Peer parents’ educational expectations and student academic achievement: An intergenerational closure perspective from rural China

Education has positive externalities, improves the welfare of educated individuals, and has positive spillover effects on others in society. This study identifies the causal effect of the influence of peer parents’ educational expectations on rural students’ academic scores. The analysis results show that the educational expectations of peer parents significantly improve academic scores, especially in English. Social interaction, role modeling, and peer conformity are intrinsic mechanisms by which these expectations influence scores. The heterogeneity analysis shows that peer parents’ educational expectations have a greater impact on boys, left-behind children, and students with poor grades. The conclusion of this paper provides a new perspective for promoting equity in rural education. • Peer parents’ educational expectations positively influence rural students’ academic scores. • Social interaction, role modeling, and peer conformity are mechanisms through which expectations influence academic scores. • The influence of peer parents’ educational expectations on students’ academic scores is heterogeneous.