Exam-oriented education and implementation of education policy for migrant children in urban China

Abstract

This paper investigates the implementation of education policy for migrant children in urban China. Historically, rural and urban residents in China were separated by the hukou system, and rural children were not allowed to attend urban schools. Since the relaxation of the hukou system in the early 1980s, large numbers of rural families migrated to cities. The right of migrant children to education in urban China was formally recognised by the government in a series of policies starting in 2001. The research reported, here, reveals that migrant children did not have equal access to urban schools nor did they enjoy an equally good education to that of urban children. Based on 53 in-depth interviews with school principals, teachers and pupils in two provincial capitals in China, this paper explores the main factors affecting the implementation of education policy for migrant children. The research demonstrates that policies relating to equal admissions criteria were not implemented as intended, with migrant children not having equal access to schools. However, policies relating to non-segregation and academic support were implemented as intended. It is argued that, at the school level, this is a result of the examination-oriented system, and schools’ responses to this.

Keywords:

• policy implementation
• exam-oriented education
• rural-urban migration
• equal opportunity in education
• China
• high-stakes testing

Notes

1. Middle schools are, thus, broadly equivalent to secondary schools in England (which cater for 11–18 year olds).

2. The State Council of PRC, namely the central government of PRC, is the central administrative authority in China. It is responsible for implementing the laws passed by the National People’s Congress (NPC) which is the supreme legislation body in China. The State Council is granted by the NPC with separate powers to legislate, but its legislation has lower legal validity and usually takes the form of regulations, notifications or recommendations. This means that if the regulations formulated by the State Council are in contradiction with the laws published by the NPC, what is stipulated in the latter is regarded as valid and, thus, must be followed.