, 0.723, and 0.647, respectively.
The second-order four-factor confirmatory factor model was
consistent with the formal sample data.
Individual academic achievement
Individual academic achievement refers not only to
achievement in major courses, such as Chinese, mathematics,
and English, but also to learning ability, learning habits,
learning motivation, and extracurricular learning. Based on a
literature review (Cheung and Pomerantz, 2011), we developed
an individual academic achievement scale; the Cronbach alpha
value was 0.940, and the CITC value for each measurement item
was >0.5. A confirmatory factor model of individual academic
achievement was constructed, and its combined reliability was
0.940. The construct validity was 0.692, and the first-order
confirmatory factor model was consistent with the formal
sample data.
Family social capital
Family social capital reflects the various resources acquired
or mobilized by family members in purposeful activities and
embedded in the family social network and includes intra-
family social capital, such as family economic capital and
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family cultural capital, as well as extra-family social capital,
such as parental participation in education, the relationship
between teachers and parents and the relationship between the
student and his or her classmates. Based on literature review
(Shi and Shen, 2007) and the actual situation for migrant
children, we developed a family social capital scale, with a
Cronbach alpha value of 0.929, and constructed a confirmatory
factor model of family social capital, which had a combined
reliability of 0.931 and a construct validity of 0.66. The first-
order confirmatory factor model was consistent with the formal
sample data.
Social class segregation in schools
Social class segregation in schools refers to the aggregation of
students from different races and classes into different schools,
resulting in insufficient uniformity in the distribution of student
types among schools and significant class differences. Based
on a literature review (Massey and Denton, 1988; Wu and
Huang, 2017) and the actual situation for migrant children,
we developed a scale for social class segregation in schools,
which had a Cronbach alpha value of 0.852, and constructed
a confirmatory factor model for class segregation in schools,
which had a combined reliability of 0.881 and a construct
validity of 0.599. The first-order confirmatory factor model was
consistent with the formal sample data.
Perceived social discrimination
Perceived discrimination is a subjective experience relative
to objective discrimination. It usually refers to an individual
experiencing feeling of unfair or hurtful treatment due to his
or her group (e.g., race, gender, or household registration
status). This unfair treatment can manifest as a refusal attitude,
behavior, or unreasonable system or policy in society. Based
on literature review (Krahé et al., 2011) and the actual
situation for migrant children, we developed a scale for
perceived social discrimination. The Cronbach alpha value
was 0.961. A confirmatory factor model was constructed for
perceived social discrimination, with a combined reliability
of 0.961 and a construct validity of 0.677. The first-order
confirmatory factor model was consistent with the formal
sample data.
Data analysis
Using correlation analysis, we preliminarily verified the
correlations between the independent variables above, including
IAA, FSC, SCS, and PSD, and the different dimensions
of the educational expectations of migrant children. Then,
we performed regression models to further examine the
moderating effect of migrant children’s identification with the
college matriculation policy on the relationships between all
independent variables and different dimensions of educational
expectations of migrant children. Because the educational
expectations of migrant children include different degrees of
differences in demography, these demographic variables were
used as control variables in the regression model.
In addition, migrant children are not only the objects
or subjects of education policy implementation but are also
conscious social actors. Therefore, for the data obtained through
in-depth interviews and the propositional compositions,
qualitative research methods were used to further explain
the reasons and mechanisms underlying the impact of their
identification with the college matriculation policy on their
educational expectations.
In summary, this study uses these three methods to analyse
the impact of migrant children’s identification with the college
matriculation policy on their educational expectations and the
associated underlying mechanism.
Results
Correlation analysis
To examine the linear relationship between the observed
continuous variables, Pearson correlations were conducted.
Table 2 provides specific correlations coefficient among the
observed variables. As shown, most of the correlations held in
the expected directions. ICMP, FSC, and IAA were positively
related to the educational expectations of migrant children. In
particular, FSC was the most positively related to educational
expectations (AAE: r=0.75, p<0.01; MPE: r=0.75, p<0.01;
IE: r=0.63, p<0.01; SAE: r=0.67, p<0.01). However, SCS
and PSD were negatively related to the educational expectations
of migrant children. Specifically, PSD was the most negatively
related to educational expectations (AAE: r= −0.73, p<0.01;
MPE: r= −0.76, p<0.01; IE: r= −0.76, p<0.01; SAE: r=
−0.75, p<0.01).
