Sources of unequal cognitive development of middle-school students in China’s rural–urban migration era

Abstract

This paper seeks to identify the major sources of unequal cognitive development of middle school students in China’s current rural–urban migration era. Under a framework that integrates theories of social stratification, migration, and sociology of education, we utilize data on a nationally representative sample of 9th graders and a standardized cognitive test to provide valid population patterns and explanations of cognitive development inequality. Our regression decomposition helps disentangle the sources of group disparities between the predictor levels and the predictor effects. Our analysis reveals that the old order of inequality created by household registration ( hukou) has been complicated by rural–urban migration. Inequality has increased for rural- hukou students, with the most dramatic differences occurring among children of migrants, depending upon the child’s migrant status. Our regression decomposition analysis results point to the effectiveness of the school learning environment as the chief source of cognitive development inequality. We discuss implications for policy interventions to foster and ensure an equal education for all students.