Works Cited

Goodkind, Daniel and Loraine A. West 2002 “China's Floating Population: Definitions, Data and Recent Findings.” Urban Studies (39) 12 : 2237-2250

Irwin, James 2000 “China's Migrant Children Fall Through the Cracks.” UNESCO Courier (53) 9 : 13

Ligao, Xiao, Colman McGrath and Huan Calin 2011 “Oral Health Status of Rural–Urban Migrant Children in South China.” International Journal of Pediatric Dentistry (21) 1 : 58-67

Nielsen, I , C Nyland and R Smyth 2006” Effects of intergroup contact on attitudes of Chinese urban residents to migrant workers.” Urban Studies (43) 2 : 475-490

Pumin, Yin 2010 “Floating Life.” Beijing Review 53 (1) : 19

Roberts, K 2002 “Female labor migrants to Shanghai: Temporary "floaters" or potential settlers?” International Migration Review (36) 2 : 492-519

Silver, Mariko 2008 “Rural Migrants and the Evolving Urban Labor Market in China.” Harvard Asia Quarterly (11) 1 : 54-57

Zhang, L 2008 “Conceptualizing China's Urbanization under Reforms.” Habitat International (32) 4 : 452-470

Zhu, Yu and Wenzche Chen 2010 "The Settlement Intention of China's Floating Population in the Cities: Recent Changes and Multifaceted Individual-Level Determinants.” Population, Space and Place (16) 4 : 253-267

Conclusion

In assessing the reality of the information provided above it becomes quite clear that the welfare and social mobility of families with children in China’s floating populations are the most highly disadvantaged and put at risk by current government policies afflicting this population as a whole.  As outlined by Mariko Silver in “Rural Migrants and the Evolving Urban Labor Market in China,” the legacy of China’s hukou system and economic shifts brought by government policies implementing marketization are the driving force behind the current circumstances faced by China’s floating population.  Yet as Chinese migrant families face the extra demands placed on securing healthcare coupled with the burden of low wages, its becomes quite clear that the welfare of their children and family unit are at immense risk compared to individuals who may more easily navigate such issues (Pumin, 2010).

Facing the reality of providing for a family with such income setbacks in job markets that also present numerous roadblocks to advancement creates a seriously added debilitating factor in attempts to move up the economic ladder (Pumin 2010).  For parents the reality of working such long hours as well, once again represents a concerning reality for participation in daily family life.  So here we see the family being hit from two angles, insufficient funds to participate in providing advancing opportunities for the family and in turn insufficient time participate in the daily occurrence that is family life (Pumin 2010) .

Above all the issue in this research that I find the most detrimental to the welfare and social mobility of migrant families with children is the lack of educational opportunities for migrant children.  Without access to recognized equitable education for their children, families in the floating population are essentially being denied access to any opportunities of social mobility (Irwin 2000).  Not enough money to climb the economic ladder, not enough time to enjoy family life or partake in extra fund raising ventures and no sufficient educational opportunities for the next generation of a family all equal one thing Irwin (2000) (Pumin 2010).  Families in China’s floating population have very little if any opportunities for social and economic mobility period.

Healthcare

Yin Pumin in a brief article “Floating life,” outlines lacking access to healthcare as one of the key issues faced by China’s floating population.  As quoted “currently, migrant workers who have toiled in the cities for years are still not entitled to the same rights as their urban counterparts, including reproductive health and family planning services, social welfare programs such as work injury insurance and access to local education resources for their children.  In many respects Pumin is outlining precisely the intensified burden placed on families within China’s floating population.  Pumin also notes these issues are the result of the un-granted access to these resources based on the Chinese government’s household registration laws and their failure to adequately address these issues.  Especially with regards to the exceedingly vulnerable position these policies put families with children in (Pumin, 2010).  Also noted in relation to the issue of healthcare and families with children are the exceedingly strenuous work requirements for relatively menial pay, “10 hours every day for $292.80 a month” offered as comparative example (Pumin, 2010).  Pumin does add though that as of 2008 floating population service and management departments have been set up to “help migrants mingle into the society of their residence and gradually enjoy the same rights as locals (Pumin 2010).

