2。 Literature Review

As is known to all, family plays an essential role for the children to receive initial education。 This thesis mainly introduces a famous film Boyhood directed by Richard Linklater, describing a mother porcing with four men, and moving from house to house with her children whose father always visits and listens to their growing pains and worries。 This film mainly presents the life of a boy from 6 to 18 with changes in all aspects, and family education affects every part of his growth in both physiology and psychology, which reflects different concepts of family education between China and America。

Also, this thesis has studied many works of some famous scholars and experts from home and abroad in order to better understand the importance of family education。 Firstly, the scholar Meng Xiaojia points out that family education is the phenomenon that parents or the elder family members educate the children consciously, which is the most important part in education system(Meng 193)。 Secondly, expects Huang Xiaoyong and Huang Caifang find out that family education not only refers to parents or elder people’s teaching to the younger generation, but also the inter-education between family members(Huang& Huang 101)。 Then, the expert Huang Heqing finds out that the aims of family education influence its direction and decide its results(Huang 10)。 Besides, the scholar Wang Dali explores that in America, the purpose of family education is to train independent children so that they could survive in all kinds of social conditions and situations。 However, in China, most parents expect their daughters to be phoenix and their sons to be dragon。 They wish their children to go into a top university and find a decent job(Wang 172)。 What’s more, experts Mary Lou Breitborde and Louise Boyle Swiniarski illustrate that family education should be connected with school education and social education so as to achieve the best effect of family education(Mary & Louise 305)。

The above are all what the thesis has learned from the film Boyhood and the works of famous scholars and experts, every part is important for the author to study family education。  However, the author finds these studies are too broad to elaborate specific aspects of family education in daily life。 So, in the following parts, this thesis will compare Chinese and American family education from the perspective of the film Boyhood。 In addition, it will sum up the solution to improve the family education。

3。 Differences between China and America in family education in Boyhood   

3。1 Different attitudes to family education来自优O尔P论R文T网WWw.YoueRw.com 加QQ7520`18766

American parents do not attach the same importance to family education as Chinese parents。 In the film Boyhood, the character Mason’s father and mother have been porced, and their two kids live with their mother, although their father comes to meet them from time to time, parents separate from two different places, who are also busy in getting well along with their new families, they may not have enough time or energy to get along with their own children, the mother seldom talks to Mason and his sister, so she doesn't know what their true inner thoughts are, Mason does not pay attention in class, and his learning achievement is not ideal, even after his mother quarrels with her current husband, Mason has to transfer to another strange school。 

Family education in America tends to be democratic and free, parents generally do not sedulously interfere children's study or life。 They generally think that children have their own ideas, too much interference will make the children dependent on their parents。 Children can only grow up by themselves, and parents just help them open the gate of the growth, as for the rest of the way, children need to go by themselves。 So Family education is not so important in America。