The Price of Aspirations: Education Migrants’ Pursuit of Higher Education in Hubei Province, China

Abstract

This article offers an analysis of the educational aspirations of China’s education migrants. These rural youth, who enrol in Chinese universities in great numbers, are often the first in their families to pursue higher education. Thereby, education migrants play an important role in China’s rural–urban transition. Yet these youth continue to be confronted with rural–urban inequalities in Chinese society. This article draws on the framework proposed by Zipin et al. (Educ Philos Theory 47(3):227–246, 2015) to demonstrate how education migrants navigate the gap between the dominant belief that education is a meritocratic vehicle for social mobility and the realities with which they are confronted in the Chinese higher education system. It also suggests how this framework can be adjusted for studies of societies undergoing rapid social transformation. Finally, the article makes a case for bringing together discussions about aspiring youth and debates about the social structures in which young peoples’ aspirations are grounded.