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“Life is like this, not as good as poetry”: The lived experience of a Chinese rural vocational school student in a mandatory quasi-employment internship

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  • Hou, Liqi
  • Wang, Chao
  • Bai, Xiaoxi
  • Tang, Xinfeng

Abstract

Internship is a key part of the experiences of Chinese secondary vocational school students. The quasi-employment internship, which requires students to undertake formal, independent work positions in factories, has led to many psychosocial problems. This case study aimed to understand the lived experience of an 18-year-old rural vocational school student during his internship. A semi-structured interview was carried out and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyze the qualitative data. Five super-ordinate themes emerged from the analysis: the loss of control, regaining a sense of control, seeking an explanation for the meaning of life, forming a new self-identity, and uncertainty about the future. The findings convey how the quasi-employment internship disrupted a sense of control and meaning-making, yet helped cultivate a new self-identity.

Suggested Citation

  • Hou, Liqi & Wang, Chao & Bai, Xiaoxi & Tang, Xinfeng, 2020. "“Life is like this, not as good as poetry”: The lived experience of a Chinese rural vocational school student in a mandatory quasi-employment internship," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:109:y:2020:i:c:s0190740919309296
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104678
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Démurger, Sylvie & Gurgand, Marc & Li, Shi & Yue, Ximing, 2009. "Migrants as second-class workers in urban China? A decomposition analysis," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 610-628, December.
    2. Bao-Liang Zhong & Tie-Bang Liu & Jian-Xing Huang & Helene H Fung & Sandra S M Chan & Yeates Conwell & Helen F K Chiu, 2016. "Acculturative Stress of Chinese Rural-To-Urban Migrant Workers: A Qualitative Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(6), pages 1-15, June.
    3. Anthony Rush, 2011. "China's Labour Market," RBA Bulletin (Print copy discontinued), Reserve Bank of Australia, pages 29-38, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Eini, Nofar & Strier, Roni & Shoshana, Avihu, 2023. "Lived experience of youth in vocational schools: “I stopped focusing on my past and started living the present so I could reach the future”," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).

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