Outsourced concerted cultivation: International schooling and educational consulting in China

This article examines the strategies of a ‘new rich’ class in China to transmit advantages to their children through admission into highly ranked overseas universities. In-depth interviews were conducted with parents (n = 16) and students (n = 60) at international high schools that cater to the local population in Shenzhen. The findings demonstrate how ‘new rich’ parents, who lacked knowledge or experience with international higher education, sought to convert their newly acquired wealth into cultural competencies for their children’s overseas university applications. Specifically, the parents were shown to ‘outsource’ concerted cultivation to international schools and educational consultants as presumed experts. The research implications are discussed regarding (1) the significance of economic resources to ‘purchase’ concerted cultivation in education markets, (2) how ‘outsourcing’ concerted cultivation did not spare the parents heightened anxiety about their children’s education, and (3) the consequences of ‘over-involvement’ in students’ university application for equity and fairness in international higher education. Copyright © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.