Paths to teaching: unveiling the impact of family capital and career values on Chinese pre-service teachers’ career intentions in a large-scale sample

Familial influence plays a decisive role in the choice to pursue a teaching career. Anchored in Bourdieu’s capital theory and the FIT-Choice framework, this study examines how family cultural and economic capital shape pre-service teachers’ career values and intentions. Analysing a large-scale sample of 15,010 Chinese freshman pre-service teachers, the findings reveal a strong connection between family capital and the intention to enter the teaching profession, with career values mediating the relationship. Notably, students from families with greater cultural capital are more likely to view teaching as intrinsically rewarding and socially impactful. The study also found that career value perceptions vary across subjects, with social utility influencing career intentions only among general majors (e.g. primary education, early childhood education and care), not STEM or Liberal Arts students. These insights provide valuable guidance for designing targeted recruitment strategies and highlight the importance of considering family background in shaping teacher education policies. The study also lays the groundwork for future research on how family influences steer career choices in teaching.