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1、 INVESTIGATIVE STUDY OF HIGHLY-EDUCATED CHINESE YOUNG URBAN WOMEN扴 FERTILITY VALUES By Wang Kun A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate School and College of English In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Master of Arts Under the Supervision of Assistant Professor Cooper Wakefield S
2、hanghai International Studies University May 2009 声 明 本学位论文是我在导师的指导下取得的研究成果。在本学位论文 中，除了加以标注和 致谢的部分外，不包含其他人己经发表或公布过 的 f究成果，也不包含我为获得任何教育机构的学位或学历而使用过 的材料。与我一同工作的同事对本学位论文做出的贡献均已在论文中 作了明确的明说。 学位论文作者签名： 士冰） 签名日期： 年 r 月（曰 上海外国语大学有权保存学位论文的电子和纸质文档，可以借阅 或上网公开本学位论文的全部或部分内容，可以向有关部门或机构送 交并授权其保存、借阅或上网公布本学位论文的全部或部
3、分内容。对 于保密论文，按保密的有关规定和程序处理。 学位论文使用授权声明 学位论文作者签名： 土冰 签名日期 : 年月日 5 Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to all those who helped me to complete this dissertation. I am deeply indebted to my dedicated supervisor Cooper Wakefield whose help, stimulating suggestions and encouragement helpe
4、d me in all the time of research for and writing of this disseration. He always puts high priority on our dissertation writing and is willing to discuss with me anytime he is available. His patience and kindness are greatly appreciated. His consistent instruction is indispensable to the completion o
5、f this dissertation. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to my friends who supported me in my research work greatly. They helped me to find research subjects, brainstormed with me when I failed to come up with new ideas and encouraged me in difficult times. I want to thank them for all their help,
6、 support, interest in my topic and valuable hints. Special thanks should go to Wang Jingjing, Yan Huan, Fan Guifang, Mallory Mckinley, Kathryn Rice, Ashley Sullivan, Cynthia Omega and Bri Fowler. I am very much obliged to their efforts of helping me to complete this dissertation. My thanks also go t
7、o Prof. Steve J. Kulich, Prof. Michael H. Prosser and Prof. Ron Lustig, whose rigorous and informative lectures on intercultural communication during the past two years of my postgraduate study have broaded my horizon. The things that I have learnt from them will be of everlasting significance to my
8、 future study. At last but not least, I would like to thank my family for their support all the way from the very beginning of my postgraduate study. I am thankful to all my family members for their thoughtfulness and encouragement. 生育观是人们对生育问题的根本看法和态度，它直接支配着人们的生育行为。女 性的特殊生理结构，决定了她们在生育行为中扮演着重要的角色。高学
9、历都市青年女 性是社会的一个特殊群体。她们有着良好的科学文化知识，独立的社会经济地位，因 而高学 历都市青年女性的生育观具有一定的社会导向作用。她们的生育观在某种程度 上反映了社会生育观的走向和发展。然而，从目前来看，专门针对高学历都市青年女 性生育观的研宄还是相对匮乏的。 本文以马斯洛的需要层次理论和科尔曼的理性主义理论为基础，对中国高学历都 市青年女性的生育观进行了研宄，分析了中国高学历都市青年女性生育观的特点，比 较了中国高学历都市青年女性生育观和中国传统生育观之间的差异，并探讨了中国高 学历都市青年女性生育观变化的原因。 文章首先介绍了生育观研宄的背景，引入了生育观的定义。在此基础上提
10、出研究 的 目标，并简要介绍了文章的结构。接着，在对国内外生育观研宄进行回顾之后，文 章介绍了定性研宄方法的选择过程，调查对象的基本情况以及数据收集和数据分析的 方法。在文章的主体部分，作者从生育倾向，生育目标和生育方式三个方面对中国高 学历都市青年女性的生育观做了调查。研宄发现，大部分中国高学历都市青年女性仍 然有着较强的生育意愿，她们普遍认为生育是使人生完整的重要步骤，肯定生育的价 值和意义。此外，调剂家庭气氛，维持家庭的稳定和巩固夫妻感情也是高学历都市青 年女性肯定生育行为的重要原因。在生育数量的选择上，高学历都 市青年女性从孩子 的健康成长和自身的经济状况出发，认为一个男孩和一个女孩是
11、理想的生育数量。在 性别偏好的问题上，绝大多数高学历都市青年女性没有性别偏好，认为男孩女孩都一 样。此外，她们普遍倾向于晚育，重视对孩子的培养，期望孩子成为全面发展的人才， 并强调良好的经济条件对孩子培养的重要性。通过总结高学历都市青年女性生育观的 特点，本文分析了高学历都市青年女性生育观变化的原因，提出中国高学历都市青年 女性生育观的变化是理性选择的结果。最后，本文的结论部分对研宄进行了简要回顾， 并指出了研宄的不足之处。 关键词： 高学历青年女性，生育观，传统生育观，需要层次，理性选择 Abstract Fertility values are people抯 fundamental vi
12、ew points and attitudes toward the issue of fertility. Fertility values play a dominant role in people抯 fertility activities. Highly-educated young urban women are a special population group in China. With good cultural background and respectable income, they tend to have independent social, politic
