Surviving the margins: resilience strategies of low-cost private schools for migrant children in urban China

About one in four children in China is a migrant child. This population has a higher risk of experiencing loneliness. However, existing studies present conflicting findings regarding the levels of loneliness among migrant children as compared to local urban children in urban China. This review performs a meta-analysis of studies comparing loneliness levels between these two groups. A literature search of major Chinese- and English-language databases revealed 27 eligible comparative studies. These studies reported the means and standardized deviations of loneliness scores for both migrant and nonmigrant children in urban China. Meta-analysis results showed that migrant children experienced significantly higher levels of loneliness than their urban nonmigrant counterparts [standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.21, P < 0.001]. Subgroup analysis revealed that studies enrolling migrant children from migrant children's schools had significantly higher pooled SMDs than those enrolling children from public schools (0.346 vs. 0.120, P = 0.047). Migrant children in urban China experience higher levels of loneliness compared to their local urban peers. Efforts to create a socially inclusive, migrant-friendly environment and reduce social isolation among migrant children are crucial to help alleviate their feelings of loneliness.

This 1-year longitudinal study examined the relations between maternal encouragement of sociability and social, school, and psychological adjustment in nonmigrant (n = 355, Mage = 9.90 years) and migrant children (n = 248, Mage = 9.95 years) in urban China. Data were obtained from multiple sources, including mothers' reports, peer nominations, teacher ratings, and child self-reports. The results showed that maternal encouragement of sociability negatively contributed to later loneliness in nonmigrant children, but not in migrant children. Moreover, among nonmigrant children, maternal encouragement of sociability was negatively associated with later behavioral problems for those who had higher initial behavioral problems, and positively associated with later perceived self-worth for those with higher initial self-worth. Among migrant children, the maternal encouragement of sociability was positively associated with later peer victimization and learning problems for those who had higher initial problems. The results indicate that maternal encouragement of sociability may function differently in the nonmigrant and migrant family contexts in China. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

This paper investigates the implementation of education policy for migrant children in urban China. Historically, rural and urban residents in China were separated by the hukou system, and rural children were not allowed to attend urban schools. Since the relaxation of the hukou system in the early 1980s, large numbers of rural families migrated to cities. The right of migrant children to education in urban China was formally recognised by the government in a series of policies starting in 2001. The research reported, here, reveals that migrant children did not have equal access to urban schools nor did they enjoy an equally good education to that of urban children. Based on 53 in-depth interviews with school principals, teachers and pupils in two provincial capitals in China, this paper explores the main factors affecting the implementation of education policy for migrant children. The research demonstrates that policies relating to equal admissions criteria were not implemented as intended, with migrant children not having equal access to schools. However, policies relating to non-segregation and academic support were implemented as intended. It is argued that, at the school level, this is a result of the examination-oriented system, and schools’ responses to this.

This study is designed to identify the policy shift on migrant children's11There are various definitions of migrant children in urban China. In this research, migrant children refer to the children from rural areas who have resided with their parents at the urban areas for at least six months without local household registration status. education at national level in urban China22With the rapid socioeconomic development and urbanization in China, the definition of urban China is changing. In this research, urban China refers to the major cities in China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Chongqing, and so forth. during the past decades. Meanwhile, it is expected to explore the policy limitations reflected by the practice at school level regarding accommodating migrant children's education. This study is conducted through policy review regarding education for migrant children and analysis of data collected through questionnaires and interviews at one public junior high school in Beijing. This study identifies a positive change of involving migrant children in urban public schools. However, there is a need for flexible mechanism that can fully accommodate various needs regarding migrant children's education in urban public schools. The study argues the necessity of a multipartnership for establishing a sustainable public education system for accommodating migrant children education in urban public schools. Being different from other research on the same issue in urban China, this study leads a new round of discussion on the quality education for migrant children.

