Rural-urban Migrant Children Research Articles

Segmented assimilation of migrant children in urban public schools of China: Impact of family resources and school segregation on their educational aspirations

Rural–urban migrant children are a rapidly growing population in Chinese cities. There is emerging literature on the educational inequality faced by migrant children, but most studies focus on their educational performance or attainments and use non-migrant children with non-agricultural hukou in urban areas as one single reference group. This paper argues that Chinese society is segmented by both hukou type and location, and examines the educational aspirations of migrant children from the perspective of segmented assimilation theory. On the basis of the 2013–2014 wave of the China Education Panel Survey, the results show a segmented assimilation pattern: migrant children with non-agricultural hukou had a similar likelihood of aspiring to tertiary education or above; whereas migrant children with agricultural hukou showed higher aspirations of completing at least tertiary education, and the disparity remained significant after considering family resources and school segregation. In family resources, social capital, in form of social communication with parents, benefited migrant children’s aspirations more than it did for their non-migrant counterparts, regardless of their hukou type. In school segregation indicators, academic segregation channeled migrant children with agricultural hukou to a less desirable condition. These findings carry practical and policy implications for understandings of migrant children’s educational aspirations.

How does cultural capital influence the school choice of rural and urban migrant families in Nanjing, China? Evidence from a survey study

Across China, the household registration (hukou) policy has restricted the school admission of rural–urban migrant children in urban areas. In 2017, the Nanjing government issued the Tenants Have the Same Right as Householders (THSRH) policy to allow tenants in urban areas access to public-school resources. However, what the migrant children have experienced in and after negotiating access to these schools deserves serious attention from educators, scholars and policymakers. This study surveyed 186 rural–urban migrant parents in Nanjing who chose to send their children to junior secondary schools after the implementation of the THSRH policy. The study identified that higher socioeconomic and household status of rural–urban migrants increased their choices for junior secondary schools. However, the study demonstrated that the restriction in the hukou policy is still a dominant factor influencing public-school access. The study highlighted that the interaction of the development of extracurricular abilities and investment in private supplementary tutoring are two main factors that influence the school choices of rural–urban migrant families.

Migrant Children Education Problems In China: The Existing and Possible Influences and Solutions

Educational exclusion of rural-urban migrant children, especially in developing countries, has been one of the most frequently discussed issues in contemporary education. China can be taken as a representative example of this. Due to its large population, the dual “hukou” policy of rural or urban resident identities, and household registration system, China has such a group of parents who are with their migrant children and usually do low-paid work. They live in temporary residency and their children receive poor education. This has caused a dual-track system. The extent of this issue in China is complicated, and has thus wide discussion from researchers and academics over the decades. This article introduces the current educational situation of Chinese rural-urban migrant children, and apply existing theories to illustrate the influences of this issue and the necessity of solving it, proposing possible solutions to this problem.

Parental support in education and social integration of migrant children in urban public schools in China

This study investigates the impacts of rural-urban migrant parents' support in education on their children's social integration in urban public schools in China. The data come from a nationally representative sample of 1615 rural-urban migrant children collected in 2014. We identified great variations in migrant children's social integration in schools. Migrant children with a good study environment and strict parental supervision at home have a stronger sense of belonging to the school and heightened socialisation with urban peers. The impacts remain highly significant after student, family and school-level confounders and class and school-level unobserved heterogeneity are all controlled for in the analysis. However, there is no evidence to suggest that communication with teachers leads to better integration. Social integration of migrant children also varies by gender, academic competence and school composition. These findings inform the design of policy interventions.

Teachers’ Perceptions of Educational Inclusion for Migrant Children in Chinese Urban Schools: A Cohort Study

In recent decades, China has observed increasing numbers of rural–urban migrant children seeking education in Chinese cities, resulting in pressure on urban schools to accommodate these children. Drawing on pre- and post-survey and interview data with 215 primary school teachers in a metropolitan city in East China, the objectives of this article are to describe teachers’ perceptions of educational inclusion in both migrant and public schools, and to investigate changes in their beliefs from 2013 to 2016. Urban public school teachers indicated significant differences in perceptions compared with their first test, whereas no salient differences in perceptions was found among migrant school teachers. The qualitative analysis echoed the quantitative findings and provided further explanation for the complexity and particularity of these changes. Our study revealed that public schools have made great reforms in relation to educational inclusion for migrant students and that these initiatives in turn have produced changes on teachers’ perceptions and practices with migrant children. It should be noted, however, that teachers attribute the changes in their perceptions to external factors rather than the internal ones. In the light of these findings, the article discusses implications for further professional development programs for teachers in Chinese migrant schools.