13、al and economic status in society. And their special positions in society make their fertility values influential to a certain extent. Researching highly-educated young urban women抯 fertility values is conducive for us to understanding and grasping the development of fertility values. It is also sig
14、nificant in establishing modern fertility values, building harmonious society. Based on Abraham Maslow抯 hierarchy of needs theory and James Samuel Coleman抯 theory of rational choice, this research studied the characteristics and changing of highly-educated Chinese young urban women抯 fertility values
15、. The thesis firstly presents the background of fertility values and introduces the definition of fertility values. Based on this the thesis briefly illustrates its structure. Then after reviewing the researches on fertility values both in China and abroad, it introduces the research design and meth
16、odology of the study of highly-educated Chinese young urban women抯 fertility values, the general conditions of investigation objects and the process of data collection and analysis. In the body the author makes an investigation of the fertility values of highly-educated Chinese young urban women fro
17、m three aspects: fertility tendencies, fertility aims and fertility means. The research shows that most highly-educated Chinese young urban women still have a strong fertility desire. They generally regard fertility as an important step of a complete life and approve the value and significance of fe
18、rtility. Besides, adjusting family atmosphere, maintaining family stability and strengthening spouse affection are also important reasons for highly-educated Chinese young urban women to approve fertility behaviors. On the choice of fertility number, highly-educated young urban women hold that a boy
19、 and a girl are ideal in view of the healthy growth of children and their financial conditions. On the study of gender preference most highly-educated Chinese young urban women do not have sexual preference of children. In their opinions, boys and girls are equal. The research also shows that highly
20、-educated Chinese young urban women have a tendency for late child-bearing, value the cultivation of children, and stress the importance of good economic conditions for children bearing and rearing. Through summarizing the characteristics of highly-educated Chinese young urban women抯 fertility value
21、s, this thesis analyzes the reasons for the change of highly-educated Chinese young urban women抯 fertility values and illustrates that the change of highly-educated Chinese young urban women抯 fertility values is a result of rational choices. Finally in the conclusion the author briefly reviews the r
22、esearches and marks out the deficiencies of these researches. Keywords: highly-educated young urban women; fertility values; traditional Chinese fertility values; hierarchy of needs; rational choices Acknowledgements 摘要 Abstract Contents Chapter One: Introduction . 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 Brief overview of fe
23、rtility issue . 1 1.4 1.5 1.6 The definition of fertility and fertility values . 3 1.7 1.8 1.9 Study kind 梣 ualitative study . 4 1.10 1.11 1.12 Hypothesis . 5 1.13 1.14 1.15 Thesis questions . 5 1.16 1.17 1.18 Overview of thesis structure . 6 Chapter Two: Literature Review . 8 4.1 4.2 4.3 Terms: fer
24、tility desire and fertility culture . 8 4.4 4.5 4.6 Key theories . 9 4.7 4.8 values and traditional Chinese fertility values . 34 4.3 How and why highly-educated Chinese young urban women抯 fertility values are changing? . 37 Chapter Six: Pilot Study - American Young Urban Women 抯 Fertility Values .
