1 Introduction
1.1 Background of the Research
1.1.1 The Origin of the Research
1.1.2 The Pilot Study
1.1.3 The Rationale of the Research
1.1.4 The Objective of the Research
1.2 The Theoretical Framework of the Research
1.3 The Terminology of the Research
1.4 Overall Structure of the Research
2 Education in China
2.1 The History and Tradition of Education in China
2.1.1 The Foundation of Education
2.1.2 The Underlying Principles of Education
2.1.3 The Influence of Confucian Education in Other Asian Countries
2.2 Present Education in China
2.2.1 The Causes of the Growth of Education
2.2.2 Present Education System in China
2.3 Higher Education in China
2.3.1 What Is Higher Education
2.3.2 Access to University Education in China
2.3.3 The Causes of the Growth of Higher Education
3 Women and Education
3.1 Women''s Access to Education and Higher Education in Old China
3.2 Women''s Access to Education and Higher Education at Present-day China
3.3 The Changes of Women''s Perspectives
3.4 The Implication of Higher Education on Women
4 Methodology
4.1 Data Collection
4.2 The Study Setting
4.3 The Sample Selection
4.4 The Method of Data Analysis
4.5 Survey Questionnaire Design
5 Analysis of the Data
5.1 Discussion and Interpretation of the Findings
5.1.1 Biographical Details
5.1.2 Women''s Perspectives on Career
5.1.3 Women''s perspectives on Marriage
5.1.4 Women''s Perspective on Motherhood
5.2 The Summary of the Findings
5.2.1 The Relationship between One''s Family Background and Education Level
5.2.2 The Characteristics of Women''s Perspectives
6 Conclusion
6.1 The Significance of the Research
6.2 The Validity of the Research
6.3 The Limitation of the Research
6.4 Suggestions for Further Study
References
Appendix
Appendix A: Pilot Interview Data
Appendix B: Pilot Questionnaire
Appendix C: Pilot Questionnaire Data
Appendix D: Research Cover Letter
Appendix E: Research QuestionnaireEnglish Version
Appendix F: Research QuestionnaireChinese Version
Appendix G: Questions Unique to Each Group
Appendix H: Summary Sheet of the Research Interview Transcripts
Appendix I: Summary Sheet of Questionnaire Data
List of Tables and Figure
Table 1: School System in the People''s Republic of China
Table 2: Females Enrolled in Higher Education in 1978--2004
Table 3: The Fertility Status of Different Educational Levels of Women from 1981 to 1989
Table 4: Conditions That a Woman Wants Future Spouse to Have
Table 5: Factors That Influence Girls'' Plans on Marriage in the Future
Table 6: Women''s Ideal Marriage Age
Figure 1: Difficulty Level in Finding Jobs
Keywords Indexes