Internal migrant children in Chinese classrooms: Do they influence students’ achievements?

This paper analyzes whether internal migrant children have negative peer effects on students’ academic achievements and to explore the mechanisms of these effects, if present. We firstly divided the migrant students into different groups according to their migrant experience. We then examined peer effects of different groups of migrant children, and the effects in differently ranked schools were particularly explored. It is found that rural-urban migrant children had negative peer effects, particularly in low- and middle-ranked schools, while the urban-urban migrant children had no negative peer effects. Endogenous and correlated effects are found as the mechanism of these peer effects.

Quality of Life of Rural–Urban Migrant Children in China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Quality of Life of Rural–Urban Migrant Children in China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Quality of Life of Rural–Urban Migrant Children in China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Quality of Life of Rural–Urban Migrant Children in China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Language and Identity Construction of China’s Rural-Urban Migrant Children: An Ethnographic Study in an Urban Public School

ABSTRACTThis article investigates the identity construction process of China’s rural-urban migrant children through analyses of their discourses and of their use of language. Rural children have relocated to the urban centers with their parents on a massive scale over the past decades as China has undergone rapid economic changes. Many migrant children are able to attend urban public schools, and their identity construction emerges as an important issue that attracts increasing public and scholarly attention. This study draws on ethnographic data and presents four examples to illustrate the complex process of migrant identity construction. The results show that the migrant children deploy a range of linguistic features and claim multiple identities; in order for their identities to be established in social reality, they have to go through negotiation processes in which their identities are evaluated, ratified, challenged, or denied. Language is at the center of such processes.

Better educational inclusion of migrant children in urban schools? Exploring the influences of the population control policy in large Chinese cities

The educational inclusion of rural–urban migrant children in Chinese urban schools has been promoted in the past decades. This paper provides a contextualized interpretation of recent policy developments governing large Chinese cities and evaluates its impact upon the status of migrant children's education. Drawing on data collected from 1,331 migrant children in urban inclusive schools, this study compared current migrant children's family backgrounds and psychological sense of belonging at school in relation to educational outcomes at the primary education level. Results showed that migrant children's socioeconomic status (SES) levels were slightly higher than their counterparts in inclusive schools and a salient SES stratification of migrant students was found. This correlates with students’ reports of fewer incidences of discrimination than hypothesized. Furthermore, capital in migrant families was positively associated with the psychological sense of belonging and academic achievement. These results reveal a significant change to migrant students’ SES as a result of the recent population control policy pertaining to China's large cities since 2014. Implications for research and educational practice, especially with at‐risk migrant students of low‐SES, are discussed.

Prevalence of Mental Health Problems and Associated Risk Factors among Rural-to-Urban Migrant Children in Guangzhou, China.

Rural-to-urban migration, which has achieved a huge scale during China’s economic reform, is a potential risk factor for the mental health of migrant children. To test this hypothesis, this study assessed the mental health status of rural-to-urban migrant children. Guided by Andersen’s behavioral model, the study explored the risk factors associated with mental health. The study recruited 1182 fifth/sixth-grade children from four private and four public primary schools in Guangzhou in 2014 in a descriptive cross-sectional design. Mental health status was measured by the strengths and difficulties questionnaire. Predisposing characteristics including demographics (e.g., age, gender), social structure (e.g., education, occupation) and health beliefs (health attitude) were recorded. Enabling characteristics including family and community resources and the need for health services were analyzed to explore the risk factors. The results indicate that more rural-to-urban migrant children were classified in the abnormal (21.0%) or borderline (18.8%) categories based on the total difficulties scores, the proportions of which were much higher than those of local children (9.8% abnormal, 13.8% borderline). Factors associated with a greater likelihood of mental health problems included single-parent families, seeking health information actively, family income cannot meet basic needs and poor perceived health status. Compared with the local children, the rural-to-urban migrant children had relatively poor mental health, hence monitoring and supporting mental health for rural-urban migrant children is critical.

