| Internal migration and education are often closely interconnected. Over the past two decades, China's internal migration, mostly rural-to-urban, has grown at an unprecedented rate as a result of massive economic development. The existing systems of household registration and decentralization of educational financing have caused great difficulties for migrant children to receive high quality compulsory education.;Using Kunming, the capital of China's southwest Yunnan Province, as an example, this study examines three interacting dimensions of social change in contemporary China: migration, ethnicity, and education. In particular, it sheds light on the issues of compulsory educational opportunity for migrant children. Three key research questions are addressed in the study: (1) What are the main educational barriers faced by migrant children in general, and by migrant children of ethnic minority background in particular? (2) How do these educational barriers affect their respective academic performance? (3) Is there a gap in academic achievement between ethnic minority and non-minority migrant students?;This study adopts a mixed-methods research design. Using data gathered from the "2008 Kunming Migrant Children's Survey," the quantitative portion of the study employs a two-level hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to identify and estimate student- and school-level barriers for migrant children. In the qualitative portion, the analysis is based primarily on the data collected through in-depth interviews and focus-group discussions with over 90 migrant students, teachers, and principals from ten schools in Kunming. Drawing upon these rich quantitative and qualitative data, the study documents, in a thorough manner, the academic performance and special educational needs of migrant children.;The results highlight four interrelated groups of barriers experienced by migrant students in pursuing compulsory education in China: institutional, socio-economic, cultural, and psychological barriers. The strong empirical evidence presented in this study clearly illustrates the disadvantageous status of migrant children, especially those of ethnic minority background. The study suggests that, in order for China's migrant students to transcend those educational barriers and to achieve academic success, comprehensive and concrete efforts need to be made by both the central and local governments in areas such as educational financing and school choice. |
