LAUSR

Abstract China has been experiencing rapid economic growth over the past few decades accompanied by an overwhelmingly large number of rural habitants out-migrating to urban areas for work and better earnings. However, children of migrants are not entitled to free schooling provisions in these urban destinations and so millions of school-aged rural children have to be “left behind” by their migrating parent(s) in their home place. This study investigates the educational aspirations of Chinese “left-behind children”. Via an ethnographic, qualitative case study approach it captures the impact of “left-behind-ness” on aspirations Findings indicate that whilst educational aspirations are embedded in left-behind children’s disadvantaged social background, they are also shaped by the consequences of being “left-behind”. By doing so, it seeks to highlight an important area as well as illustrating the value—or not—of using Western theories of social inequalities with an Eastern context.