ABSTRACT
This chapter is dedicated to giving voice to how rural parents speak about what it means to be 'rural'. Their voices echo much of the discourse of modernization, focus on the individual, and the importance of suzhi. Through hearing the voices of rural parents one can better understand their habitus as they engage in the different fields of the home, school, and in the community to support their children's education. This chapter presents six families, the Hu family, Lu Family, Zhu family, Yao family, Qi family, and Wu family to illustrate how prior experiences and rural life influences parental habitus. Rural parents see the world from their social position. Their lives, as rural residents and rural parents, shape the role they play in their children's schooling. Rural parents noted that having limited parental education shapes the way rural parents assess the types of interactions and involvement they have with teachers.
