In their newly published article "Taking it slower: how Chinese middle-class parents negotiate a new time perspective in alternative education", Wanru Xu and Bram Spruyt examine how Chinese middle-class parents, dissatisfied with the competitive mainstream education system, adopt alternative educational pathways for their children. Drawing on interviews with 45 parents and on-site observations in Dali, China, the study explores the concept of "taking it slower" — a time perspective that challenges the dominant culture of urgency, acceleration, and efficiency in Chinese education.
The authors show how this new time perspective reflects Chinese parents' willingness to reset priorities for their children’s development at different stages. It also reveals the co-existence of a long-term vision and a living-in-the-present mentality in middle-class parents’ childrearing strategies. By highlighting the intricate relationship between time, class, and childrearing strategies, this research contributes to a better understanding of educational inequality and middle-class parenting in contemporary China.
The article is available here.
Citation:
Xu, W., & Spruyt, B. (2025). ‘Taking it slower’: How Chinese middle-class parents negotiate a new time perspective in alternative education. British Journal of Sociology of Education. DOI: 10.1080/01425692.2025.2482076
