ABSTRACT
Studying hard and achieving school success are greatly appreciated by parents in Zong since they are considered the most important channel for upward social mobility. For rural parents in Zong who have internalized these values, studying hard to prepare for examinations is seen as the best way to help their children achieve their goals and permanently break away from their rural roots. However, research has shown that social class influences a child's school success. Students' hard work and intelligence are not always powerful predictors of their educational achievement. Parents in Zong try to influence their children's schooling and create advantages for them in school success through engagement in their children's learning process. The differences in parents' ability to activate interpersonal social networks, however, results in unequal access to social capital in various forms. This differential access to social capital brings varying consequences, both intended and unintended, for children from different social backgrounds.
