







































 

 

 

 

 

The Impact of Family Background on 

Subject Selection in Senior Secondary 

School Students in the Context of the Reform 

of College Entrance Examination: 

An Empirical Study Based on Survey Data 

from Zhejiang Province

Jianzhen Zhang, Xiaoyu Liang 

 
Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, Zhejiang, China 

 

Abstract: Subject selection is one of the key components in the new college 

entrance examination system. This study analyzed the data from a sample survey of 

college entrance examination participants in Zhejiang Province between 2017 and 

2020 using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, cross analysis, and binary logistic 

regression in an effort to research into the impact of family background on subject 

selection and academic achievements in senior secondary school students. Research 

findings showed that: (i) Students from families of higher social and economic status 

were more likely to be academically high-achieving; (ii) Student family background 

had a significant impact on their subject selection, specifically represented by a 

positive effect of home economic capital on student choice of subjects requiring 

higher learning costs, a positive effect of family perception of the importance of 

mathematics, physics, and chemistry on student choice of science subjects, and a 

positive effect of family cultural environment on student choice of liberal arts 

subjects; (iii) Personal factors such as gender and academic results are crucial for 

students’ decisions on subject selection, with male and high-performing students 

showing preferences for science subjects. 

Best Evidence in Chinese Education 2023; 15(1):1783-1787. 

Doi: 10.15354/bece.23.ar082 

How to Cite: Zhang, J., & Liang, X. (2023). The impact of family background on 

subject selection in senior secondary school students in the context of the reform of 

college entrance examination: An empirical study based on survey data from 

Zhejiang province. Best Evidence in Chinese Education, 15(1):1783-1787. 

Keywords: Reform of College Entrance Examination, Subject Selection, Academic 

Achievement, Family Background 



Zhang & Liang. (Zhejiang, China). Family Background and Subject Selection in High School Students. 

BECE, Vol.15, No.1, 2023 1784 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

About the Authors: Xiaoyu Liang, College of Geography and Environmental Science, Zhejiang Normal University, 

Jinhua 321004, Zhejiang, China. 

Jianzhen Zhang, College of Geography and Environmental Science, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, 

Zhejiang, China. E-mail: zjz@zjnu.cn  

Correspondence to: Jianzhen Zhang at Zhejiang Normal University of China. 

Conflict of Interests: None. 
 

© 2023 Insights Publisher. All rights reserved. 

Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the 

Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 License 

(http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of 

the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed by the Insights Publisher. 

mailto:zjz@zjnu.cn
http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/


Zhang & Liang. (Zhejiang, China). Family Background and Subject Selection in High School Students. 

BECE, Vol.15, No. 1, 2023 1785 

Introduction 

In November 2014, Implementation Measures for Subject Selection in Zhejiang Prov-

ince’s General College Entrance Examinations was issued in Zhejiang Province, one of 

the pilot regions for the reform of college entrance examination (CEE) in China. Ac-

cording to this policy, the “X” in the previous “3+X” model of the CEE was replaced by 

“selecting three subjects from a range of seven ones.” Years of experiences of Zhejiang 

Province yielded evidence for empirical research on the efficacy of the reform of CEE, 

and at the same time, issues with subject selection were observed, such as the overly 

utilitarian mentality, confusion, and anxiety among students during the selection pro-

cess (Du & Jin, 2016). Do family background disparities lead to differences in decisions 

on subject selection among students? This article investigated the impact of family ori-

gins on student academic performance and subject selection behavior concerning the 

high-stake examination, based on data from a sample survey. 

Research Design and Methods 

Sample Selection and Data Sources 

This study conducted a questionnaire survey on “How Family Background Affects Stu-

dents’ Selection of Subjects under the New College Entrance Examination System” in 

Zhejiang Province from June throughout September 2020. Convenience sampling was 

adopted to obtain data of the CEE participants between 2017 and 2020 from various 

cities in Zhejiang Province. Among the returned questionnaires, 1119 were valid. The 

survey questionnaire had four components: basic personal information of the student; 

the family social, economic and cultural capital questionnaire; the student’s choice of 

subjects for the CEE; the family-related factors scale. 

