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“We Have Many Options, But They are All Bad Options!”: Aspirations Among Internal Migrant Youths in Shanghai, China

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  • Ole Johannes Kaland

    (NLA University College
    University of Bergen
    University of Sussex)

Abstract

This article explores the considerations internal migrant youths in Shanghai make as they orient themselves towards the future. Unlike their parents, these youths come of age with dreams and desires that mirror those of their local middle-class peers, yet they are funnelled into the vocational educational system since they do not have local household registrations. Cast as non-aspiring and failed students that break with doxic middle-class aspirations, I contend these youths still find ways to aspire and strategize to achieve a better life. As such, I argue for a more nuanced understanding of the grounds on which vocational education is chosen. Rather than a negative choice, I argue that migrant youths who attend vocational education may do so as a compromise between potential material gains, prestige, feelings of belonging, filial piety and closeness to family and friends. Therefore, educational aspirations cannot be untied from broader desires for the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Ole Johannes Kaland, 2021. "“We Have Many Options, But They are All Bad Options!”: Aspirations Among Internal Migrant Youths in Shanghai, China," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 33(1), pages 35-53, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:eurjdr:v:33:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1057_s41287-020-00301-z
    DOI: 10.1057/s41287-020-00301-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Willy Sier, 2021. "The Price of Aspirations: Education Migrants’ Pursuit of Higher Education in Hubei Province, China," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 33(1), pages 16-34, February.
    2. Roy Huijsmans & Shanti George & Roy Gigengack & Sandra J T M Evers, 2014. "Theorising Age and Generation in Development: A Relational Approach," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 26(2), pages 163-174, April.
    3. Qian, Haiyan & Walker, Allan, 2015. "The education of migrant children in Shanghai: The battle for equity," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 74-81.
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    Cited by:

    1. Willy Sier, 2021. "The Price of Aspirations: Education Migrants’ Pursuit of Higher Education in Hubei Province, China," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 33(1), pages 16-34, February.
    2. Le Wen & Krishna P. Paudel & Qinying He, 2022. "Temporary Migration and Savings Rates: Evidence from China," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(6), pages 2810-2849, December.
    3. Qiu, Hui & Liang, Xiao, 2024. "Segmented assimilation of migrant children in urban public schools of China: Impact of family resources and school segregation on their educational aspirations," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    4. Roy Huijsmans & Aprilia Ambarwati & Charina Chazali & M. Vijayabaskar, 2021. "Farming, Gender and Aspirations Across Young People’s Life Course: Attempting to Keep Things Open While Becoming a Farmer," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 33(1), pages 71-88, February.

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