BECE. Newsletter 

BECE, Vol.10, No.1, 2022 1344 

 

 

 

 

Can After-school Service in Primary and Secondary 

Schools Promote Educational Equity? 

By Zhang, W. P., Fu, D., Li, W., & Zen, X. 
Correspondence to: Zhang, W. P., Hangzhou Normal University, China. E-mail: 

441329552@qq.com  

UBLISHED in China Educational Technology, the study analyzes the 

survey data of primary and secondary school students from 32 counties 

(districts) in 6 provinces (autonomous regions) in China. By using descrip-

tive statistics, Chi-square test, Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and regres-

sion analysis, it examines the differences among students from low, middle, 

and high income families, to determine if after-school service can promote 

endowment equity, procedure equity and outcome equity in education in 

China This will provide valid evidence for optimization of after-school ser-

vice program in China. 

Research results 

 After-school service has insignificant effects on endowment equi-

ty in education. According to the Chi-square test, the overall pro-

portion of students participating in after-school service is not high, 

and there are significant differences in the proportions of students 

from low, middle and high income families participating in after-

school services (χ
2
 =146.942, p < 0.001). Specifically, the propor-

tion of students from low-income families participating in after-

school service is the lowest, and the participation rate is positively 

related to family economic conditions. This may have something 

to do with the limitations of after-school service as quasi-public 

goods.  

 After-school service has moderate effects on procedure equity in 

education. Results of Chi-square test indicate that there is no sig-

nificant difference in demands for after-school service in compul-

sory subjects (χ
2
 = 1.577, P = 0.455>0.05) and interest develop-

ment (χ
2
 = 0.738, P = 0.691>0.05). Nevertheless, there is signifi-

cant difference in demands for after-school service in competence 

education (χ
2
 = 25.272, P < 0.001), which is more likely to be ac-

cepted by high income households. This may be related to family 

economic conditions and school conditions, for middle and low 

P 

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BECE, Vol.10, No.1, 2022 1345 

income families can hardly afford after-school service in art and 

science, and it is difficult for rural schools to conduct art and sci-

ence courses due to limited human and equipment resources. 

 After-school service has significant effects on outcome equity in 

education. According to the results of PSM, students who attend 

after-school service have better academic performance than those 

who do not. Meanwhile, results of regression analysis also indi-

cate that after-school service helps narrow the gap in academic 

performance caused by different household economic conditions. 

Thus, after-school service reduces the inequality in educational 

outcomes among students from different socio-economic back-

grounds. 

Based on the research results, the author holds that the nature of after-

school service as non-public goods determines its limitations in promoting 

educational equity. However, since after-school service is provided by 

schools, it helps make up for the inequality caused by family conditions to a 

certain extent. Therefore, it is necessary to expand the scope of after-school 

service to ensure it is available to students from low-income families. 

Schools should be encouraged to invest more in after-school service in com-

petence education and after-school service should play a more important role 

in reducing students’ homework and extracurricular training burden. 

 

Source: China Educational Technology, 2021(11):16-23.