Gender & Equity in Chinas Education System

Prashant Loyalka May Maani China Institute for Educational Finance Research (CIEFR) Peking University 2012.2.27
The views expressed in this paper are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.

Outline
Brief background & literature review National trends in gender & education Variation across provinces

Gender sorting along the education/STEM pipeline: case study from northwest China

Background
Traditional vs. Marxist Values: Traditional: woman as wife and mother; marry out Marxist: women and men have equal rights Legislative equality (1949): Women hold up half the sky Economic Reform Policies (late 1970s): More opportunities for social and economic development Females more vulnerable to labor market discrimination, as gradually no state job assignments

One Child Policy & Demographic Changes

One Child Policy (1979) increased prenatal sex selection
(Ebenstein, 2008)

Tighter fertility control = higher sex ratio (biased against girls) Sex ratio: Highest for 1st births & 2nd births following daughters 2005: # boy births = # girl births + 1.1 million (Zhu, 2008)

In 2012, male-female ratio at birth was 1.13: 1 (vs. 1.06:1) Keep in mind when examining female student enrollment data

Literature: gender & educational attainment

Interest in the topic in the 1990s & early 2000s 1990s: Rural girls had low enrollment & graduation rates
(Connelly & Zheng, 2002; Hannum, 2003)

Enrollment gaps closed: esp. in HE by 2005

Slight gap: transition from high school to HE (Wu & Zhang, 2010)

Studies on gender and educational achievement

One District in Beijing (1999-2002):
Girls scores higher in grades 1-9 Boys catch up (Lai, 2009)

Rural Gansu: Gender gaps?

Parents invest similarly School grades similar Some traditional attitudes: Chores ROR to males vs. females (Hannum et al., 2009)

Studies on gender and educational achievement: Shanghai PISA 2009

National Trends & Provincial Variation

Primary School & Junior Secondary School (% of females)

Primary School
50 40 30 20 10 0 50 40

Junior Secondary School

Schools Age cohort

30 20 10 0

2000

2005

2010

2003

2005

2010

Proportion of females in school greater than proportion of females in age group: Male repeaters > female repeaters: 42% of repeaters in primary school 39% of repeaters in junior secondary school Female students are less likely to drop out of school (Loyalka et al., 2012)

Senior Secondary School (%): - Vocational and Regular Vocational

50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 2000 2006 2010 50 45 Schools 40 35 SWS 30 25 20 Age cohort 15 10 5 0 2003 2006 2010

Regular

Increasing female proportions in senior secondary school:

More males discontinue schooling past junior secondary level

Relatively higher ROR for males attending vocational school or in labor force Higher proportion of males in Skilled Worker Schools (SWS)

Higher Education Institutes (%): - Vocational and Regular Vocational College

55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 2004 2007 2010 50 45 40 Schools 35 30 25 Age cohort 20 15 10 5 0 2004 2007 2010

Regular College

Females more likely than males to attend tertiary education Females in vocational colleges: above 50% -- possibly because fewer females go to expensive private 4-yr HEIs (Loyalka, 2009).

Kindergarten/Pre-School
% of Females in School 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
2000 2003 2005 2007 2010

Schools
Age cohort*

% of Females in Graduate Programs

70
60 50 40 Masters 30 20 10 0 PhDs

U.S. 2000

U.S. 2010

China 2004

China 2010

Variation across Provinces:

% Female in Grades 1-12 (academic track)
50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 Per Capita Gross Regional Product (Yuan)

Primary School (%) Middle School (%)

Variation across Provinces: % Female in Higher Education

55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 70000 Per Capita Gross Regional Product (Yuan)

HEIs (%)

What the Big Picture Tells Us

National trends about gender & education are positive:
Female enrollment ratios are high Female achievement levels are high:
Girls in Beijing score better up till age 15. Same in Shanghai. Girls in rural Gansu perform similarly to males

Unexplored area: gender & STEM education after JHS

Why do we care?
China produces ~11 times more BA engineering graduates as the US each year (Carnoy et al., 2012). Thus gender disparities in STEM in China would affect international community of scientists and engineers.

Gender & STEM Education in China

Issue: The Post-JHS Education Pipeline

Student choices/tracking after JHS Choices unidirectional & irreversible Females sorted into & away from STEM along this pipeline
Repeat College Entrance Exam

High School Entrance Exam (HSEE/Zhongkao)

Different Levels of Academic High School (Key, County-Level, Township-Level)

Different Levels of Vocational High School

Grades 1-3 tracking: Fast / Regular

Grade 2 Choice:

Science track

Humanities track Vocational College Entrance Exam

College Entrance Exam Science Exam Humanities Exam

College Choice Form

Admissions Process

1st, 2nd,and 3rd Tier Colleges (4-year degrees)

4th Tier Colleges (3-year degrees)

Case Study: One NW Region in China

Use administrative student-level data
Track students from high school entrance exam (HSEE) to college admissions Basic background info, scores, college-majors Entire region
(developed City Y vs. less developed Cities G&W)

From 2001 to 2010 (over course of HE expansion)

At the Start of the Pipeline:

HSEE scores in City Y

At the Start of the Pipeline:

HSEE scores in Cities G & W

Key High School Attendance

2010 Non-Poor 48% 51% 51% Poor 49% 47% 47%

Total Population High School Attendees Key High School Attendees

Proportion of Females in each CEE Track

80% 70% 60% 50%

40%
30% 20% 10% 0%

Humanities Science

2002

2001

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

So as the % of females in HE has increased over time, more have gone into the humanities vs. science track.

2010

Slope Estimates (Science Track Gaokao as DV)

Coefficient of female
.4 -.1
0

.1

.2

.3

.2

.4

.6

.8

Quantile
Quantile slope coefficient Upper 95% bs confidence band Lower 95% bs confidence band

Quantile regression of Science-Track CEE score on female (above) and other background covariates.

% of Females in Elite HEIs vs. other Bachelors programs (Science Track)

50% 45%

211 Elites

40% 35% 30% 25%

non-211 (Bachelors) elite 211+985

2002

2004

2001

2003

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

50% 45% 40%

985 Elites

35% 30% 25% 20%

2010

non-985 (Bachelors)
elite 985

2001

2007

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2008

2009

2010

% Females in Selected Engineering Majors (Bachelor's Programs) 80% 70% 60% 50% 40%

30% 20%
10% 0%

2001 2010

Implications of the Science vs. Humanities Track Choice

What are the causal impacts of choosing the science vs. the humanities track on students chances of getting into college & selective colleges? IV analyses

Finding: (1) Choosing the science track increases female students chances of going to 4-yr. HEIs & or any (3 or 4-yr.) college by 20-25%.

Conclusions (1)
Female-male birth ratio is lopsided (self-selection) Female enrollment ratios risen and high in all education levels (except doctoral education) Stats on inter-provincial variation sparse, but likely not much variation now Females overall achievement is comparable to males, at least in urban areas, and close in rural areas.

Conclusions (2)
Gender and the STEM education pipeline 1) Females score as well in math/science in urban areas (except at the upper end of the score distribution) and somewhat less well in rural areas 2) A highly disproportionate number of females choose the humanities over science track 3) Choosing humanities reduces females likelihood of gaining admission to HE 4) (Self-selected) females do as well as males on the science-track CEE, except at the upper end 5) Females in the science track are underrepresented in elite colleges, private colleges, and in likely in graduate programs 6) Females are less represented in most engineering majors High school: a key area to encourage girls to do well in and pursue STEM in China