Hukou and educational policies in Shanghai: Selective incorporation of migrant children in big cities of China

Keywords: Children, migration, education, hukou, China
Session Type: Virtual Paper
Day: Saturday
Session Start / End Time: 4/10/2021 03:05 PM (Pacific Time (US & Canada)) - 4/10/2021 04:20 PM (Pacific Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 25

Abstract

China has a hukou system that limits the provision of public service and does not grant full citizenship to non-local migrant population. As the largest city in terms of urban population in China, Shanghai is one of the major destinations of China’s internal migration. Defined by one’s hukou status, there were as many as 1.32 million migrant children stock in Shanghai in 2015. The lives of these children are severely affected by local policies, with the hukou and educational policies being the most potent ones. These policies give segmented school opportunities to migrant children according to the "contribution" of their migrant parents to the city. As a result, migrant children find it increasingly hard to remain in Shanghai together with their parents as they grow older and request schooling resources especially beyond the basic compulsory education. This phenomenon is not unique in Shanghai; rather, it is part and parcel of China’s development strategy in the reform era since the 1980s. Through inquiring the levers, drivers, and discourse of the hukou and educational policies in Shanghai, this study examines the selective incorporation of migrant children under strong state contexts.