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.

Worldwide labor migration has transformed and reshaped various fields of government policy and professional practices. Labor migration is associated with the non-economic social phenomena that scholars have increasingly paid attention to in both sending and receiving destinations. For practitioners in the field of education, medicine, nursing, social work, mental health, public health, and other professional practices, the human face of labor migration -- migrant workers' and their families' daily challenges -- often reveals the human cost of migration behind the image of economic gain and benefits. Migrant workers and their families are facing vexing challenges ranging from basic needs to psychosocial well-being, despite who they are and where they come from. Traditional ways of thinking and knowing cannot address these challenges adequately; rather, established divisions of professions, systems, disciplines, and/or areas of practice might just be the factor that constrains the ability to clearly articulate compelling problems and adds an additional layer of complexity to problem solving. This book focuses on country policies and practices, and draws on theoretical ideas that provide the intellectual basis. In addition, it offers vivid examples of how migrant workers manage to work, pursue economic security, strive and adjust in new communities, define and negotiate self and identity, and seek health and well-being. While the book illuminates shared challenges and experiences for each group of migrant workers (i.e. low-skilled workers, internal migrants and other types of migrating laborers), it also synthesizes the intersectionality across all migrant workers, as they remain committed to bettering the lives of their families and communities in their origin countries as well as new host countries and communities. This volume reflects the efforts of interdisciplinary research and collaboration. Based on empirical studies and policy analysis, the researchers draw broader implications for evidence-based practice and policy in migration studies, and offer practical suggestions for policy and service delivery design, including formal and informal mechanisms of support which can inform the professional reader.

Global Migration and Education makes a notable contribution to understanding the issues faced by immigrant children, their parents, and educators as they interact in school settings, and to identifying the common challenges to, and successes in, educational institutions worldwide as they cope with these issues. Global in scope, there are chapters from 14 countries. It will help educators and others involved in these complex processes to see beyond the notion of problems created and experienced by recently arrived young children. Rather, this volume provides many concrete suggestions deriving from the success stories and voices of teachers, parents, and students. It also offers evidence that diversity can be a condition for learning that, when understood, embraced, and supported, leads to rich learning opportunities for all involved that would not exist without diversity. All of the authors offer recommendations about educational policy and practices to address and ultimately improve the education of all children, including immigrant children. The book is organized around five themes: *Multiple Global Issues for Immigrant Children and the Schools They Attend; *They Are Here: Newcomers in the Schools; *Views and Voices of Immigrant Children; *Far from Home With Fluctuating Hopes; and *Searching for New Ways to Belong. Intended for researchers, students, school professionals, and educational policymakers and analysts around the world in the fields of multicultural education, child psychology, comparative and international education, educational foundations, educational policy, and cross-cultural studies, this book is highly relevant as a text for courses in these areas.

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

A collection of stories about the life of a migrant family.