Regression analysis
The impact of migrant children’s identification
with the college matriculation policy on their
educational expectations at the individual level
Regression analysis of an individual academic
achievement and the educational expectations of
migrant children
As seen in Tables 3, 4, individual academic performance had
the most positive predictive effect on IE (β=0.87, p<0.01)
and also had a significant positive predictive effect on AAE
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TABLE 2 Correlation analysis of values.
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)
(1) ICMP 1
(2) IAA 0.37** 1
(3) FSC 0.37** – 1
(4) SCS −0.59** – – 1
(5) PSD −0.71** – – – 1
(6) AAE 0.74** 0.74** 0.75** −0.73** −0.73** 1
(7) MPE 0.68** 0.73** 0.75** −0.73** −0.76** 0.72** 1
(8) IE 0.63** 0.76** 0.63** −0.76** −0.76** 0.89** 0.83** 1
(9) SAE 0.67** 0.71** 0.67** −0.73** −0.75** 0.80** 0.82** 0.80** 1
N=1,770.
AAE, academic achievement expectations; MPE, moral performance expectations; IE, interpersonal expectations; SAE, social achievement expectations.
**p <0.01.
TABLE 3 Regressions results of the eect of demographic and related variables, IAA, FSC, SCS, and PSD on AAE and MPE.
AAE MPE
β(SD) β(SD)
Variables 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
(Constant) 1.17** (0.38) 1.08** (0.38) 5.21** (0.30) 2.01** (0.27) 1.70** (0.40) 1.24** (0.40) 5.79** (0.31) 2.06** (0.27)
Sex 0.00 (0.08) 0.01 (0.08) 0.03 (0.08) 0.03 (0.07) −0.01 (0.08) 0.03 (0.08) −0.01 (0.08) −0.04 (0.08)
Type of household
mobility
−0.01 (0.09) −0.03 (0.09) 0.09 (0.09) 0.06 (0.08) −0.11 (0.09) −0.19 (0.09) −0.01 (0.10) −0.08 (0.09)
Personnel structure 0.23** (0.05) 0.23** (0.05) 0.23** (0.06) 0.16* (0.05) 0.24** (0.06) 0.16** (0.06) 0.24** (0.06) 0.16** (0.05)
Duration of
residence
−0.19** (0.06) −0.17** (0.06) −0.25** (0.06) −0.16* (0.06) −0.25** (0.06) −0.21** (0.06) −0.30** (0.07) −0.20** (0.06)
IAA 0.70** (0.06) 0.69** (0.06)
FSC 0.72** (0.06) 0.68** (0.06)
SCS −0.79** (0.08) −0.78** (0.08)
PSD −0.59** (0.06) −0.59** (0.06)
1R20.60 0.60 0.56 0.59 0.59 0.61 0.57 0.66
F165.34** 167.99** 155.03** 248.14** 166.35** 169.56** 157.32** 256.67**
Standard deviations in the brackets; 1 =a regression model including independent variable IAA and other control variables; 2 =a regression model including independent variable FSC
and other control variables; 3 =a regression model including independent variable SCS and other control variables; 4 =a regression model including independent variable PSD and other
control variables.
* p <0.05, **p <0.01.
(β=0.70, p<0.01), MPE (β=0.69, p<0.01), and SAE (β
=0.65, p<0.01). H1 is supported by the data.
Moderating eect of children’s identification with the
college matriculation policy on the relationship
between individual academic achievement and
educational expectations
As seen in Table 5, the positive predictive effect of ICMP on
IE did not pass the significance test (β=0.10, p>0.05), while
the product term of IAA and ICMP had a significant positive
predictive effect on IE (β=0.17, p<0.01). Other dimensions all
passed the significance test. First, ICMP had a significant positive
predictive effect on AAE (β=0.25, p<0.01), meanwhile, the
product term of IAA and ICMP also had a significant positive
predictive effect on AAE (β=0.13, p<0.01). Second, ICMP
had a significant positive predictive effect on MPE (β=0.19,
p<0.01), and the product term of IAA and ICMP also had a
significant positive effect on MPE (β=0.15, p<0.01). Finally,
ICMP had a significant positive effect on SAE (β=0.15, p
<0.05), and the product term of IAA and ICMP also had a
significant positive effect on SAE (β=0.13, p<0.05). Therefore,
most dimensions of H6a are supported by the data.
