Schooling against the Countryside: Educational Migration and Rural Development in China

This book investigates educational migration (peidu) in rural China, where families relocate to access urban schooling for their children.Using a communal lens and drawing on questionnaire data, in-depth interviews, and field observations from a county in Central China, it examines the causes and impacts of this phenomenon. The study highlights how urban-biased development, rural decline, and an urban-oriented education system drive families to pursue intergenerational mobility through educational migration.Yet, this pursuit of individual advancement exacerbates rural-urban inequalities and accelerates rural decline.The book argues that while educational migration embodies aspirations for social mobility, it undermines rural sustainability and deepens systemic disparities.It calls for a shift from China's mobility-driven education model, which marginalises rural areas, to one prioritising the public good and rural revitalisation. Essential for scholars and students in education, sociol