In Search of the Confucian Family

Abstract

This article presents findings from interviews with 16 middle school students and their parents in Guangzhou, China, about parent-adolescent relationships. Themes revealed from the conversations suggested that adolescents were generally pleased with the good relationships with their parents, that they enjoyed the respect their parents had for them as their parents tended to use peaceful reasoning to communicate parental expectations, and that they themselves cared a lot about academic attainment because it would lead to good jobs in the future. In addition, working-class parents expressed a sense of inadequacy while holding on to the high hopes and expectations for their children, whereas middle-class parents and parents who had middle-class experiences either in their occupation or in their education tried to raise well-rounded children apart from emphasis on academic achievement. In sum, these parents and adolescents represented a generation that was influenced by a myriad of social forces in modern China, including Confucianism, Socialism, and Capitalism, instead of simply and solely by classical Confucianism. In other words, Confucianism, along with the lifestyle that supported it, was far less salient than assumed in a lot of research on Chinese families and parent-child relationships.

Delving Into the Minds of Chinese Parents: What Beliefs Motivate Their Learning‐Related Practices?

“…In another study, Chinese parents of low socioeconomic status in the United States read to their children less frequently than did their middle-class counterparts, despite feeling a stronger sense of responsibility for teaching children (Yamamoto, Li, & Liu, 2016). Disadvantaged Chinese parents' direct involvement typically takes the form of conveying the importance of learning and achievement (Li et al, 2008;Wang, 2014). Although such academic socialization declines in Mainland China as children progress from elementary to high school, this decline is slower than the decline in homework assistance (Wei et al, 2019).…”

“…They demand perfection in their children's grades, so a grade of A-is mockingly called an Asian F, according to Chinese American adolescents and young adults (Li, Holloway, Bempechat, & Loh, 2008;Zhou & Lee, 2017). Even in first grade, Chinese parents convey higher expectations about children's grades than do (non-Asian) American parents (Ng, Sze, Tamis-LeMonda, & Ruble, 2017; see also Wang, 2014). Many Chinese parents communicate a rigid success framework for their adolescents' educational and career aspirations, specifying the number of years of schooling, colleges, and occupations deemed desirable, if not acceptable (Wang, 2014;Zhou & Lee, 2017).…”

“…Even in first grade, Chinese parents convey higher expectations about children's grades than do (non-Asian) American parents (Ng, Sze, Tamis-LeMonda, & Ruble, 2017; see also Wang, 2014). Many Chinese parents communicate a rigid success framework for their adolescents' educational and career aspirations, specifying the number of years of schooling, colleges, and occupations deemed desirable, if not acceptable (Wang, 2014;Zhou & Lee, 2017). Within this framework, Chinese parents tend to give more autonomy to girls than to boys, likely because they rely more on their sons than on their daughters for support in old age (Chi & Rao, 2003).…”

“…During adolescence, parents in Mainland China are more involved in children's learning than European American parents in the United States, albeit in a more controlling way (Cheung & Pomerantz, 2011). However, in both countries, Chinese parents from more disadvantaged backgrounds often cannot assist adolescents academically because of the parents' inflexible work schedules as well as limited education, knowledge about the school system, and in the United States, English proficiency (Li et al, 2008;Wang, 2014). In a nationally representative study of US youth, 45% of Chinese American adolescents indicated that their parents never helped with homework and 58% reported that their parents never attended a school event, compared to 18 and 30% among European Americans (Pearce & Lin, 2007).…”

Differentiating Ideals versus Practices in the Discussion of Confucian Influences on Chinese Parent–Child Relationships

“…As such, parents' conceptualization of filial piety is likely to change with time. Take families with adolescent children for example, parents and adolescents tend to value mutual respect, good communication, and warm relationships, without concerning too much about propriety (Wang, 2014). Moreover, ordinary parents in contemporary China cannot and will not expect their children to be dependent upon the family estate, and in fact want their adolescent children to be independent and competitive in the modern economy (Fong, 2007).…”