Loneliness has long been a significant psychosocial problem for migrant children in urban China. In recent years, social changes and enhancements in social welfare equity have lessened the disadvantages faced by these migrant children. The current study investigated the time-trend of loneliness levels among migrant children from 2006 to 2019. A literature search was performed within major Chinese- and English-language databases, and studies that reported the means and standard deviations of Children's Loneliness Scale (CLS) scores among Chinese migrant children were included in this cross-temporal meta-analysis. Weighted linear regression was conducted to examine the trend of mean CLS scores over the survey year, and Cohen's d value was calculated to assess the magnitude of change. In total, 40 cross-sectional studies conducted between 2006 and 2019 (published by 2022), consisting of 47 cohorts of migrant children and a total sample size of 17,090, were included. Overall, there was a significant downward trend between the survey year and mean CLS score (unstandardized coefficient [β] = -0.342, P < 0.001), and Cohen's d value of this decline from 2006 to 2019 was 0.411. Similar declining time-trends were also observed among subgroups when broken down by sex, school type, and geographic regions (β = -0.182 to -0.589, P < 0.001, d = 0.222-0.719). The loneliness levels of migrant children in urban China decreased from 2006 to 2019. Nevertheless, sustained measures and inclusive policies are still needed to mitigate the loneliness levels of Chinese migrant children.

The present study examined the relations of shyness and unsociability with indexes of adjustment in migrant and non-migrant Chinese children. Participants were migrant (n = 413) and non-migrant students (n = 513) in fourth to seventh grades (M age = 11.4years) in urban China. Data on shyness, unsociability, and adjustment were collected from multiple sources, including peer evaluations, teacher ratings, self-reports, and school records. The results showed that shyness was associated with social and school adjustment problems more evidently in non-migrant children than in migrant children, whereas unsociability was associated with social adjustment problems more evidently in migrant children than in non-migrant children. The results indicate that the functional meanings of children's social behaviors may differ across contexts.

An increasing number of migrant children are involved in public education due largely to the policy for migrant children education outlined by the Government of China from the late 1990s. In this article, we describe the unique and often difficult situation rural migrant children face after they enter urban public schools. Drawing from the Theory of Inclusive Education and data collected at two public junior high schools in Beijing, we provide an in-depth analysis on migrant children’s education from their own viewpoint and from the perspectives of their parents, teachers, and school administrators. Our survey results identify the need for further adjustments of the existing education system which can help improve migrant children’s education in China. Findings also highlight the dilemmas regarding how to best meet the needs for teachers, migrant parents, and migrant children who attend public schools. In order to provide a quality education for migrant children, we conclude by arguing that there must be a three-pronged partnership to best accommodate the unique education needs of migrant children in urban China.

This study examined the relations of maternal warmth, behavioral control, and encouragement of sociability to social, school, and psychological adjustment in migrant children in China. The participants were 284 rural-to-urban migrant children (M age = 11 years, 149 boys) in migrant children’s schools and their mothers. Data on parenting were collected from mothers’ reports. Data on children’s adjustment were collected from multiple sources including peer assessments, teacher ratings, self-reports, and school records. It was found that maternal warmth was associated with children’s social and school performance, and that maternal encouragement of sociability was associated with children’s psychological adjustment. Maternal behavioral control was not associated with children’s adjustment. The results indicate that maternal warmth, behavioral control, and encouragement of sociability may serve different functions in different domains of adjustment among migrant Chinese children.

China’s monumental volume of labor migration has led to a rise in the migrant children population in urban China. In this study, we examine school choices for migrant children (ages 6–12) using data from a nationally representative survey. We focus on two important decisions related to migrant children’s education: whether parents enroll their children in public schools versus special migrant schools and if they pay fees for children’s enrollment in local public schools. We find that the majority of migrant children are enrolled in local public schools but a non-negligible proportion of migrant children is enrolled in special migrant schools. Despite official government policy that prohibits public schools from charging enrollment fees, about 20% of migrant children’s parents paid fees in 2012. We also reveal that migrant children whose parents possess more local social capital are able to navigate through the public school system. A significant regional difference emerges from our analysis: compared to other parts of China, migrant children in Eastern China are less likely to be enrolled in public schools and their parents are more likely to pay for children’s education in public schools. These findings present new evidence that migrant children continue to face significant obstacles in access to public education, which is not consistent with Chinese government’s plan to promote a people-centered urbanization.

