Educating the children of migrants in China and the United States: a common challenge?

Abstract

The education of the children of migrants is a policy issue of great importance in both China and the United States. While first generation migrants have generally completed their education in the place of origin, and some may return, their children will generally remain in the receiving place. Both pragmatic and moral considerations therefore require that schools equip them to participate fully in society as workers and citizens. This paper considers what we know about the education of children of low-skilled international labor migrants in the United States and the children of rural–urban migrants in China. It finds that although one migration flow is international and the other internal, the similar background characteristics of migrants create common challenges in both contexts; and the structure of both education systems serves to exacerbate underlying socio-economic inequalities. Residential segregation, unequal funding and formal and informal tracking processes concentrate migrant children in poor quality schools, resulting in low average levels of attainment and high drop-out rates. There are some obvious steps that could be taken in China to expand opportunities for migrant children, especially with regard to the transition to post-compulsory education, which is still constrained by their parents’ household registration status (hukou). However, the experience of the United States shows that expanding access, while necessary, is not sufficient to level the playing field. To do this, targeted investments must be made to meet the specific educational needs of migrant children.