25、41 1. 2. 3. American young urban women 抯 fertility tendencies . 41 4. 5. 6. American young urban women 抯 fertility aims . 43 7. 8. 9. American young urban women 抯 fertility means . 44 10. 11. 12. Conclusions . 44 Chapter Seven: Conclusions . 46 4.1.2 A summary of the study of highly-educated Chinese
26、 young urban women抯 fertility values . 46 4.1.3 . 4.1.4 . 4.1.5 . Issues to be explored . 48 References . 50 Appendix I . 55 Appendix II . 56 Chapter One: Introduction 1. Brief overview of fertility issue The first half 20th century witnessed the explosive growth of the world population research. Go
27、vernments of nearly every major country issued policies and schemes to confront population challenges. Lowering fertility levels became a key step to reverse the situation of an explosively-growing population (Gu, 2008). Scholars studied fertility behaviors in terms of sociology, economics, politics
28、, anthropology, psychology, biology and so on. Governments organized various birth control projects, providing contraceptive services. With the deepening of research and the development of practice, people抯 understanding of the influential factors and results of high fertility levels and the mechani
29、sms to lower the fertility level was getting deeper and deeper. At the same time, countermeasures to confront the explosively-growing population were more and more wild-ranging. In the later period of 20th century, fertility levels of the world population were lowered markedly and the growth speed o
30、f world population overall was decelerated. People appreciated that the development of population research fostered the recognition and grasp of the regularity of population change. However, when people acclaimed the victory of fertility revolution, some countries9 population began to shrink and los
31、e critical mass. We know that the condition for a country抯 population to continue on from one generation to another is that the country抯 fertility level must be maintained at a sustainable level such that one couple gives birth to 2.1 children. Simply speaking, if one country抯 fertility level is mai
32、ntained above the sustainable level, then its population of the next generation will grow more than the population of the current generation. On the other hand, if a country抯 fertility level is decreased below the sustainable level, the population of its next generation would be less than the popula
33、tion of the current generation, with a shrinking population size. Therefore, whether a country fertility level is maintained above the replacement level becomes an important measure to review a country抯 fertility level and its influences upon population growth (Gu, 2008). Demographers originally tho
34、ught that when a country抯 fertility level was lowered below the replacement level, it would maintain its current level. However, this assumption was proven erroneous by population development. Moreover, the shrinking population not only occurred in Europe, but also occurred in Asia. It emerged not o
35、nly in developed societies but also in developing countries. For example, the fertility level of Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Iran in Asia fell below the replacement level of 2.1. And in those countries, the fertility level is still on the decline, from 2.1 to 1.8, then to 1.5, then
36、to 1.3 or even to lower levels (Gu, 2008). Facing low fertility levels, each country confronts it vigorously with increasing attention and drive. However, up to now, no matter whether in Europe or Asia, in developed countries or developing countries, the effects to change this situation are minimal.
37、 Among the countries that rank low in fertility level, no matter how hard the government and society has striven, few countries have been able to bring the fertility level back to the replacement level of 2.1. With more than 1.3 billion people, it seems that China doesn抰 need to worry about the decl
38、ine of population. Population aging and low fertility rate seem to be the problems that Europe and Japan need to focus on. However, the truth is quite the contrary. With the constant implementation of the One Child Policy, since the late 70s in the 20th century, and rapid social and economic develop
39、ment, China has already stepped on the same road as Europe and Japan (Guo, 2008) - with its fertility rate lower than the replacement level. At the beginning of the 1970s, China still belonged to the ranks of high fertility rate countries. But with the strict implementation of family planning policy
40、, the fertility rate in China declined rapidly. In the 1980s, China抯 fertility rate floated around 2.5 and in 1990, the fertility rate in China was still 2.3. But 1992 witnessed a historical turning point in China - the fertility rate went lower than the replacement level of 2.1 for the first time. From then on, nearly all nationwide censuses show that China9s fertility rate is lower than 1.5, and this situation has lasted for almost 20 years. If this fertility rate is maintained, the population in China would decline a quarter every 30 years (Guo, 2008). Similar to the series of challenges