Education as a means of integration into the city: Migrant children in the government-sponsored Honghua School in Chengdu, China.

摘要

This study explores and analyzes migrant children's educational issues in China's southwest metropolitan city of Chengdu as reflected in a government-sponsored Honghua School. In recent years, instead of traveling alone to their destination cities, more and more migrant workers have chosen to travel with their families. As a result, their children's educational needs have become an area of concern and conflict, due largely to China's outdated hukou household registration system that ties social benefits closely to the person's place of hukou registration. While largely looked upon as a labor export province, Sichuan, with its capital of Chengdu, also has witnessed intra-province migrant arrivals from the rural regions in Sichuan. Recently, as China's coastal manufacturing facilities have been negatively impacted by the global economic recession, many Sichuan migrants have lost their factory jobs, which has forced them to return to Sichuan. Many of these returnees choose to stay in Chengdu with their families and seek jobs there. Are the Chengdu schools ready for the growing number of migrant children? Are any proactive measures being taken to ensure that all school-age migrant children receive the compulsory nine-year education?;Findings indicate that the Honghua model of a migrant-only school serves both as an agent for integration and segregation. The findings from this study provide insights for further related research so both scholars inside and outside China could further the research on the migrants to learn more about this special social dynamic makeup in China. Additionally, Chinese government agencies, social advocacy groups, interested individuals, and even the migrant population across China are likely to benefit from the research results and recommendations.