Acculturation, Economic Stress, and Social Relationships among Migrant Children in Urban
Chinese Schools: A Mixed Methods Study
Lue Fang
ABSTRACT
This paper explored the effects of a range of migrant characteristic variables, including
acculturative attitudes, economic stress, and relationships with family, teachers, and friends,
on the school experience of Chinese migrant children. Drawing upon survey data from a
sample of 301 4th to 9th grade migrant students, together with in-depth interviews involving10
subsamples, the study examined how migrant children’s school happiness and productivity
are influenced by acculturation, economic hardship, and social relationships. The quantitative
analysis indicated the critical role of integrative attitudes in promoting school satisfaction and
achievement. Migrant children with a better construct of social relations scored higher in
levels of hope, which in turn contributed to better school outcomes. Contrary to previous
findings, economic stress did not hinder school outcomes for these Chinese migrant children,
but may be internalized by them as a motivational factor for pursing academic success. The
qualitative analysis echoed the quantitative findings and provided further explanations for the
complexity and particularity of these phenomena.
INTRODUCTION
The recent rapid economic transition of China from a primarily agrarian society with a
planned economy to a market economy has raised a massive internal flow of capital,
resources, and labor. For the past 30 years, a voluntary migration of farmers in search of job
opportunities and better living conditions from rural areas of China to urban cities and coastal
export processing centers has intensified. In the year of 2012, approximately 250 million
migrant workers, with more than 14 million offspring, migrated to urban centers. For instance,
Wenzhou, a medium-sized coastal city located in the southeast part of China known for its
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vibrant trade and enterprises, is now host to approximately three million migrant families.
Migrant families comprise the fastest growing segment of the urban population, which
accounts for close to one-third of the entire Wenzhou population (National Bureau of
Statistics; Wenzhou News, 2009). As the wave of migration continues, the impact of
migrants will inevitably transform the educational and labor landscape of China in the
coming decade.
Children of migrant workers are becoming a key resource of urban China’s labor pool
(Ling, 2012). Successful integration of migrant children in urban schools is a prerequisite for
individual wellbeing, economic productivity, and social stability. However, one of the most
striking institutional obstacles of integration is dualistic household registration (Hukou)
system (based on rural-urban stratification) that denies equal access to public services
including education for migrant children. Consequently, the majority of migrant children are
enrolled in relatively low quality public schools or private-run migrant schools, in which their
academic performance and school engagement are largely compromised. Compared to their
urban counterparts, migrant children were more likely to live in poverty, suffered from
psychological symptoms, such as anxiety and depression, experienced prejudice and peer
victimization, and engaged in delinquent behavior (Bi & Szente, 2010; Lu & Zhang, 2004).
Negative school experience affects not only their educational and developmental trajectories,
but also sense of personal worth and upward mobility.
Although the school wellbeing of the youth has been extensively investigated in the
western context, a culturally specific model of school experience is yet to be developed and
validated for Chinese migrant children. Previous social and psychological research has
generally focused on the impact of contextual factors on psychological outcomes. The topic
that remains unexplored, however, is how characteristics of migrant experience, such as
acculturation and perceived economic stress, affect children’s school experience. This study
will be an important extension to literature by identifying variables that are essential to
educational outcomes of migrant children in urban China. It will also provide significant
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information to both scholars and practitioners interested in researching and constructing
healthy and positive school environments for all students, especially migrant children.
As highlighted in previous transculturation literature, migration is not simply a
geographical relocation of people, but is also “a type of ecological transition that involves
change in the social, cultural and physical environment of the child” (Aksel et al., 2007).
Compared to children of international immigration, Chinese migrant students may share
similar experiences and challenges when moving from rural to urban areas. Acculturation
plays a central role in academic achievement and aspirations of migrant students (Carranza et
al., 2009; Kirchunova et al., 2003). Aspects of acculturation are manifested in behavioral
practices, self-identity, and values (Phinney et al., 2001).