Variable Description 

i. The predicted variable in this study is the individual elective subject being chosen 

or not, intended to examine the impact of family background on academic perfor-

mance and subject selection in senior secondary school students.  

ii. Student family background is the explanatory variable, indicated by items related 

to family social, economic, and cultural status and factors listed in the family-

related factors scale. There were five dimensions in this variable: family economic 

capital; family cultural capital; family education involvement; family social con-

nections; family perception of the importance of mathematics, physics, and chem-

istry and investments in them. 

Model Design 

The focus of this study was to examine the relation between student choice of subjects 

and their family background under the new CEE system. For the predicted variable “the 

individual elective subject being chosen or not,” there were only two options, “Yes” 



Zhang & Liang. (Zhejiang, China). Family Background and Subject Selection in High School Students. 

BECE, Vol.15, No. 1, 2023 1786 

and “No.” Therefore, it was regarded as a binary variable, and a binary logistic regres-

sion model was used to analyze the impact of family background on student subject 

selection. 

Research Findings 

Cross Analysis of Student Family Background, Subject 

Selection, and Academic Performance 

Family Background-Induced Differences in Subject Se-

lection 

There were significant differences in the choice of physics, geography, and politics, 

only marginally significant differences in the choice of chemistry, but insignificant dif-

ferences in the choice of biology, history, and technology among students of differential 

family origins. Students from families of higher SES were more likely to choose phys-

ics. 

Family Background-Induced Differences in Student Aca-

demic Performance 

There were appreciable differences in academic performance at the senior secondary 

level among students of distinct family origins. Among low-achieving students, 28.8% 

and 23.1% of them were from underprivileged families and lower-middle-SES families, 

respectively, and only 13.5% were from advantaged families. At the same time, among 

the top 10% and 20%-30% of students, the percentages of students from high SES fami-

lies were 32.8% and 28%, respectively, indicating a positive correlation between family 

background and student academic results at the senior secondary level. 

Preliminary Conclusions 

Under the new CEE system, the election of physics, geography, and politics are sub-

stantially influenced by family circumstances. Students from higher SES families are 

more prone to choose physics and geography, but not politics. The higher level of their 

family SES, the greater the likelihood of the student attaining top-level academic 

achievements. 

Analysis Results of the Binary Logistic Regression 

Model 

 Family economic capital, cultural capital, perception of the importance of mathe-

matics, physics, and chemistry and investments in them significantly impacted stu-

dent subject selection in the new CEE system. 



Zhang & Liang. (Zhejiang, China). Family Background and Subject Selection in High School Students. 

BECE, Vol.15, No. 1, 2023 1787 

 Family education involvement and social connections had no significant effects on 

student subject selection in the new CEE system. 

 Gender and academic results in the senior secondary period had considerable ef-

fects on student subject selection, whereas the year of CEE participation had a 

slight impact on student subject selection. 

Conclusions 

i. Student academic performance is correlated with their family background. There 

are prominent disparities in academic achievements among student of differential 

family origins. 

ii. Student subject selection is affected by family economic capital. Students from 

economically advantaged families are more prone to choose physics and geogra-

phy, while those from disadvantaged ones are more likely to pick history, politics, 

and technology. 

iii. Student choices between science and liberal arts subjects are remarkably affected 

by family cultural environment and perception of the importance of mathematics, 

physics, and chemistry. 

iv. Student choices between science and liberal arts subjects are also related to per-

sonal factors. 

 

 

 

 

Reference 

Du & Jin. (2016). Issues with subject selection among senior secondary school students 

in the context of the reform of college entrance examination and countermeasures: An 

analysis based on a survey of five high schools in Zhejiang Province. Theory and Prac-

tice of Education, 36(8):15-18. 

 

 

The Chinese version of this article has been published in Journal of East China Normal University 

(Educational Sciences), 2023 (6):47-58. The English version has been authorized for being publica-

tion in BECE by the author(s) and the Chinese journal. 

 

张建珍 & 梁晓雨.(2023).新高考制度下家庭背景对高中生科目选择的影响分析—基于浙江省
2017-2020 届高考毕业生调查数据的实证研究. 华东师范大学学报(教育科学版) 2023; 6:47-58 

 

 
 

Received: 11 August 2023 

Revised: 20 August 2023 

Accepted: 15 September 2023 

 

 


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