Exploring Pathways to Enhance Access to Quality Online Music Education in China: A Sociological Analysis Considering Socioeconomic Status Constraints

Author’s Names and Affiliations
Ruiting Yuan
The Education University of Hong Kong
Department of Culture and Creative Arts, The Education University of Hong Kong.

Abstract

The study examines how SES restricts rural Chinese students' access to quality music education and explores the mitigating role of online practices, focusing on rural Hebei. Based on a 2021 Xingtai rural school observation-in which students used hand-slapping instead of the scarce melodicas-this chapter applies Bourdieu's Cultural Capital Theory to identify SES inequality. Macro data confirms there is a national rural crisis: Hebei's 2021-2022 rural per capita disposable income was 19,400 yuan; art education made up less than 0.3% of education spending, while rural music funds were 0.8% of the basic education budgets, below the 1.5% national rural average. Using a mixed-methods approach, quantitative analysis of national and provincial data indicates that only 35.6% of the income of Hebei rural households went into developmental consumption in 2023. Qualitative data include 30 interviews with students and reports, showing three capital constraints: economic, cultural, and institutional ("triple capital" constraints): no instruments or internet to enable practice; parental attitudes of "music is useless "; and unqualified teachers, poor infrastructure. Findings: SES creates a "triple capital chain reaction"; online education does ease the institutional gaps (like shortages of teachers), but not economic/cultural ones. It contributes by extending Bourdieu's theory to music education and proposes a "triple capital synergy" solution.

Keywords socioeconomic status (SES); rural music education; online education; digital divide; Cultural Capital Theory; educational equity

Article Type: Open Access

Full Text: PDF