Schooling of migrant children in China: Perspectives of school teachers

The impact of family migration on children's schooling has been the focus of much investigation in western countries. However, there are limited data on such impact in China, despite a large number of rural-to-urban migrants. In-depth interviews were conducted among 20 school teachers in Beijing. Findings reveal that barriers for migrant children to attend public schools include extra financial charge and stigmatization resulting from their migratory status. The schools serving solely migrant children were perceived as having poor teaching facilities and lacking adequately trained teachers. Migrant parents were generally perceived as having limited involvement in their children's schooling. Findings suggest that national policy related to the schooling of migrant children should be improved and support from family and society should be emphasized.

Keywords:

• rural-to-urban migration
• schooling
• stigmatization
• qualitative research
• China

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by NIH grant R21TW006375. The authors wish to thank our participating investigators for their assistance in data collection. The authors would also like to thank Ms Joanne Zwemer for assistance with manuscript preparation.