Educational inequality and achievement disparity: An empirical study of migrant children in China

School bullying victimization among children is a significant public health issue that may negatively influence their mental health. However, few studies have been conducted on the bullying of migrant children in urban China. A positive psychological perspective has rarely been adopted in examining the mechanisms through which bullying victimization influences mental health, and the protective factors remain understudied. This research investigates the factors that may contribute to reducing the negative effects of bullying victimization on mental health, focusing on the protective roles of school belonging and resilience in the association between bullying victimization and mental health. Data were collected from 1087 school-aged migrant children in Shanghai and Nanjing, China. The PROCESS macro was used to conduct moderated mediation analyses to test the hypothesized models. The results of moderated mediation modeling revealed that bullying victimization (β = −0.386, p < 0.001) was negatively linked with mental health through decreased school belonging (β = 0.398, p < 0.001). Moreover, resilience buffered the indirect negative effects of bullying victimization on migrant children’s mental health via school belonging (β = −0.460, p < 0.01). Specifically, lower resilience was clearly associated with stronger indirect effects. Our findings suggest that school belonging and resilience must be incorporated into mental health prevention and intervention programs targeting migrant children with bullying victimization experiences.

The positive development of migrant children in China is hampered due to their unequal accessibility to quality urban education resources. This research aimed at exploring the developmental trajectories of migrant and urban children's literacy and mathematics performance, as well as the impact of family socioeconomic status (SES) and parenting styles, including the mediating effect of parenting styles, by comparing migrant children with their urban counterparts. Growth mixture modeling identified distinguishable trajectories of mathematics development for migrant children (i.e., "falling behind" and "keeping pace" groups) and urban children (i.e., "catching up" and "keeping pace" groups), as well as distinguishable trajectories of literacy development for migrant children (i.e., "jumpstarting" and "keeping pace" groups) and urban children ("falling behind" and "steadily progressing" groups). Multinomial logistic regression analyses further clarified that authoritative parenting increased the likelihood of favorable trajectories of migrant children's mathematics development and urban children's literacy and mathematics development. Family SES enhanced migrant children's mathematics development. Family SES contributed to urban children's literacy development through authoritative parenting, yet such a mediating effect was not observed for migrant children. This study highlights the importance of focusing on distinct trajectories of migrant and urban children's literacy and mathematics in improving their school achievement.

ABSTRACTUsing confirmatory factor analyses, this study examined the method effects on a Chinese version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965) in a sample of migrant and urban children in China. In all, 982 children completed the RSES, and 9 models and 9 corresponding variants were specified and tested. The results indicated that the method effects are associated with both positively and negatively worded items and that Item 8 should be treated as a positively worded item. Additionally, the method effects models were invariant across migrant and urban children in China.

This paper reviews the current state of education for internal migrant children in urban China, with the aim of teasing out its ramifications for pedagogic equity expressed as performance outcomes. In recent years migrant children have been segregated predominantly in urban migrant schools, whereas students with a higher socioeconomic status may have access to integrated public schools populated mostly by urban children. This paper analyses publicly accessible policy papers and relevant scholarly literature to provide a contextualised interpretation of school segregation, with an aim to advance societal recognition of and responsibility for the inequities associated with the education of migrant children in China. Our intention is to tease out and make more transparent than has to date happened the implications of these disparities and inequities. It is to be hoped that this information will encourage policy makers to acknowledge that the amelioration of inequities in performance depends on reforming the current segregation procedures and administrative protocols which fail to maximise the access to equal educational opportunities to which Chinese migrant students should be entitled.

Using the two-wave China Education Panel Survey, this study investigates the effect of local language proficiency on migrant children’s school adaptation, and the moderating role of school segregation in contemporary urban China. Our analysis delineates three pivotal aspects of school adaptation: learning adaptability, interpersonal relationships, and psychosocial maladjustment. Utilizing two-level mixed-effects models, we uncover that the influence of local language proficiency on school adaptation exhibits variability across different segregation levels in both low and high migrant concentration counties. The effects are acting as a double-edged sword. In counties with low migrant concentration, high language proficiency can enhance migrant children’s learning adaptability, self-efficacy, yet it could also bolster their depression levels. In counties with high migrant concentration, high language proficiency improves interpersonal relationships, however, it also increases their school change desire particularly in highly segregated schools. These findings highlight the intricate relationship between language proficiency and the contextual factors affecting migrant children’s school adaptation. It suggests the importance of designing educational interventions that not only enhance language acquisition but also address the broader emotional and social challenges faced by migrant children.