According to Berry’s acculturation theory (1980,1984,1987,2003), there are four levels
of acculturative attitudes. First, integration refers to the migrants’ maintenance of their own
cultural identity while positively adapting to the new environment. Second, assimilation
refers to the migrants’ active adaptation to their new environment. Third, separation refers to
the migrants’ resistance of the new culture. Finally, marginalization occurs when individuals
adopt passive attitudes toward both home and host cultures. Among these acculturative
attitudes, Ali (2008) found that integration displays the highest predictive contribution to the
subjective wellbeing of a group of Somali immigrants in the United States. Similar findings
have been reported in a group of Korean immigrants in Europe. Moreover, immigrant
students who appear to be highly integrated in two cultures tend to have better achievement
outcomes (Lopez et al., 2002).
Across many studies, poverty is associated with a range of outcomes for children,
including social cognitive development, academic achievement, and school engagement
(Taylor, 2005; Wood, 2003). Perceived economic stress, which captures the awareness of one’
own hardships, is the psychological measure of need (Yoshikawa et al., 2012). Children’s
subjective perception of poverty has been found to be negatively associated with life
satisfaction and psychosocial adjustment. Mistry et al. (2009) argued that perceived economic
stress negatively affects the educational outcomes and attitude toward school of a group of
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Chinese American adolescents. In Hong Kong, Chinese students who are worried about
current and future economic difficulties are less satisfied with life and have lower self-esteem
(Shek, 2003; 2005).
Most studies identify parent, teacher, and peer influences as strong determinants of
school satisfaction and academic performance (Danielsen et al., 2009; Nickerson & Nagle,
2004; Suldo & Huebner 2004). Baker (1998) revealed a significant relationship between the
quality of family life and school satisfaction; that is, a better quality of family life predicts
greater school satisfaction. Emotional support from parents is likewise crucial for the
psychosocial adjustment of the youth experiencing significant stressors such as immigration
(Liebkind & Jasinskaja-Lahti, 2000). Yet conflicts with parents may impede educational
achievement of Chinese teenagers (Cheng, 2011). Perceptions of a caring, supportive
relationship with teachers are related to school satisfaction by as early as third grade (Baker,
1998). Teacher support has been proved to be the most significant predictor of school
satisfaction in a group of Hong Kong pupils (Hui & Sun, 2010). The quality of children’s
friendships is significantly associated with school satisfaction and academic achievement
(Martin & Huebner, 2007). Positive bonds between the members of a class in which students
care for each other may positively influence student perceptions of safety and belongingness
in the school environment. Alternatively, experiences of being bullied or excluded from
activities or social relations during recess may contribute to negative perceptions of school.
Across a variety of intrapersonal factors associated with school satisfaction, hope and
self-esteem stand out as potentially the most significant mediators in the relationship between
contextual factors and school experience. The mediating effect occurs when children
construct self-identity and beliefs through interactions in various social settings, which
further influence their school experience. Huebner’s team (Ash & Huebner, 2001; Huebner et
al., 2001) proposed a cognitive mediation model, which establishes the mediating role of
intrapersonal variables in the link between life event and school satisfaction. Similar results
were put forward in the analysis of Verkuyten and Thijs (2002), which demonstrated the
mediation pathway from contextual factors to self-esteem to school-related outcomes. In the
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Chinese context, Hui and Sun (2010) cited hope as a significant mediator in the relationship
between contextual factors and school satisfaction among Chinese pupils.
Drawing from the extant theoretical work and empirical studies, a range of migrant
characteristic variables, including acculturation, perceived economic stress, and social
relations, are hypothesized to predict the school experience of migrant students. In a
developmental-ecological perspective, Baker et al., (2003) argued that one’s psychosocial
adjustment in school is shaped by various ecological factors. In predicting school wellbeing,
a range of environmental variables has been documented in earlier research including school
climate, teacher support, peer relationship, and family contexts as well as individual
characteristics including personality and socioeconomic status. Following the cognitive
mediation model, this study aims to test the mediation pathway from migrant characteristics
variables to self-esteem and hope to school outcomes. As this study operationalizes school
experience on school satisfaction and performance, all quantitative analyses are separately
performed for these two outcome variables. The overall conceptual model is presented in
Figure 1.
