The effect of family capital on critical thinking skills of primary and middle school students in rural county-level regions of China: The chain mediating role of home-school cooperation and teachers' expectations

BACKGROUND: Critical thinking skills are fundamental to holistic student development, however, persistent disparities exist in their cultivation within China's educational system, particularly between urban and rural contexts. Students in rural county-level regions face substantial barriers in developing these higher-order cognitive skills. While family capital is recognized as a key driver of cognitive development, the specific mechanisms underlying its influence on critical thinking skills among students in China's county contexts remain underexplored. METHODS: A total of 8140 students from 11 towns in P County of S Province, China, participated in this study by completing a structured questionnaire. Grounding Bourdieu's capital theory and Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, this study employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to test a chain mediation model examining the roles of home-school cooperation and teacher expectations in the relationship between family capital and critical thinking skills. RESULTS: Family capital was found to significantly and positively predict critical thinking skills. Both home-school cooperation and teachers' expectations were found to partially mediate the relationship between family capital and critical thinking skills. Specifically, family capital influences critical thinking skills through home-school cooperation and teachers' expectations independently, as well as through their sequential mediation. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that family capital enhances critical thinking skills among Chinese county students through the chain mediation of home-school cooperation and teachers' expectations. The findings provide valuable theoretical underpinnings and practical implications for designing targeted educational interventions to foster critical thinking skills in China's county-area educational settings.