An investigation is presented of the determinants of educational selectivity in a framework that emphasizes the coordination of household members. Sectoral time allocation is based on members' comparative advantage, which in turn depends on the utilization and returns to schooling in the farm and nonfarm sectors. Central to the model is a knowledge-spillover hypothesis that workers who participate in off-farm work may still contribute knowledge to farm management. Estimation of the model is based on cross-sectional Chinese farm household data collected in 1990 from 204 households in Sichuan province. It is concluded that schooling does not enhance labour productivity when carrying out routine tasks, that the contribution to farm efficiency by the most educated members is not affected by their non-farm participation, and that schooling increases labour market wage rates. These empirical results give comparative advantage for the better-educated farmers to work off the farm.