Both children believed that their parents expected them to enroll at a
top university and that graduating from a university was a precondition
for finding a prestigious career. Tina reported that, provided she completed
university study, her parents would not interfere with what she
wanted to do. In addition, Tina’s mother told her that if she was not
well educated, she would get a career like a street cleaner. Xiaoming’s
parents directly told him about the connection between good academic
performance, good universities, and good careers. Xiaoming stated: