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3. Analysis of the field survey findings

3.1 Changes in women's formal education
3.2 Adult education for woman
3.3 The impact of economic development on rural women's occupational structure
3.4 The impact of economic development on rural women's income
3.5 Changes in the marriage situation
3.6 Home relocation
3.7 Childbirth, family planning, and mother and child health care
3.8 Family structure
3.9 Family relationships
3.10 Intergenerational relations of elderly women
3.11 Leisure time
3.12 Changes in women's value concepts, aspirations, and ideals

The following research findings are mainly based on the life-history study of 888 elderly, middle-aged, and young women through questionnaires; the time allocation study of 40 elderly, middle-aged, and young women and 10 men; and informal discussions and special interviews with some women, all from the two field locations.

The three age cohorts are categorized as follows: the elderly cohort comprises women between 55 and 65 years of age' the middle age cohort between 35 and 45, and the young cohort between 17 and 27.

The analysis of the field survey findings focuses on the impact of social changes and economic development on rural women's education, occupation, marriage, family life, thinking, concepts, etc.

3.1 Changes in women's formal education

3.1.1 Decline of illiteracy and extension of educational coverage

Since the women of the three age cohorts received their education in different historical periods characterized by varying degrees of social changes and economic development, the percentages of illiterates and the number of educated persons vary considerably (table 3.1).

Women in the elderly cohort received their education in the 1930s and 1940s, before the birth of New China. At that time, China was fighting a war of resistance against Japanese invaders (1937-1945), and the overwhelming majority of the rural population did not have enough food or clothing. Thus, 79.9% of the women in this cohort are illiterate; only 20.1% have had some education.

Table 3.1 Educational levels of women by age cohort in Hengtang Township, Jiangsu Province, and Jiahong Township, Sichuan Province

The schooling period of women in the middle-age cohort was in the 1950s and 1960s, after New China was founded and land reform was completed. The farmers had received their share of land, and their economic status had drastically changed. With the popularization of primary education and equal access to education for both sexes in the rural areas, the illiteracy rate among the middle-aged women dropped to 11.8% and the number of the educated went up to 88.2%.

Women in the young cohort received their schooling in the 1970s and 1980s. Naturally, illiterates are few, making up only 0.5% of the total. The rest are educated.

Table 3.2 Ages on entering school, leaving school, and beginning participation in productive labour

Av = average age. Min = minimum age. Max = maximum age. SD = standard difference.

3.1.2 Ages of starting and leaving school

As a result of economic and cultural development, women of the middle-age and young cohorts were able to start school at a slightly younger age than the elderly cohort, and those leaving school were older too (table 3.2).

The average age of women of the elderly cohort when they started school was 8.6 years. The corresponding figures for the middle-age and young cohorts were 8.5 and 7.6 respectively.

The average age of women in the elderly cohort when they left school was 11.4. The corresponding figures for the middle-age and young cohorts were 13.1 and 14.1 respectively.

Table 3.3 Reasons for not entering school

3.1.3 Causes of illiteracy and dropping out of school

Among the illiterate women in the elderly cohort, 67.7% never had any access to schooling because their families were too poor or were short of labour power, and 30.8% missed their schooling because of the feudal view of women as inferior and unworthy of receiving education.

In the middle-age cohort, 82.8% of the illiterates were shut out from school because of financial difficulties or shortage of labour power in the family, while 13.8% were victims of feudal ideas. Here, the percentage of 82.8 is higher than that in the elderly cohort for a special reason. At the time the majority of the middle-age cohort were in school, land reform had just begun and a number of poor families were not yet able to send their daughters to school because they were needed for doing farm work at home. However, illiteracy caused by the influence of feudal ideas was curtailed as a result of the land reform campaign. (Table 3.3 shows the data broken down for the two townships.)

Table 3.4 Reasons for dropping out of school

The following are the main reasons why women dropped out of school: In the elderly cohort, 61.2% dropped out because of financial difficulties or shortage of labour power in the family and 12.2% because of the feudal idea of male superiority. In the middle-age cohort, 59.2% dropped out because of financial difficulties or shortage of labour power in the family and 2.3% because of the idea of male superiority. In the young cohort, 50.9% dropped out because they could not catch up with the rest of the class or failed in the entrance examinations for higher schools, 35% because of financial difficulties or shortage of labour power in the family, and 1% because of the idea of male superiority. (Compare table 3.4)

The above figures show notable changes in the young cohort. Economic factors such as financial difficulties and shortage of labour power in the family have been replaced as the main reasons for dropping out of school by intellectual reasons such as falling behind in studies or failure in entrance examinations. And the idea of male superiority is given as the reason for dropping out in only 1% of the cases. Further investigation into the intellectual reasons in both Hengtang and Jiahong reveals, however, that female schoolchildren do much more housework than boys after school. The girls cut and collect green fodder, look after young siblings, and help with cooking and washing. The heavy work load at home adversely affects their studies and marks. Thus, in spite of the fact that a high percentage of girls now go to school, their parents still make a difference between a son and a daughter in matters concerning studies and household duties, something which clearly reflects vestiges of the feudal discrimination against women.

