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Educational inequality and achievement disparity: An empirical study of migrant children in China

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  • Ma, Yuna
  • Hou, Xin
  • Huang, Jin
  • Wang, Weiwei
  • Li, Yanping
  • Zhou, Xiaochun
  • Du, Xi

Abstract

The study examined academic disparity between migrant and local urban children and its associations with family socioeconomic status, parental involvement, and school settings using the survey data conducted in 2014 from a sample of children and their families in Beijing, China. The analytic sample (N = 687) included 431 migrant children and 256 local urban children. Structural Equations Models (SEM) were used to test research questions. Results suggest that migrant children, in particular, those in private migrant schools, have much poorer academic performance than their urban counterparts. This performance gap is mainly explained by different schools that migrant and local urban children attend (public vs. private migrant schools). Family socioeconomic status and parental involvement, while are positively associated with academic performance, do not remove the disparity between migrant children in private migrant schools and local urban children. When school satisfaction is included in analyses as a proxy of school quality, the difference in academic performance between two groups becomes insignificant. The study sheds light on the potential pathway that institutional inequality in education affects migrant students' educational achievement through the quality of educational services and financial, human, and social investment. Findings suggest that, to address academic disparity between migrant and local urban children in China, it is important to change the institutional inequality faced by migrant children.

Suggested Citation

  • Ma, Yuna & Hou, Xin & Huang, Jin & Wang, Weiwei & Li, Yanping & Zhou, Xiaochun & Du, Xi, 2018. "Educational inequality and achievement disparity: An empirical study of migrant children in China," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 145-153.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:87:y:2018:i:c:p:145-153
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.02.026
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    Cited by:

    1. Ma, Gaoming & Wu, Qiaobing, 2020. "Cultural capital in migration: Academic achievements of Chinese migrant children in urban public schools," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    2. Yulan Liu & Zihong Deng & Ilan Katz, 2022. "Transmission of Educational Outcomes Across Three Generations: Evidence From Migrant Workers’ Children in China," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(5), pages 2563-2595, October.
    3. Jian Li & Eryong Xue, 2022. "Unpacking the Policies, Historical Stages, and Themes of the Education Equality for Educational Sustainable Development: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-15, August.
    4. Peng, Huamin & Qi, Lin & Wan, Guowei & Li, Bingqin & Hu, Bo, 2020. "Child population, economic development and regional inequality of education resources in China," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    5. Qifan Ding & Qiaobing Wu, 2023. "Effects of Economic Capital, Cultural Capital and Social Capital on the Educational Expectation of Chinese Migrant Children," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(3), pages 1407-1432, June.
    6. Ma, Gaoming & Wu, Qiaobing, 2019. "Social capital and educational inequality of migrant children in contemporary China: A multilevel mediation analysis," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 165-171.

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