Figure 1. Conceptual Model
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METHOD
Participants and Procedure
A total of 301 4th to 9th grade migrant students in Wenzhou were instructed to fill up a
40-minute survey questionnaire measuring school satisfaction, grades, acculturation levels,
economic stress, quality of relationship with family, teachers, and peers, self-esteem and hope
(details of instruments are available in appendix). Among the sample, 41% of the participants
were female, and 59% of them were male. The average age was 14 years old (SD=1.5) with
the youngest of 10 years old and oldest of 18 years old. Semi-structured interviews were
conducted with a subsample of 10 students. The interviews, lasting for 30 minutes, covered
various aspects of social life in urban school settings.
Quantitative Results
Multiple regression and path analyses were conducted to examine the following
questions: 1) how do migrant characteristic variables relate to school satisfaction and
academic outcomes? 2) How do intrapersonal factors mediate the effect of migrant
characteristic variables on school satisfaction and academic outcomes?
A Path Model of School Satisfaction
A standard multiple regression analysis showed the predictive contribution of a set of
migrant characteristics variables to school satisfaction was significant F(8,300)=12.78,
p<.0001, and explained for 25.9% of the variance in school satisfaction.
Next two sets of standard multiple regression analyses results suggested that migrant
characteristics variables made significant predictive contribution to self-esteem
[F(8,300)=9.09,p<.001], and hope [F(8,300)=21.70,p<.001]. The total predictive contribution
of self-esteem, hope and a set of migrant characteristics variables to school satisfaction were
significant [F (10,300)=10.28,p<.001], which explained for 26.2% of the variance in school
satisfaction. Hope acted as the only potential mediator. Support from teachers was the most
prominent predictor to school satisfaction, and integration also stood out as a significant
contributor above and beyond the effects of self-esteem and hope (See Figure 2).
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Figure 2. School satisfaction model
A Path Model of School Achievement
After holding self-esteem and hope constant, the regression model of hypothesized
mediators, as well as a set of migrant characteristics variables to school grades was
statistically significant F(10,300)=5.49,p<.001, and account for 15% of variance in school
grades. Relationship with family elicited the most powerful influence to academic outcomes
of migrant children. Students with more integrative attitudes scored higher academically.
Economic stress had a positive impact on academic outcomes of migrant children after hope
and self-esteem were controlled for (see Figure 3).
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Figure3. School achievement model
Qualitative Results
To illustrate the relationships between migrant characterizes variables and school
outcomes described above, this section discusses how migrant students perceived the role of
acculturation, economic hardship, and social relations in urban school settings.
Acculturation
In addition to four levels of acculturation depicted in quantitative measurement,
qualitative analysis looked at adjustment in three dimensions: successful, unsuccessful, and
partial. Levels of adjustment were inferred from psychological and emotional state from
migrant experience. For instance, Li Ming, a 15-year-old boy who claimed he has fully
adjusted to the city because he felt exciting, happy，and confident. For him and others,
moving to city would be “a brand new feeling,” and they didn’t want to go back home
anymore. In contrast to those students who enjoyed city life, a few were struggling with the
change. For example, Long Mei, an ethnic minority girl said, “I was very anxious because I
can’t speak mandarin; I was too scared to talk to classmates or teachers. I felt miserable.”
Students like Long Mei often talked about how negative experience of culture shock and
loneliness made them prefer hometown to the city. Nevertheless, there were two students
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feeling neither pleased nor uncomfortable in the adjustment process. Hua Jia, a student from
Guizhou, said he had “no strong feelings”. Another student elaborated that he had a mixed
feeling towards the city, “sometimes disappointed and alienated, but sometimes happy and fit
in.”
