Exploring the Changing Pathway to Cultivating an Elite ‘International’ Child in China

In the context of globalization, upper-middle-class parents choose international schools as an educational strategy to prepare their children to become cosmopolitans through the accumulation of linguistic and cosmopolitan cultural capital that can be transferred and bring advantages in the future. This article examines how legislative changes influence the international school market in China, affect parents’ choices while raising an ‘international’ child. In order to gain a competitive edge, this research hypothesized that parents might alter their school selection strategy and begin to accumulate ‘start-up’ capital for their children before compulsory schooling