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

Abstract

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.

Measuring and Assessing Regional Education Inequalities in China under Changing Policy Regimes

“…Providing education to substantial numbers of migrants from rural areas will largely increase the financial burden on urban governments; therefore urban authorities usually display a negative attitude to offering equal education to migrants' children. Quality education is not really available for migrant children (Li and Placier 2015;Xiang et al 2018).…”

The impact of perceived discrimination on personality among Chinese migrant children: The moderating role of parental support

“…At the institutional level, the household registration system ( hukou ) has limited migrant children’s access to education, housing, health care and other public services. For example, in China the Compulsory Education Law requires the state to provide every child with 9 years of primary and secondary education; however, under China’s funding system, migrant children who do not have the local hukou and want to attend public school often have to pay large ‘temporary student fees’ (Li & Placier, 2015; Wang, 2008). Although in 2008 the central government officially abolished the collection of these fees and urged local governments to take the responsibility to educate migrant children, many public schools still invent ingenious ways to charge admission fees (Zhou & Cheung, 2017), while others use credentials to limit migrant students’ access.…”

“…For example, Wang & Jiang, 2016 have pointed out that even if migrant children go to public school, some are put to study in different buildings or classrooms and are often treated differently by their teachers. Some urban parents have openly demanded that the schools not to admit migrant children, while others prohibit their children from speaking to or playing with migrant children (Li & Placier, 2015). Many local students share their parents’ disdain for migrant children and make the latter feel like second-class citizens (Mu & Jia, 2016) and bully fellow students with migrant statuses (Sun, Chen, & Chan, 2016).…”

Educating the children of migrants in China and the United States: a common challenge?

“…Public school teachers were also more qualified and experienced, with far higher salaries than those of minban school teachers (Zhou and Wang 2016). Furthermore, within the public sector, migrant children are concentrated in lower ranking schools in peripheral areas (Zhou and Wang 2016;Li and Placier 2015;Lan 2014), and even when they attend the same school, migrant students are sometimes kept separate from children of local families in classes and in the playground (Lan 2014).…”