Viewing the Inequality of Education in China and France from Bourdieu’s Theory of Cultural Reproduction

In recent years, the Chinese mainland has conducted in-depth discussions and reflections on the topic of “A humble family brings forth a noble son” and “It is harder for a humble family to have a noble son”. Some data may be more telling. In 2010, Tsinghua University freshmen accounted for only 17% of the rural areas, while the proportion of rural candidates in the college entrance examination reached 62%; In 2012, a teacher posted a message online, “I have been a teacher for 15 years and I want to tell you that nowadays it is more and more hard for a humble family to have a noble son! The children with good grades are more and more inclined to wealthy families”. Then, after insisting on the saying that “A humble family brings forth a noble son” for so many years, why do some researchers or some teachers begin to reflect and conclude that “It is harder for a humble family to have a noble son?” What are the worrying factors behind this? Bourdieu’s theory of cultural reproduction may provide us with some theoretical support. This article starts from the research question of “Why is it harder for a humble family to have a noble son?”, and then explores Bourdieu’s theory of cultural reproduction.

Xiaofei Han, a second-year PhD student of the Institute of International and Comparative Education, Beijing Normal University, majoring in comparative education. The research fields are comparative education, French higher education, etc. The current research subject is the development of comparative education in France, the status of French educational aid.