Imagining and realising 'good quality education': Capital mobilisation by elite graduates of prestigious universities teaching in rural Chinese schools

Against the backdrop of global neoliberalism and a lack of quality teachers in rural areas, alternative teacher preparation programs which recruit exceptional graduates to work in disadvantages schools have been introduced into China in recent years. The chapter reports research which explored (1) how program fellows understand 'good quality' education' prior to their entry into the classrooms of rural schools; and (2) how fellows realized their understandings of 'good quality education' in practice. From deep interviews with 16 fellows, the main findings were that 'good quality education' was typically associated with discourses on quality-oriented education that have more readily been translated into practice in urban education. In class, fellows tried hard to mobilise their capital for the purpose of cultivating quality-oriented abilities and skills, and of opening students' eyes to life beyond their rural worlds. We propose that education for fellows in such programs might develop epistemic vigilance about classificatory schemes which elevate the urban above the rural. Furthermore, fellows might develop sociological capabilities challenging stereotypes, misconcepts, and bias