1st Edition

Educating Migrant Children in China Social Citizenship and Exclusion

By Chengqi Cao Copyright 2025
    190 Pages 10 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    This book explores social citizenship through the lens of investigating local compulsory education policy targeting migrant children in Beijing and Guangzhou.

    Deploying a multi-case methodology, this book illustrates how these two local governments respond to central decisions on compulsory education for migrant children, the implementation models they employ and the impact of this unique practice on social citizenship boundary redefinition through single- and cross-case analysis. It helps readers understand the evolution of compulsory education policy and its effects on access to schooling for migrant children and clearly illustrates this policy’s implications for social citizenship.

    Revealing the important relationship between the central and lower levels of government in China, this book will appeal to students and scholars of education, social policy, as well as those with an interest in Chinese culture and society.

    Introduction. Social Citizenship and Compulsory Education  1. Social Citizenship: The Boundary Changes  2. Chinese National Compulsory Education Policies for Migrant Children  3. Beijing: A Public Provision Model for Migrant Children  4. Guangzhou: A Public and Private Provision Model  5. The Beijing and Guangzhou Models: Advantages and Disadvantages  6. Redefining Social Citizenship in China  Conclusions. Inequality Remains Despite Progress Being Made

    Biography

    Chengqi Cao is currently an assistant professor at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, and an honorary member in China Studies Centre, The University of Sydney, Australia.