There are more than 225 million rural-to-urban migrant workers, and some 20 million migrant children in Chinese cities. Because of policies related to the household registration (hukou) system, migrant students are not allowed a public high school education in the cities, so their urban education stops abruptly at the end of middle school. This book investigates the post-middle school education and labor market decisions of migrant students in Beijing and Shanghai, and provides a glimpse into the future of a crucial link in China’s development. The stories of how these migrant students seek upward mobility and urban citizenship also reveal one of the most intricate structural inequalities in China today. Based on quantitative data collected from middle schools in Beijing and Shanghai, and ethnographic data drawing on in-depth interviews with migrant children, their parents, and teachers, this book offers a portrait of the migration and educational experiences and prospects of second generation migrant youth in China today. It explores the urban experience of migrant students, contrasting it with that of local city youngsters, examining the migrant students’ family backgrounds, family dynamics, neighborhood and school experience, and interaction with locals. It goes on to look at the migrant students’ education and career aspirations, the structural obstacles preventing their fulfilment, and how migrant families respond to institutional constraints on educational opportunity. Finally, the book concludes with a discussion of policy implications and offers proposals for resolving the dilemmas of migrant youth. This book will of great interest to students and scholars of Chinese studies, Asian education, migration and social development.

This dissertation, "Educational Experiences of Chinese Migrant Children: the Role of Acculturation, Social Support and Psychological Mediators" by Lue, Fang, 方略, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: China''s internal migration, as characterized by massive human mobility from rural to urban regions, offers an unparalleled scientific opportunity to study the impact of migration processes on children''s developmental outcomes. This dissertation explores the educational experiences of Chinese migrant children. Three interrelated studies were conducted to investigate the extent to which social support, acculturation, and psychological variables are related to Chinese migrant children''s school wellbeing. Study One developed an acculturation scale for Chinese migrant children, based on an acculturation model involving integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization (Berry, 2003). Thirty-two items were created to tap into behavioral, psychological and social domains of migrant children''s acculturation processes. The validity of the scale was established through the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Results indicated that the Acculturation Scale for Chinese Migrant Children is a viable instrument for future investigation of acculturation orientations among migrant sample in China. Study Two investigated the mechanisms and conditions under which social support from family, teachers and peers exert influence on academic achievement of Chinese migrant children. Drawing upon the data from 2491 migrant children attending 15 elementary and middle schools, results from structural equation modeling analysis suggested that support from teachers played the most significant role in academic achievement of these students, followed by family and peer support. Psychological variables of self-esteem, hope, and school satisfaction fully mediated the effect of social support on achievement. In addition, support from family demonstrated a greater effect on academic achievement among children who have been integrated into both city and hometown contexts. Study Two concluded that it is imperative to fully understand the nature of support, as well as its conditions and underlying mechanisms, under which children from migrant backgrounds can thrive and benefit. The overall purpose of Study Three was to understand the contextual forces that shape migrant children''s family processes, school climate, and acculturation. Using semi-structured interviews with 30 migrant students plus 5 of their parents, it was found that there was a substantial in-group variation in migrant children''s educational experiences. Parenting practices among the migrant families demonstrated a combination of traditional beliefs and modern influences. Positive interactions with teachers and peers provided strong support for adjustment in the urban context. The third study concluded that the substantial in-group variation in children''s educational experiences might be related to differences in parenting ideology and practices, social support and children''s agency, all of which are further shaped by the broader cultural milieu. Positive school experiences for Chinese migrant children are vital for nurturing competent citizens who are fully engaged in social, economic and civil activities of the society. Migrant children''s school adjustment and success is a pre-requisite for social stability and economic wellbeing. Understanding how the socio-ecological factors contribute to school experiences of Chinese migrant children can provide important implication

Rachel Murphy explores Chinese children's experience of having migrant parents and the impact this has on family relationships in China.

Educating the Children of Migrant Workers in Beijing is a timely book that addresses the gap in the provision of basic education to migrant children in China. It examines the case of Beijing, with a focus on policy implementation at the municipal and district levels and its impacts on migrant schools and their students. Rural migrant workers in the cities usually lack local hukou (household registration) and face serious obstacles in accessing basic social services, including schooling for their children. The educational situation of these children, however, can vary both across and within localities, and, despite policies and regulations from the central government, there have emerged broad and sometimes even extreme differences in the implementation of these policies at the local levels. This book uses evidence from qualitative interviews and the analysis of policy documents and materials to provide readers with a rare glimpse into the local politics surrounding migrant children’s education in China’s political center, including the nature of and motives behind policy implementation at the municipal and district levels and the implications for the survival and development of migrant schools in the city. Educating the Children of Migrant Workers in Beijing is a unique and in-depth contribution to an important area and will appeal to scholars and students across a range of disciplines, including China studies, migration studies, education, social policy, and development studies, as well as to practitioners and policymakers working on migrant issues and social welfare provision in China.

The true measure of any society is how it treats its children, who are in turn that society’s future. Making use of data from the longitudinal Chinese Family Panel Studies survey, the authors of this timely study provide a multi-faceted description and analysis of China’s younger generations. They assess the economic, physical, and social-emotional well-being as well as the cognitive performance and educational attainment of China's children and youth. They pay special attention to the significance of family and community contexts, including the impact of parental absence on millions of left-behind children. Throughout the volume, the authors delineate various forms of disparities, especially the structural inequalities maintained by the Chinese Party-state and the vulnerabilities of children and youth in fragile families and communities. They also analyze the social attitudes and values of Chinese youth. Having grown up in a period of sustained prosperity and greater individual choice, the younger Chinese cohorts are more independent in spirit, more open-minded socially, and significantly less deferential to authority than older cohorts. There is growing recognition in China of the importance of investing in children’s future and of helping the less advantaged. Substantial improvements in child and youth well-being have been achieved in a time of growing economic prosperity. Strong political commitment is needed to sustain existing efforts and to overcome the many obstacles that remain. This book will be of considerable interest to researchers of Chinese society and development.

The monograph examines the constructive process of class consciousness among rural migrant children in China and how their perceptions of social reality are shaped by their interactions within family, community, and school contexts. Using evidence from qualitative investigations conducted in two Beijing primary schools, one public school and one private migrant school, the author explores the nexus of social class structure, schooling process, and consciousness construction of rural migrant children, which helps readers to understand rural migrant children’s perceived way out of their social reproduction loop, foresee the future working-class formation in Chinese society, and seek the possibility of fostering a critical consciousness of China’s new workers via education channels. The book will appeal to researchers and students studying migrant children, migrant workers, and education in China. Those who research underprivileged children from the perspective of student agency/student resistance and through a Freirean lens could also be an audience for this book.

Children are precious in China especially as its population ages rapidly. The unprecedented fast urbanization and massive internal migration have profoundly changed almost every aspect of society. They have impacted the livelihood of children of migrants most. Because of the hukou system and related policies, China’s internal migrants face major obstacles to assimilate into cities. But more than that, as this book shows, these policies have also torn families apart on a scale unseen heretofore. More than 100 million children grow up in unstable families and the great majority have suffered from prolonged separation from their parents in the migratory upheaval. This book provides an updated analysis of this mega and painful process unfolding at various geographical scales. The chapters revolve around the central notion of family togetherness, or the lack thereof. The book measures, dissects, and analyses the impacts of migration on children and recommends policies to address major problems from a variety of disciplinary perspectives employing different methodologies. The problems faced by the children of migrants remain enormous, and it is a looming huge crisis in the making. If unaddressed, those problems can damage a whole generation with serious consequences. The chapters in this book were first published in Eurasian Geography and Economics.