| This thesis examines the educational inequities and policies of migrant workers' children in urban China. It inquires into the perspectives of migrant parents and migrant children themselves regarding their lived experiences, as well as the schooling processes from policies to practices. A qualitative case study is adopted for fieldwork in Guangzhou city and Shenzhen city, which involves semi-structured interviews with eighteen migrant worker families -- parents and children included, and observations in the migrant communities. A critical review is also conducted on relevant legal and regulatory documents. The study demonstrates that under systemic labour exploitation, the persisting Hukou system and the resistance from urban residents, migrant children are positioned as low-end consumers in the educational market for a meagre schooling, as disadvantaged competitors for further academic achievement, as underprivileged countrymen learning to adapt into urban lives, and as citizens deprived of legal rights for an equitable and quality education. |
