| dc.description.abstract | The present study aims to explore migrant children’s experiences and perspectives on their
family migration from rural to urban China. More specifically the study seeks to find out the
family conditions of migrant children in the host society; the educational experiences of migrant
children in the urban area; their coping strategies when they arrive at the new place and finally
their social and cultural integration in the new community.
The social studies of childhood provide the theoretical framework that guides this research. This
study also uses structuration theory to understand how social structures influence migrant
children’s lives from their perspectives, and how children, as active agents, create their own
cultures and friendships under the social environment.
A total of twenty three migrant children and nineteen local children participated in the study and
their ages ranged from six to thirteen years. The study uses qualitative research methods in a case
study in China, including participant observations, semi-structured interviews and in-depth
interviews.
The research findings indicate that family migration has serious impact on migrant children’s
everyday lives. Migrant children experience a different everyday life in urban China compared
with local children. The social status is a main factor preventing them from enjoying equal rights
and integrating in the urban city. It also affects migrant children’s lives in a fundamental way
and shapes their opportunity in education. The study also finds that migrant children receive less
discrimination in the city compared with previous studies, which shows that Chinese government
is trying to solve structure problems in a right direction. | nb_NO |
