Access and Equity for Rural Migrants in Shanghai

• In Event: Looking Deeper Into China’s Unequal Access to Higher Education

Abstract

Shanghai has emerged as a key Chinese municipality in promoting educational equity for rural migrant children, a population of disadvantaged youth that policymakers worry will develop into a future urban underclass. In 2010, Shanghai became the first Chinese city to provide free compulsory education to children of migrant workers by investing $0.5 billion to expand public school enrollment. As Shanghai reforms aim to increase educational access, what are the remaining challenges that rural migrant children face in receiving a quality compulsory schooling?
From the perspective of middle school migrant youth in Shanghai, I investigate the educational strategies that migrant households use in overcoming obstacles to receive quality, compulsory schooling in the cities. This study draws on interviews with rural migrant students who attend two Shanghai public schools during the 2011-12 academic year. Building on the parental involvement literature and social capital research, I examine parental and sibling involvement as critical factors for rural migrant children to receive a quality education. Preliminary findings suggest rural migrant parents supported their children’s schooling by moving to Shanghai, a metropolis widely considered to have better schooling. Personal connections (guanxi), information-gathering on Shanghai schools and money were critical for migrant parents to enroll their children into public schools and, once admitted to a public school, to gain entry into high-ability classes. Children also actively participated in their households to promote learning, as older siblings provided tutoring assistance, advice and encouragement to younger siblings. The prevalence of guanxi to access quality schooling suggests the reform’s limited effect to increase educational opportunity for rural migrant children. Ultimately, since the pursuit of higher education depends on a strong academic foundation, this study provides important insights into the barriers that undermine rural migrant children’s college aspirations from their early schooling years.

Author

• Lisa Yiu, Stanford University