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TABLE 4 Regressions results of the eect of demographic and related variables, IAA, FSC, SCS, and PSD on IE and SAE.
IE SAE
β(SD) β(SD)
Variables 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
(Constant) 1.05* (0.44) 0.89* (0.44) 6.25** (0.35) 2.89** (0.30) 1.77** (0.40) 1.64** (0.40) 5.70** (0.31) 2.78** (0.27)
Sex 0.04 (0.09) 0.03 (0.09) 0.04 (0.09) −0.02 (0.83) −0.02 (0.08) −0.03 (0.08) −0.01 (0.08) −0.07 (0.08)
Type of
household
mobility
−0.08 (0.10) −0.10 (0.10) 0.04 (0.11) −0.03 (0.10) −0.10 (0.10) −0.11 (0.09) −0.01 (0.09) −0.04 (0.09)
Personnel
structure
0.30** (0.06) 0.30** (0.06) 0.29** (0.06) 0.13* (0.06) 0.21** (0.06) 0.21** (0.06) 0.20** (0.06) 0.12** (0.05)
Duration of
residence
−0.28** (0.07) −0.24** (0.07) −0.33** (0.07) −0.23** (0.07) −0.24** (0.06) −0.21** (0.06) −0.26** (0.06) −0.21** (0.06)
IAA 0.87** (0.07) 0.65** (0.06)
FSC 0.91** (0.07) 0.68** (0.06)
SCS −0.76** (0.09) −0.80** (0.08)
PSD −0.59** (0.07) −0.59** (0.06)
1R20.63 0.65 0.60 0.64 0.56 0.57 0.55 0.63
F178.71** 183.98** 168.98** 261.23** 157.04** 160.28** 155.38** 220.12**
Standard deviations in the brackets; 1 =a regression model including independent variable IAA and other control variables; 2 =a regression model including independent variable FSC
and other control variables; 3 =a regression model including independent variable SCS and other control variables; 4 =a regression model including independent variable PSD and other
control variables.
* p <0.05, **p <0.01.
TABLE 5 Moderating eect of ICMP on the relationship between IAA and educational expectations.
AAE MPE IE SAE
β(SD) β(SD) β(SD) β(SD)
Variables 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
(Constant) 0.71 (0.38) 0.68 (0.38) 1.35** (0.41) 1.32** (0.40) 0.86 (0.46) 0.83(0.45) 1.49** (0.41) 1.46** (0.41)
Sex 0.07 (0.08) 0.07 (0.08) 0.04 (0.08) 0.04 (0.08) 0.06 (0.09) 0.06 (0.09) 0.02 (0.08) 0.02 (0.08)
Type of
household
mobility
−0.09** (0.09) −0.07 (0.09) −0.17 (0.09) −0.15 (0.09) −0.11 (0.11) −0.09 (0.11) −0.14 (0.10) −0.13 (0.10)
Personnel
structure
0.12 (0.06) 0.11 (−0.56) 0.16** (0.06) 0.15* (0.06) 0.25** (0.07) 0.24** (0.07) 0.15* (0.06) 0.14* (0.06)
Duration of
residence
−0.18** (0.06) −0.20** (0.06) −0.24** (0.06) −0.26** (0.06) −0.28** (0.07) −0.29** (0.07) −0.24** (0.06) −0.25** (0.06)
IAA 0.65** (0.06) 0.65** (0.06) 0.65** (0.06) 0.65** (0.06) 0.85** (0.07) 0.85** (0.07) 0.62** (0.06) 0.62** (0.06)
ICMP 0.25** (0.05) 0.25** (0.05) 0.19** (0.06) 0.20** (0.06) 0.10 (0.06) 0.11 (0.06) 0.15* (0.06) 0.16** (0.06)
IAA*ICMP 0.13** (0.05) 0.15** (0.05) 0.17** (0.06) 0.13* (0.06)
1R20.62 0.63 0.61 0.62 0.64 0.64 0.58 0.58
F163.52** 157.73** 160.60** 155.20** 168.22** 162.35** 150.93** 145.97**
Standard deviations in the brackets; 1 =a regression model including independent variables IAA and ICMP; 2 =a model adds the product term of IAA and ICMP on the basis of model 1.
