Staying afloat via guanxi : student networks, social capital and inequality in Chinese adult higher education

Guan, Shanshan; James, Fiona

Abstract

This study illuminates students’ purposive cultivation of guanxi, or social networks based on continuous exchange of resources, in the context of China’s Adult Higher Education (HE) system. Interviews with 30 students reveal the motivations underpinning their creation of informal ties amongst peers, which they consider to procure beneficial resources for the present and long-term. They deem guanxi with peers to compensate for the isolation they experience. Such experiences, taken in the context of a competitive HE and graduate employment landscape, are then related to social capital. The marriage of the concepts guanxi and social capital is also discussed in light of our analysis.

Citation

Guan, S., & James, F. (2020). Staying afloat via guanxi : student networks, social capital and inequality in Chinese adult higher education. British journal of educational studies, 68(3), 349-364. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2019.1618788

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 9, 2019
• Online Publication Date: May 27, 2019
• Publication Date: May 3, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jun 3, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 28, 2020
• Journal: British Journal of Educational Studies
• Print ISSN: 0007-1005
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 68
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 349-364
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2019.1618788
• Keywords: Mature students; China; Higher education; Guanxi; Social capital
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/1929089
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=rbje20; Published: 2019-05-27
• Contract Date: Jun 3, 2019