西方中产阶级家长的教育焦虑及其应对

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Abstract Under the neoliberalism wave, competitive market-based rules have been introduced in education, such that competitiveness reinforces parents’ responsibility for education and creates educational anxiety. To responsibly contribute to the academic success of their children, middle-class parents act as “consumers” and “entrepreneurs”, choosing schools, investing in education and running businesses rationally. They also play the role of educational monitors, actively intervening in school and social education for the maximum benefit of their children. Besides, they have launched social movements of various scales to counter the impact of neoliberalism. Middle-class parents’ responses are informed by the neoliberal market logic of competitiveness, utilitarianism, risk management and self-responsibility. These actions merely take responsibility for the individual, failing to alleviate the class divide in students’ academic achievement and instead contributing to the legitimisation of the reproduction of educational inequality, further undermining the public nature of education. Drawing on Habermas’s concepts of “communicative rationality” and “deliberative democracy”, a more communally engaged parental action should shift towards “public responsibility”, which implies not only the full participation of middle-class parents in the negotiation of public affairs, but also a commitment to a broader “social ethic”, a deeper understanding of the social context and interests of others, as well as mutual respect and concern.

Key words： educational anxiety middle-class western parents parental activism neoliberalism

Received: 10 December 2024

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	SHAO Ying
	WANG Xi

Cite this article:

SHAO Ying,WANG Xi. The Educational Anxiety and Coping Strategies of Western Middle-Class Parents[J]. , 2026, 43(1): 34-46.

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https://xb.szu.edu.cn/EN/ OR https://xb.szu.edu.cn/EN/Y2026/V43/I1/34

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