* p <0.05, **p <0.01.
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The impact of migrant children’s identification
with the college matriculation policy on their
educational expectations at the family level
Regression analysis of family social capital and the
educational expectations of migrant children
As seen in Tables 3, 4, household social capital had the most
positive predictive effect on IE (β=0.91, p<0.01) and also had
a significant positive predictive effect on MPE (β=0.68, p<
0.01), AAE (β=0.72, p<0.01) and SAE (β=0.68, p<0.01).
H2 is supported by the data.
Moderating eect of migrant children’s identification
with the college matriculation policy on the
relationship between family social capital and
educational expectations
As seen in Table 6, the positive predictive effect of ICMP on
IE did not pass the significance test (β=0.10, p>0.05), while
the product term of FSC and ICMP had a significant positive
predictive effect on IE (β=0.18, p<0.05). Other dimensions all
passed the significance test. First, ICMP had a significant positive
predictive effect on AAE (β=0.24, p<0.01), meanwhile, the
product term of FSC and ICMP also had a significant positive
predictive effect on AAE (β=0.14, p<0.01). Second, ICMP
had a significant positive predictive effect on MPE (β=0.18,
p<0.01), and the product term of FSC and ICMP also had a
significant positive effect on MPE (β=0.15, p<0.01). Finally,
ICMP had a significant positive effect on SAE (β=0.14, p
<0.05), and the product term of IAA and ICMP also had a
significant positive effect on SAE (β=0.14, p<0.01). Most
dimensions of H6b are supported by the data.
The impact of migrant children’s identification
with the college matriculation policy on their
educational expectations at the school level
Regression analysis of class segregation in schools and
the educational expectations of migrant children
As seen in Tables 3, 4, class segregation in schools had the
most negative predictive effect on SAE (β= −0.80, p<0.01)
and also had a significant negative predictive effect on AAE (β
= −0.79, p<0.01), MPE (β= −0.78, P<0.01), and SAE (β=
−0.80, p<0.01). H3 is supported by the data.
Moderating eect of migrant children’s identification
with the college matriculation policy on the
relationship between class segregation in schools and
educational expectations
As seen in Table 7, ICMP had a significant positive predictive
effect on MPE (β=0.82, p<0.01), but the positive predictive
effect of the product term of SCS and ICMP on MPE did not pass
the significance test (β=0.07, p>0.05). ICMP had a significant
positive predictive effect on SAE (β=0.72, p<0.01), but the
positive predictive effect of the product term of SCS and ICMP
on SAE did not pass the significance test (β=0.07, p>0.05).
Other dimensions all passed the significance test. ICMP had a
significant positive effect on AAE (β=0.80, p<0.01), and the
product term of SCS and ICMP also had a significant positive
effect on AAE (β=0.15, p<0.01). ICMP had a significant
positive effect on IE (β=0.85, p<0.01), and the product term
of SCS and ICMP also had a significant positive effect on IE (β
=0.22, p<0.01). Half of the dimensions of H6c are supported
by the data.
The impact of migrant children’s identification
with the college matriculation policy on their
educational expectations at the social level
Regression analysis of perceived social discrimination
and the educational expectations of migrant children
As seen in Tables 3, 4, perceived social discrimination had a
significant negative predictive effect on AAE (β= −0.59, p<
0.01), MPE (β= −0.59, p<0.01), IE (β= −0.59, p<0.01), and
SAE (β= −0.59, p<0.01). H4 is supported by the data.