Across different levels of acculturation, four critical factors emerged as directly linked to
adaptation. (1) Social support. Interviewees articulated the significance of social support in
the adjustment process. For example, support from friends including helping with homework
and language, sharing food and spending time together would make them feel accepted and
valued in the group. They credited parents for providing daily and school supplies, and
teaching them local custom. Teachers also contributed to inclusion by cultivating caring and
positive bonding among students. (2) Educational benefits. Students often praised schools in
city as “better and more advanced (than schools in hometown).” In addition to
air-conditioned classrooms and science laboratory, students were benefited from playground
with synthetic surface track, computer rooms, and library, which provided a variety of
extracurricular activities. (3) Personality. Students in the interview shared how their
personality mattered in adjustment. One student said, “I used to be a loner, but later I become
outgoing and make a lot of friends.” Other students agreed that being extrovert contributed to
adjustment because they felt comfortable approaching or talk to people other than
acquaintance. (4) Living condition. Migrant students constantly compared living condition in
city to hometown. Some noted that urban center had better transport system with roads and
highways, widespread of wire and Internet, and modern buildings and cars, which added to
their pride and excitement living in the city. Still they felt disappointed when sensing the
mismatch between their own living condition and city standard.
Economic Stress
When asking about economic hardship, all students claimed that their families have been
undergoing some kind of financial difficulties (e.g. medical expenses, household expenditure,
and unstable income), yet only 3 of them considered economic hardship had a negative
impact on academic achievement and wellbeing. For example, Lili commented, “when I think
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of it (economic stress), I cannot concentrate on study, I feel anxious.” The rest of students
thought that economic hardship would not hinder their school success, they explained, “I
wouldn’t worry over money because my parents will support my study.” Another student
added, “I will study harder so that I can find a good job to support my family.” Having been
deeply embedded in Chinese society, values of family filial piety were frequently inculcated
by Chinese parents to their children. Migrant parents hoped that heavy parental investment in
education could turn out to be future academic and socioeconomic achievement in their
children. Migrant children, depending on degree to which they adhered to these values, may
internalize the economic stress as a motivational factor in pursuing academic and
socioeconomic success.
Family, Teachers and Friends
All of the students in the study mentioned a full exposure of social support from family,
teachers, and friends. Like many parents in city, parents of migrant students hoped the best
for their children’s future. In addition to buying educational materials, and supporting
homework and school activities, migrant parents rewarded excellent performance with verbal
praise, gifts, and time to play. Yet, it was equally frequent that students complained about
parents blaming and scolding them for not living to their expectations.
Teachers are often compared as burning candles in China because they spent all their
time and effort to prepare students to be competent and responsible. Through joint activities
and field trips, migrant students admired teachers for bringing care and encouragement
outside classroom. However, students with lower academic achievement, they were more
likely to perceive teachers as harsh and punitive, and felt dismayed when being criticized for
the school performances and conducts.
Migrant students believed that spending time with friends made up a significant portion
of school life. Friends not only offered companionship, comfort, and joy, they also helped
with adjustment and transition to adolescence. However, friend with the wrong people could
bring bad influences. For example, one student mentioned how his grades suffered when his
friends persuaded him to skip class and play computer games in Internet café. Quality of
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friendship seems to have a tremendous impact on psychological adjustment and school
outcomes among migrant students.
DISCUSSION
Using quantitative and qualitative approach, this study addressed the effect of migrant
characteristics variables on school experience of Chinese migrant students. A range of
migrant characteristics including acculturative attitudes, economic stress, and relationships
with parents, teachers and peers were found related to school satisfaction and academic
outcomes. Following cognitive mediation model, findings reconfirmed the role of
acculturation, social relations, and intrapersonal factors in predicting school adjustment and
outcomes (Ali, 2008; Hui & Sun, 2010; Wu et al., 2010).
Role of integrative attitudes merited special attention. Integration stood out as a
significant predictor of both school satisfaction and academic outcomes, after holding
self-esteem and hope constant. Consistent with findings of international sample, acculturating
to both home and host cultures were essential for promoting positive school experience
among migrant students. Qualitative data further illustrated the vast contrast in psychological
states among students of different acculturation levels. The successfully adjusted students
experienced positive emotions including happiness, cheerfulness, and calm, while the
unadjusted students were more like to feel homesick and depressed. Yet the partially adjusted
students reported the feeling to be a mixture of the two. These differences in acculturation
level can be interpreted in the context of social support, educational benefits, personality, and
living condition. Therefore perceptions of acculturation are directly linked to psychological
welling and school achievement of Chinese migrant children.