Highly in depth research in 2011 on the “Oral Health Status of Rural–Urban Migrant Children in South China,” presents some interesting findings that may in some regards bring into question the current efficiency of such floating population service and management departments (Ligao, McGrath and Calin, 2011) (Pumin, 2010).  According to this study “the oral health of non-local born migrant children was significantly more afflicted, based on several indicators such as tooth decay, than that of the national surveys for both rural and urban local-born children”.  The more alarming statistics related to this study though, was that while 62% of the parents of these children received accurate dental hygiene information from mass media sources, 89.2% of these children had never been to a dentist (Ligao, McGrath and Calin, 2011).  Thus the results are clear, neither lacking information nor personal hygiene habits are the culprit of these concerning dental hygiene statistics.  It is the lacking access to health care services afflicting the oral healthcare of migrant children, despite the implementation of such floating population service and management departments (Ligao, McGrath and Calin, 2011) (Pumin, 2010).

Education

Photo credit: Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM).

Through a process of deduction, this information alone clearly suggests that families within the floating population are faced with numerous additional obstacles in moving as an entire family to urban areas.  Yet further studies show us there are even more concerning issues faced by migrant families in China’s floating population well beyond a mere calculation of ease versus extra hassle.  James Irwin in his article “China's Migrant Children Fall Through the Cracks,” addresses the lacking accessibility of official education options for the children of migrant workers living in Chinese cities.  In his assessment of this issue Irwin outlines the implementation of unlicensed migrant children’s schools, which despite offering at least some form of educational opportunity turn away hundreds of applicants each year due to insufficient resources.  These unofficial schools, deemed so for their technically unrecognized status in operating without a government permit, also pose numerous problematic logistical concerns for migrants who do send their children to these schools as their only option.  The maintaining of reliable school records, unofficial transportation that can often take children through three or more bus changes over several hours to reach school and the burden on parents to provide all necessary funding and supplies, all pose major setbacks for migrant families not possessing official urban residency status that wish to send their children to school (Irwin 2000).

Another major issue Irwin addresses with regards to the education of children in China’s floating population, is negative impact on confidence in educational abilities this lack of accessible schooling has had on the children of migrant families.  In many cases, as Irwin notes, a legitimately negative sense of being segregated with regards to education or the all too often missed lapses of time in school, create even further personal setbacks to the educational progress of these children.  In turn, official government interaction with these unofficial migrant primary schools has been recorded as negative at best and often results in such detrimental impacts as fines or short term closure based on regulation violations.  While such government actions may seem menial, the impacts on the already strained school budgets serve only to inflict inconsistency and other set backs on the educational experience of the students attending these schools (Irwin 2000).

Demographics

Understanding the issues faced by families with children in China’s floating population, in many ways can be helped along by studies outlining the demographics within the floating population that in fact statistically have the most successful experiences with transitioning from rural origins to urban lives and why.  These demographics include “younger unmarried females, better educated non-production workers and those with non-agricultural Hukou-household residency status” (Zhu and Chen, 2010).  These demographics within the floating population are also more readily accepted as either temporary migrant workers not seeking permanent residency or more desirable due to possessing an educated expertise (Roberts, 2002) (Zhu and Chen, 2010).  Therefore, temporary unmarried migrant workers posses both the advantage of not having to seek permanent housing or confront the unwelcoming attitudes of established Chinese urbanites towards migrants seeking official urban residency status (Zhu and Chen, 2010).  As outlined by Yu Zhu and Wenzhe Chen, in "The Settlement Intention of China's Floating Population in the Cities: Recent Changes and Multifaceted Individual-Level Determinants,” “given the unstable nature of employment, the low wage levels and the low level of social insurance for migrants in the cities, choosing a temporary form of migration and leaving part of the family in the hometown is often desirable for most members of the floating population (Zhu and Chen, 2010).

Background

*DEMOGRAPHICS

*EDUCATION

*HEALTH CARE

Thesis

 In this essay I will thus argue as to why current government policies in the PRC, regarding issues faced by their floating population, have afflicted most heavily the welfare and social mobility of Chinese families with children within the floating population.