Moderating eect of migrant children’s identification
with the college matriculation policy on the
relationship between perceived social discrimination
and educational expectations
As seen in Table 8, all dimensions passed the significance
test. In particular, ICMP had the most significant positive
predictive effect on AAE (β=0.51, p<0.01) and MPE (β=
0.51, p<0.01). The product term of PSD and ICMP also had a
high positive effect on AAE (β=0.11, p<0.01) and MPE (β
=0.09, p<0.05). In addition, ICMP had a significant positive
effect on IE (β=0.47, p<0.01) and SAE (β=0.47, p<0.01).
And the product term of PSD and ICMP also had a significant
positive effect on IE (β=0.07, p<0.05) and SAE (β=0.03, p
<0.05). Therefore, H6d is supported by the data.
Discussion
With the acceleration of urbanization and the emergence
of a large number of migrant children, the education of
migrant children has received increasing attention in society,
and the educational expectations of migrant children have
become a hot research topic. Relevant studies in China and
abroad have analyzed the educational expectations of migrant
children from different perspectives, such as individual academic
performance (Rutchick et al., 2009), family social capital (Sewell
and Shah, 1968; Yang, 2012), and class segregation in schools
(Minello and Barban, 2012; Wu and Huang, 2017). Neither
domestic nor foreign studies have clearly elucidated the impact
of policy identification on the educational expectations of
migrant children, and it is unknown whether migrant children’s
identification with the college matriculation policy has had a
significant impact on their educational expectations. In this
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TABLE 6 Moderating eect of ICMP on the relationship between FSC and educational expectations.
AAE MPE IE SAE
β(SD) β(SD) β(SD) β(SD)
Variables 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
(Constant) 0.62 (0.38) 0.60 (0.37) 1.24** (0.40) 1.21** (0.40) 0.71 (0.45) 0.68 (0.44) 1.37** (0.41) 1.34** (0.40)
Sex 0.06 (0.08) 0.05 (0.07) 0.03 (0.08) 0.03 (0.08) 0.05 (0.09) 0.04 (0.09) 0.01 (0.08) 0.01 (0.08)
Type of household
mobility
−0.10 (0.09) −0.08 (0.09) −0.19* (0.09) −0.16 (0.09) −0.13 (0.10) −0.11 (0.10) −0.16 (0.09) −0.14 (0.09)
Personnel structure 0.13* (0.06) 0.12* (0.05) 0.16** (0.06) 0.15* (0.06) 0.26** (0.07) 0.25** (0.07) 0.15* (0.06) 0.14* (0.06)
Duration of
residence
−0.16** (0.06) −0.17** (0.06) −0.21** (0.06) −0.23** (0.06) −0.24** (0.07) −0.25 (0.07) −0.21** (0.06) −0.22** (0.06)
FSC 0.67** (0.06) 0.67** (0.06) 0.68** (0.06) 0.68** (0.06) 0.89** (0.07) 0.88** (0.07) 0.65** (0.06) 0.65** (0.06)
ICMP 0.24** (0.05) 0.25** (0.05) 0.18** (0.06) 0.19** (0.06) 0.10 (0.06) 0.11 (0.06) 0.14* (0.06) 0.15** (0.06)
FSC*ICMP 0.14** (0.05) 0.15** (0.05) 0.18* (0.06) 0.14** (0.05)
1R20.63 0.64 0.63 0.64 0.65 0.66 0.58 0.59
F165.98** 160.14** 163.41** 157.98** 172.70** 166.61** 122.28** 148.88**
Standard deviations in the brackets; 1 =a regression model including independent variables FSC and ICMP; 2 =a model adds the product term of FSC and ICMP on the basis of model 1.
* p <0.05, **p <0.01.
TABLE 7 Moderating eect of ICMP on the relationship between SCS and educational expectations.
