Retaining Desire for Social Mobility Within and Beyond Schooling: A Longitudinal Ethnography of Migrant Youth in China

Co-sponsored with the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies

Based on the results of China’s seventh national population census in 2020, 71.09 million children of migrant-peasant workers have participated in rural-urban migration for family reunion and educational purposes. How do they make sense of the value of schooling and their prospects for upward mobility in an increasingly stratified society? Drawing on ethnographic data from a longitudinal study (2011 to the present), this talk examines the educational experiences of a group of migrant youth over ten years of circular migration between Beijing and Zouping, a county-level city in Shandong Province. These youth retain desire for upward mobility by resisting “gratitude education” in urban schools, questioning the incorporation of live-streaming technologies in rural education, forming the “shehui ren” (society man) subculture, and exploring opportunities in the gig economy. Their sustained efforts highlight the obstacles posed by structural and institutional constraints in the larger society.