It was unexpected that, after controlling for intrapersonal variables, economic stress had
positive effect on academic outcome of migrant children. This contradicted previous findings
that economic stress negatively impacted on educational achievement and aspirations (Taylor,
2005; Wood, 2003). Interview data revealed some insights for this unique phenomenon:
migrant students with financial difficulty did not internalize it as a setback to school
achievement because heavy parental investment and hope fueled their future opportunities.
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Adhering to the Chinese value of filial piety, migrant children may internalize economic
stress as a motivational factor for school achievement.
In line with previous research (Wu, 2010), social relations have a critical impact on
school achievement and growth of migrant children. Relationship with family was the
strongest contributor of academic outcomes. Support from teachers had a singular effect on
school satisfaction. Positive peer relationship was associated with greater level in hope,
which was positively related to school outcomes of migrant children. The interview data
elucidated the ways in which children perceived, interacted, and communicated with parents,
teachers, and friends. It also revealed the complexity and contradiction within construction of
social relationships: parents’ using of rewards as well as scolding in setting up educational
expectations; teachers’ commitment to improve student life outside classroom while being
harsh and punitive to low achieving students; friends helping with school adjustment but
sometimes provoking misbehaviors.
IMPLICATION
The current study shed lights on theoretical advancement and practical improvement for
Chinese migrant students. First, findings highlighted the role of migrant experience in
shaping children’s school adjustment and academic performance. In addition to ecological
contexts of family and classroom, this study expanded the research scope and mapped
perceived economic stress as well as acculturation in predicting educational outcomes of
Chinese migrant children. Based on the research findings, educators and policy makers could
consider promoting programs and services that facilitate the development of social support,
especially teacher support, as well as cultural adjustment in Chinese migrant students.
Educational practitioners should also increase the awareness of complex dynamics embedded
in social learning of migrant children in China.
(words: 3316)
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Appendix
Instruments
School satisfaction was measured by 8 items of School Satisfaction Subscale in the
Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale for Children (MLSS; Huebner, 1994). The
Cronbach’s alpha in the study was .808.
School achievement was students’ total school grades of Chinese, English and Mathematics.
Acculturation scale for Chinese Migrant Students was a self-administered acculturation
scale specifically for assessing acculturative attitudes of Chinese migrant children. Based on
Berry’s acculturation theory (1980,1984), 32 items were developed to incorporate four
acculturation levels including integration, assimilation, separation and marginalization.
Within each level, questions were designed to address cultural and behavioral manifestation
of adaptations in language/dialect use, friendship development, self-identify, and life style.
The reliability score of four categories are integration (.81), assimilation (.84), separation
(.76), and marginalization (.87).
Perceived Economic Stress was developed based on Shek (2003)’s Economic Stress Scale.
Students were asked to rate their current and future economic worries towards family
financial situation in terms of paying bills, covering school fees, and academic related
expenses in a four-point scale. The cronbach’s alpha was .84.
Quality of Relationship with Family included 9 selected items of family cohesion and
conflict from Family Environment Scale (FES, Moos & Moos, 1986) and 8 questions of
relationship with family in MSLSS (Huebner, 1994). The reliability for the combined scale
was .90. For subscales: family cohesion: .82; family conflict: .60; family relations: .83.
Quality of Relationship with Teachers included 6 items from Chinese School Support Scale
(CSSS; Sun, 2005), and 11 items from Teacher-Student Relationship Rating Scale (TSRRS;
Witherspoon, 2011). The cronbach’s alpha was .84 for overall scale, and .71 for teacher
support scale and .85 for teacher-student relationship rating scale.
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Quality of Relationship with Peers included 7 items from Perceived Social Support from
Friends (PSS-Fr, Procidano & Heller, 1983), and 5 items in peer conflict scale developed for
Chinese secondary school students by Sun (2005). The reliability was .84 for overall
scale, .86 for peer support, and .66 for peer conflict.
Self-Esteem was measured by 10 items of Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES; Rosenberg,
1965). The reliability of this scale was .83.
Hope was measured by 6 items of Children’s Hope Scale (CHS, Snyder et al., 1997). The
cronbach’s alpha was .80.
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