AAE MPE IE SAE
β(SD) β(SD) β(SD) β(SD)
Variables 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
(Constant) 1.79** (0.32) 1.78** (0.32) 2.22** (0.33) 2.19** (0.33) 2.53** (0.39) 2.49** (0.39) 2.57** (0.35) 2.54** (0.35)
Sex 0.15* (0.06) 0.16* (0.06) 0.15* (0.06) 0.15* (0.06) 0.20** (0.07) 0.21** (0.07) 0.12 (0.07) 0.13 (0.07)
Type of household
mobility
−0.07 (0.07) −0.07 (0.07) −0.18* (0.07) −0.18* (0.07) −0.13 (0.08) −0.13 (0.08) −0.15 (0.08) −0.15* (0.08)
Personnel structure −0.06 (0.04) −0.05 (0.04) −0.05 (0.05) −0.05 (0.05) −0.00 (0.06) 0.00 (0.06) −0.05 (0.07) −0.04 (0.05)
Duration of
residence
−0.11* (0.05) −0.10 (0.05) −0.16** (0.05) −0.15** (0.05) −0.19** (0.06) −0.17** (0.06) −0.14** (0.05) −0.14* (0.05)
SCS −0.42** (0.06) −0.41** (0.06) −0.41** (0.06) −0.40** (0.07) −0.62** (0.08) −0.61** (0.08) −0.47** (0.07) −0.46** (0.07)
ICMP 0.80** (0.05) 0.77** (0.05) 0.82** (0.06) 0.82** (0.06) 0.85** (0.06) 0.85** (0.06) 0.72** (0.06) 0.72** (0.06)
SCS*ICMP 0.15** (0.07) 0.073 (0.07) 0.22** (0.09) 0.07 (0.08)
1R20.76 0.77 0.76 0.77 0.77 0.77 0.71 0.71
F224.40** 308.69** 222.06** 206.91** 223.67** 208.83** 197.11** 184.98**
Standard deviations in the brackets; 1 =a regression model including independent variables SCS and ICMP; 2 =a model adds the product term of SCS and ICMP on the basis of model 1.
*p<0.05, **p<0.01.
study, we selected children in different grades in the most
representative areas as the research samples and explored how
migrant children’s identification with the college matriculation
policy has affected their educational expectations from the
perspective of ecosystem theory.
Previous studies have found that individual academic
performance and family social capital have a significant positive
impact on the educational expectations of migrant children
(Rutchick et al., 2009; Kleinjans, 2010) and that class segregation
in schools has a significant negative impact on the educational
expectations of migrant children (Minello and Barban, 2012;
Wu and Huang, 2017). While this study confirmed those
conclusions, it also found that migrant children’s identification
with the policy indeed played a role. Specifically, for migrant
children who were more able to accept and recognize local
policies, their individual academic performance and family
social capital had a greater positive impact on their educational
expectations, and class segregation in schools had a smaller
negative impact on their educational expectations. Conversely,
for migrant children who were less able to accept and
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TABLE 8 Moderating eect of ICMP on the relationship between PSD and educational expectations.
AAE MPE IE SAE
β(SD) β(SD) β(SD) β(SD)
Variables 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
(Constant) 2.04** (0.32) 2.02** (0.32) 2.01** (0.33) 2.04** (0.34) 2.93** (0.38) 2.91** (0.39) 2.83** (0.36) 2.42** (0.36)
Sex 0.05 (0.06) 0.05 (0.06) 0.02 (0.06) 0.02 (0.06) 0.03 (0.07) 0.04 (0.07) −0.01 (0.07) −0.01 (0.07)
Type of household
mobility
−0.01 (0.07) 0.01 (0.07) −0.13* (0.07) −0.12* (0.07) −0.08 (0.08) −0.05 (0.08) −0.09 (0.08) −0.08 (0.08)
Personnel structure 0.05 (0.04) 0.05 (0.04) 0.08 (0.05) 0.08 (0.05) 0.06 (0.05) 0.05 (0.05) 0.03 (0.05) 0.03 (0.05)
Duration of
residence
−0.01 (0.05) −0.08 (0.05) −0.13* (0.05) −0.13* (0.05) −0.17** (0.06) −0.17** (0.06) −0.14* (0.05) −0.14* (0.05)
PSD −0.47** (0.06) −0.47** (0.06) −0.41** (0.06) −0.41** (0.06) −0.42** (0.07) −0.42** (0.07) −0.49** (0.06) −0.49** (0.06)
ICMP 0.51** (0.06) 0.48** (0.06) 0.51** (0.06) 0.51** (0.06) 0.47** (0.07) 0.48** (0.07) 0.47** (0.06) 0.48** (0.06)
PSD*ICMP 0.11** (0.05) 0.09* (0.05) 0.07* (0.06) 0.03* (0.06)
1R20.73 0.74 0.72 0.72 0.68 0.69 0.73 0.73
F379.95** 372.76** 273.32** 266.36** 266.00** 260.47** 220.39** 218.19**
Standard deviations in the brackets; 1 =a regression model including independent variables PSD and ICMP; 2 =a model adds the product term of PSD and ICMP on the basis of model 1.
