Lecturer in Education
Linyao Wang
Education, migration, inequality, gender, identity, and aspiration.
Dr Linyao Wang is a Lecturer in Education whose research examines how social background, mobility, family expectations, and institutional contexts shape educational experiences and future aspirations. Her work is especially concerned with rural-urban inequality, migrant children, gendered expectations, and international education.
Research interests
Dr Wang's work sits at the intersection of educational inequality, social identity, aspiration, gender, and international education. The site can later host full project pages, working papers, data notes, and downloadable materials.
- Migration and rural-urban inequality
- Social identity
- Educational achievement
- Educational aspirations
- Gender stereotypes in education
- International education
- Student mobility and immobility
Girls and routes into crime
A funded research project supported by the UK Ministry of Justice via Thames Valley Violence Reduction, in collaboration with Prof Jo Phoenix, Prof Carol Fuller, and Dr Fei Lian.
Academic and professional background
Before joining the University of Reading, Dr Wang taught English Language and Literature at Century College, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. She also worked at Beijing Normal University's Collaborative Innovation Centre of Assessment for Basic Education Quality, contributing to comparative work on educational assessment quality and effectiveness.
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Education, University of Reading
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Comparative Education, University College London
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English Language and Literature, Henan University of Science and Technology
Teaching and supervision
Dr Wang convenes modules across Education Studies and supervises BA and MA dissertations in Education.
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Discovering Education: An Exploration of Key Educational Issues
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Critiquing Education: Where Theory Meets Practice
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Dissertation in Educational Studies
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BA and MA in Education dissertation supervision
Selected publications
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Wang, L. and Fuller, C. (2025). Hidden catalysts: exploring the mediating paths between SES and academic performance of Chinese migrant children. Cambridge Educational Research e-Journal, 12, pp. 40-58. DOI: 10.17863/CAM.123129
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Zou, J., Fuller, C. and Wang, L. (2025). The interplay between cultural models and metaphor understanding: a cross-cultural cognitive perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1539784. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1539784
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Wang, L. (2024). Poverty and educational inequalities: an ethnographic case study of a migrant children’s school in Beijing. PhD thesis, University of Reading. DOI: 10.48683/1926.00119837
Selected presentations
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Differences Between Migrant Parents' Expectations and Children's Educational Aspirations. BERA Sexualities and Gender SIG, online, March 12.
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Gender Inequality and Aspirations of Migrant Girls on the Outskirts of Beijing. Gender and Education Association, Manchester, May 27-30.
Professional service
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Fellow of the Higher Education Academy; Member of the British Educational Research Association.
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Reviewer for Social Transformations in Chinese Societies; reviewer for BERA Conference 2024 and 2025.
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Community of Practice for International Tutors; Above and Beyond nomination; Leading Through Influence, University of Reading, 2025.
Education journal article statistics
A future module can turn this website into a small research infrastructure project: collecting education journal metadata, tracking topics over time, mapping methods and geographies, and visualising author and institution networks.
Suggested next step: build this first as a private dashboard, then publish selected public views once the data source, update process, and interpretation notes are settled.