A Theory of Migrant Optimism: A Comparison of Parental and Student Expectations in China

• In Event: 3581 - Section on Sociology of Children and Youth Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 08. Health, Migration, Work

Abstract

A growing body of research frames migrant educational inequalities in China as a problem of legal access. Adapting the theory of immigrant optimism, which argues that immigrant families have particularly high educational expectations, to the Chinese context, we examine group differences in parental and student expectations and whether factors such as gender and the number of siblings matter differently. Using nationally representative data, we find that contrary the theory of immigrant optimism, migrant families in China do not have particularly high expectations. However, families who migrate, including those with left-behind children, have expectations that are more egalitarian.

Authors

• Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng, New York University

• Chen Li, New York University