* p <0.05, **p <0.01.
recognize local policies, the positive impact of their individual
academic performance and family social capital on their
educational expectations was smaller, and the negative impact
of class segregation in schools on their educational expectations
was greater.
In addition, empirical studies on the impact of perceived
discrimination on migrant children rarely involve educational
expectations but rather focus on psychological status (Berkel
et al., 2010), cultural adaptation (Berry et al., 2006), or
social integration (Zhang et al., 2016). However, the research
conclusions from those studies effectively support the research
conclusions of this study. In this study, perceived social
discrimination had a significant negative impact on the
educational expectations of migrant children. Additionally,
this study found that under the moderating effect of policy
identification, for migrant children who were more able to
accept and recognize the local college entrance examination
policy, perceived social discrimination had a less negative impact
on their educational expectations.
This study further analyses the mechanism by which policy
identification impacts the educational expectations of migrant
children, a topic that has very important practical relevance
for policy implementation and reform. Based on the results
of the analysis, policy identification plays a role through
the following three mechanisms. The first is a compensation
mechanism through the “principle of justice”. To reflect
the differential compensation of social public policies, some
provinces have implemented relatively flexible high school and
college entrance examination policies for migrant children,
undoubtedly providing education opportunities, education
fairness, and cultural capital for migrant children and promoting
the establishment of positive education expectations. The second
is a cultural mechanism driven by “promoting learning through
examinations”. Selective examinations have powerful functions
of “promoting learning through examinations” and can increase
the enthusiasm for learning for thousands of young people.
The third is an institutional mechanism through “urban–rural
integration”. The relatively flexible entrance examination policy
for migrant children not only facilitates the “urbanization” of
migrant children but also provides the impetus for them to
obtain higher human capital. In summary, disadvantaged lower-
class children are more susceptible to positive psychological
cues. If they receive effective support through mainstream social
public policies, develop positive educational expectations and
receive high-level education, social mobility is possible.
The research findings should be interpreted with caution.
First, the paper focuses on the application of quantitative
research methods, with less focus on the accumulation and
analysis of qualitative interview data. The next step is to continue
to collect and analyze relevant data. Second, due to the limitation
of the experimental design, the consideration of possible
influential variables in this paper are not comprehensive,
such as the impact effects from students’ grade and sex. We
will include these factors in our next research. Third, the
sample size needs to be expanded. In our next study, we
want to use national survey platforms, such as the CEPS
(China Education Panel Survey) and CFPS (China Family
Panel Studies), to embed scales for the college entrance
examination policy for migrant children to conduct research
on a larger scale. Finally, the researchers established stable
relationships with the existing survey subjects and hope to
conduct a follow-up survey to further analyse whether the
college matriculation policy for migrant children and their
educational expectations ultimately affect the acquisition of
education, the accumulation of cultural capital accumulation,
and an increase in social status.
Frontiers in Psychology 12 frontiersin.org
Xu and Lv 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.963216
Data availability statement
The data supporting the findings of this study
are available from the corresponding author upon
reasonable request.
Ethics statement
This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics
Committee of Qingdao University. Written informed
consent for participation was not required for this
study in accordance with the national legislation and the
institutional requirements.
Author contributions
JX: data processing and manuscript writing. CL: research
design, data collection, and modeling. Both authors contributed
to the article and approved the submitted version.
Funding
This study was supported by National Social Science
Foundation (Education) Project (BIA190164) - Study on
the Coupling Relationship Between the Extension of Local
Universities to County Schools and Rural Revitalization.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the
absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could
be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the
authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated
organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the
reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or
claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed
or endorsed by the publisher.
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