The Impact of Changes in Chinese Government Policy on Rural-Urban Migrant Children’s Schooling

In this policy analysis we will explicate changes in policies affecting the ability of Chinese rural-urban migrantfamilies to gain access to public school education for their children. We argue that these changes are traceable toa contradiction between the transformation of government economic policies in the period since 1978, whichencouraged rural surplus labor force to move to urban areas seeking job opportunities; and the Hukou policy,which continued to label migrants as “urban outsiders” (Cheng shi wai lai ren kou translated into Chinese) andtherefore limited migrant families’ access to resources and services intended for urban residents. Recent changesin policy have attempted to resolve this problem, but our case study findings show that the cultural and socialdivide between rural and urban residents remains a salient factor in urban education.

Population migration and children’s school enrollments in China, 1990–2005

This paper examines the impact of migration on children’s school enrollment by analyzing the micro-data from Chinese population censuses in 1990 and 2000 and mini-census in 2005. We match school-age children (7–14years old) with their parents, and examine how migration status and parents’ absence affect children’s school enrollment in urban China. We also compare rural–urban migrant children with their peers in both origin counties and destination districts. Results show that migrant children are less likely to be enrolled in school than urban local children and that children of rural registration status are particularly disadvantaged in school enrollment over the whole examined period in urban China. Rural–urban migrant children fare significantly worse than non-migrant children in both origins and destinations and noticeably they are even less likely than left-behind children to be enrolled in school. The likelihood of being enrolled in school increases for rural–urban migrant children as they spend more time in destinations.

Migrant and Non-Migrant Families in Chengdu, China: Segregated Lives, Segregated Schools

This study documented the experiences of Chinese rural-urban migrant children and their parents living in the host city of Chengdu, China. It was informed by previous studies but applied a theoretical lens cultural reproduction theory—to reveal deeper understanding of rural-urban migrant families’ lives in the city of Chengdu. Participants in this study were 10 families—10 migrant parents, 10 local Chengdu resident parents, 5 local Chengdu children, and 5 migrant children. Through qualitative interviews and observations the researchers created 5 family case studies, documenting differences and similarities in the lives of migrant and local resident families in Chengdu. Results indicated that children in the two groups experienced unequal childhoods. Although the Chinese central government has issued a number of proactive policies to allow migrant children to attend local urban public schools since 2003, the negative effect of the longstanding Hukou residency policy still impacts migrant families’ lives in Chengdu. In this article we discuss an entrenched urban-rural divide between urban residents and rural-urban migrant families, in work, community, and schooling.

Oral health status of rural-urban migrant children in South China

In China, there is a massive rural-urban migration and the children of migrants are often unregistered residents (a 'floating population'). This pilot study aimed to profile the oral health of migrant children in South China's principal city of migration and identify its socio-demographic/behavioural determinants. An epidemiological survey was conducted in an area of Guangzhou among 5-year-old migrant children (n = 138) who received oral examinations according to the World Health Organization criteria. Parents' oral health knowledge/attitude, child practices, and impact of children's oral health on their quality-of-life (QoL) were assessed. The caries rate and mean (SD) dmft were 86% and 5.17 (4.16), respectively, higher than those national statistics for both rural and urban areas (P < 0.05). Oral hygiene was satisfactory (DI-S < 1.0) in 3% of children. Oral health impacts on QoL were considerable; 60% reported one or more impacts. 58% variance in 'dmft' was explained by 'non-local-born', 'low-educated parents', 'bedtime feeding', 'parental unawareness of fluoride's effect and importance of teeth', and 'poor oral hygiene' (all P < 0.05). 'Non-local-born' and 'dmft' indicated poor oral health-related QoL (both P < 0.05), accounting for 32% of variance. Oral health is poor among rural-urban migrant children and requires effective interventions in targeted sub-groups.