3.1.4 Duration of schooling and the educational structure among women

The average duration of schooling in the elderly cohort was 0.6 year. Most of these women had only one or two years of schooling under old-style private tutors or in public primary schools, and few received secondary education.

The average duration of schooling in the middle-age cohort was 4.1 years. Among these women, 77.9% had 1-6 years of primary education, 8.6% went on to receive 1-3 years of junior middle school education, and 1.6% had 1-3 years of senior middle school education in addition.

The average duration of schooling in the young cohort was 6.6 years. Among them 38.3% had 1-6 years of primary education, 55.9% went on to get 1-3 years of junior middle school education, and 5.4% had 1-3 years of senior middle school education in addition.

Table 3.5 Average educational levels of wives and husbands

It is worth pointing out here that for girl students to drop out of school is quite common, whether they are in primary school, junior middle school, or senior school. In almost every grade, some girl students drop out.

3.1.5 Women's and men's educational levels

The average educational level of women is lower than that of their husbands, but the gap between them is gradually narrowing. Table 3.5 compares the average duration of schooling of women and their husbands among the three age cohorts. There is a difference of 2.4 years in the schooling time of wife and husband in the elderly cohort, a difference of 2.1 years in the middle-age cohort, and a difference of only 0.9 year in the young cohort.

3.1.6 Lowering of the educational level among young women

An in-depth survey among 399 women in the young cohort in the two field locations reveals that at the time of the survey all of them had stopped going to school and joined the labour force. Their educational standards were on the decline.

In a follow-up survey, these young women were further subdivided into two age groups. We can see from the upper section of table 3.6 that the average length of schooling among those in the 17-21-year group was 0.5 year less than of those in the 22-27-year group. In the younger group 12.5% more of the women had 1-6 years of primary school education, but 8.4% fewer had 7-9 years of school and 4.2% fewer had 10-12 years of school.

To examine the reasons for this decline in the educational level of the young women, we made a further comparison between those in Hengtang and those in Jiahong (see the lower sections of the table).

Table 3.6 Educational levels of young women by age group

In Hengtang the average length of schooling for the younger group was 0.7 year less than for the older group. In the younger group the number of women with 1-6 years of education was 14.1% higher than in the older group, but 10.3% fewer had 7-9 years of education and 3.6% fewer had 10-12 years.

In Jiahong, though the two age groups had the same average years of schooling, the tendency to a decline in educational level exists in both groups. The percentage of women with 1-6 years of school in the younger group was 10.4% higher than in the older group, but the percentage of women with 7-9 years was lower by 4.6% and that of women with 10-12 years was lower by 3.5%.

Since the implementation of the rural economic reforms, the rural economy has developed rapidly, farmers' income has increased, and their living standards have generally improved. And yet the educational level of young women is obviously on the decline, and the trend is the same even in areas that are in different developmental stages. This problem should be tackled in all seriousness. The main reasons for the decline are as follows:

1. Implementation of the rural economic reforms has effectively boosted the farmers' enthusiasm, and the life tempo in the rural areas is faster than ever. The adults are busy with their work, and in some families the young girls are burdened with housework and have no time to do homework. As a result, they are losing interest in studies and many middle-school girl students have begun to drop out of school.

2. The ups and downs in rural development before 1979 did little for the Chinese farmers in their aspirations for a comfortable life. Now that the new economic policies have provided them with opportunities of making a real start towards prosperity. some of them become overanxious in boosting production. But they could not quickly get rid of the deep-seated mentality of small farmers. They are pragmatic and only see immediate gain without realizing the indispensable role of science and technology in the long-term development of agriculture. Thus, instead of encouraging their children to acquire basic education, they deem it expedient to ask their children, especially girls, to engage in income-generating undertakings to make money at the expense of their education.

3. In rural China, since productivity is very low and work on the farm or in township and village enterprises is still mainly done by hand, there is no big demand for educated skilled workers. Though new recruits for rural enterprises are required to show primary or secondary school diplomas, the rule is not always strictly observed. This is another factor that dampens young women's enthusiasm for studies.

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