Education and inequality: education and equality

Abstract

Education is an arena of social action that is often analysed in relation to social inequality. The literature on education in China has accurately portrayed the grave inequities of access to education that exist between urban and rural areas, between wealthier and poorer provinces, between the children of migrant workers and those of urban citizens, between the majority ethnic Han and various minority ethnic groups, and between rural boys and girls (see, for example, Postiglione 1999 ; Rong and Shi 2001 ; T. M. Fu 2005 ; Murphy 2006 , 2007 ; Davis et al . 2007 ; H. Yang 2007 ; Kipnis and Li 2010 ; also see Solinger in this volume). This chapter adheres to the same general topic, but takes a different direction. It focuses on daily practices within schools rather than access to schools and depicts both equality and inequality. Building on the theoretical insights of two anthropologists, Victor Turner and Louis Dumont, it examines how equality and inequality in human relationships are framed, imagined and negotiated in school life.