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Choices or Constraints: Education of Migrant Children in Urban China

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Abstract

China’s monumental volume of labor migration has led to a rise in the migrant children population in urban China. In this study, we examine school choices for migrant children (ages 6–12) using data from a nationally representative survey. We focus on two important decisions related to migrant children’s education: whether parents enroll their children in public schools versus special migrant schools and if they pay fees for children’s enrollment in local public schools. We find that the majority of migrant children are enrolled in local public schools but a non-negligible proportion of migrant children is enrolled in special migrant schools. Despite official government policy that prohibits public schools from charging enrollment fees, about 20% of migrant children’s parents paid fees in 2012. We also reveal that migrant children whose parents possess more local social capital are able to navigate through the public school system. A significant regional difference emerges from our analysis: compared to other parts of China, migrant children in Eastern China are less likely to be enrolled in public schools and their parents are more likely to pay for children’s education in public schools. These findings present new evidence that migrant children continue to face significant obstacles in access to public education, which is not consistent with  Chinese government’s plan to promote a people-centered urbanization.

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Notes

  1. Based on authors’ interviews with migrant schools in Fuzhou, December 2014.

  2. In 2013, the former National Population and Family Planning Commission of PRC and the former Ministry of Health were merged into one institution, i.e., the former National Health and Family Planning Commission of PRC. The institution has been renamed National Health Commission of PRC in 2018.

  3. In Dongguan of Guangdong province, the local government uses a point system (with respect to migrant parents) to decide which migrant child can be enrolled in local public schools. This point system considers the following aspects for migrant parents: education background, number of years of working experience, number of years of enrollment in social security system, and tax records among others (Dongguan City Government 2017).

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Funding

This project was supported by the National Science Foundation [Grant Number: SES#1524282] and the National Social Science Foundation of China [15AZD053].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, State University of New York and Xi’an Jiaotong University, 1400 Washington Ave, Albany, NY, 12222, USA

    Zai Liang & Yuanfei Li

  2. Department of Sociology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China

    Zhongshan Yue & Qiao Li

  3. Department of Anthropology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China

    Aihua Zhou

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  1. Zai Liang
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  2. Zhongshan Yue
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  3. Yuanfei Li
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  4. Qiao Li
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  5. Aihua Zhou
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Correspondence to Zai Liang or Zhongshan Yue.

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Liang, Z., Yue, Z., Li, Y. et al. Choices or Constraints: Education of Migrant Children in Urban China. Popul Res Policy Rev 39, 671–690 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-019-09564-9

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