Volition or coercion?—the role of socio-psychological factors in the stratification pathways of Chinese university students

Abstract

The existing literature on educational and social attainment has largely overlooked the role and interaction of social-psychological factors at the individual level. To address this gap, this study employs in-depth qualitative interviews (N = 45) to explore how such factors shape the academic and career trajectories of Chinese university students. Anchored in a social-psychological perspective, the research identifies six core thematic drivers: parental educational conceptions, individual educational and occupational aspirations, self-reflection practices, socially informed behavioral expectations, self-concept development, and peer influence dynamics. Building on these findings, the study develops a context-sensitive analytical framework that illustrates how established social-psychological mechanisms of status attainment operate within contemporary Chinese higher education system. Rather than proposing new social-psychological constructs, the study demonstrates how parental expectations, aspirations, self-concept, reflective practices, and peer influence interact with institutional features such as the Gaokao, rural–urban disparities, and changing labour-market conditions across different stages of educational and career attainment. In doing so, the study provides a qualitative refinement of the Wisconsin Model by specifying how its established mechanisms are configured within the contemporary Chinese context.