私立學校或明星國中？社會階級如何形塑家長之學校選擇

Abstract

在代間流動的研究中，子女的教育取得往往被視為是父母傳遞自身社經地位優勢的關鍵環節。於是，來自什麼樣家庭背景的學生，傾向於進入什麼樣的學校就讀，受到許多研究關注。然而，相比於頂尖大學與明星高中的學生組成因為以升學考試為主的高度篩選而受到較多檢視，以居住區域為篩選而使得錄取與否更加取決於家庭背景的公立明星國中，其學生組成卻反而較少被討論。本研究使用臺灣教育長期追蹤資料庫中近兩萬名的學生樣本，探討在國小升國中的階段，家長的社會階級如何影響子女就讀的學校類型。援引Bourdieu的理論，本研究提出在由經濟資本與文化資本之相加總量與相對比例所建構的社會空間中，家長的位置會形塑其在選擇學校時的偏好與策略。研究發現，經濟資本與文化資本可能分別導向兩種不同的教養實作模式，進而導致相較於高經濟資本但文化資本較低的家長傾向於選擇私立學校，高文化資本的家長不論其經濟資本高低均更傾向於選擇公立明星國中。此一發現延伸了過往將經濟資本與文化資本擇一或合併成為社經地位指標的評估方式，指出這兩種資本可能有著不同的影響方向與路徑，從而貢獻於社會階級再生產之教育實證研究。In research on intergenerational mobility, children's educational attainment is often regarded as a key mechanism through which parents transmit their socioeconomic advantages. Consequently, much attention has been given to understanding the types of schools students from various family backgrounds tend to attend. However, while many studies focus on the composition of students at elite universities and prestigious high schools, which are shaped largely by highly selective entrance exams, relatively little attention has been paid to prestigiouspublic middle schools, where admission is primarily determined by residence and thus closely tied to family background. Using data from the Taiwan Education Panel Survey, this study examines how parents' social class influences the types of middle schools their children attend. Drawing on Bourdieu's theory, the study posits that parents' school choices are shaped by their positions within a social space—defined by the total amount and relative proportions of economic and cultural capital. The findings reveal that economic and cultural capital correspond to distinct modes of parenting practices, which in turn influence school choice preferences: parents with high economic capital but lower cultural capital tend to favor private schools, whereas parents with high cultural capital—regardless of their economic capital—are more inclined to choose prestigious public schools. These findings challenge traditional evaluations of socioeconomic status that often consider economic and cultural capital either separately or as a combined measure, demonstrating instead that these forms of capital may operate through distinct mechanisms. By uncovering these divergent pathways, this study contributes to empirical research on social class reproduction in education.