Non-Exploitive Bias in Gendered Educational and Post-School Transitions of Rual-to-Urban Migrant Young Adults in China

• In Event: Gender, Race, and Movement: Multi-age Youth Crossing Borders and Divides

Abstract

Rural-to-urban migrant youth in China face educational inequalities in access to and achievement within compulsory schooling, little is known about their routes after completing compulsory education. This study uses a constructivist grounded theory approach with longitudinal qualitative data: seven months of classroom observation and interviews with 21 ninth-grade students (2020–2021), followed by “River of Life” drawings and interviews with six participants (2025). Findings show boys were channelled into pragmatic, employment-oriented routes framed as family responsibility, whereas girls were offered freedom of choice but left without guidance or resources, leading to stalled transitions and internalised self-blame. These patterns converged into the concept of non‑exploitive bias, where disengagement is masked as respect for autonomy and limits migrant girls’ aspirations and opportunities.

Authors

• Linyao Wang, University of Reading

• Carol Fuller, University of Reading