Left‐behind villages, left‐behind children: Migration and the cognitive achievement of rural children in China

Abstract

Although the potential effects of migration on the cognitive development of children in origin communities reflect both household‐ and community‐level processes, few studies have examined how community‐level migration affects child cognitive development. By applying multilevel methods to nationally representative data of 2,248 children from 427 villages in China, we examine whether village migration intensity influences child cognitive ability and if so, what accounts for this influence. The findings suggest lower cognitive achievement in communities that experience high migration intensity. Living in a community with a large proportion of people who have migrated away from the community is associated with a 3.57‐unit decrease in verbal scores and a 1.54‐unit decrease in maths scores, which is equivalent to missing 1.67 and 0.87 years of schooling, respectively. A possible explanation for this effect is the change in demographic composition such that communities are depleted of better educated adults.

Educational Expectations of Left-behind Children in China: Determinants and Gender Differences

“…However, its impacts on children's development are mixed. Left-behind children without parents' supervision are at greater risk of child victimization and accidental injury (Chen, Sun, et al, 2020b), and they are also more likely to encounter cognitive and behavioral problems (Lu et al, 2019;Xie et al, 2019). Those risks and negative impacts may vary according to different parental migration types and particular stages of children's growth (Liang, 2016;Lu, 2012).…”

“…A large body of literature has revealed that left-behind children are at greater risk of child victimization, accidental injury and a range of psychological problems (Chen, Sun, et al, 2020b). Without parental care, left-behind children frequently experience cognitive and behavioral problems (Lu et al, 2019;Xie et al, 2019). With the absence of parental guardianship, many left-behind children receive little academic support and supervision at home.…”

“…Second, education for left-behind children involves multiple agents at different levels, including children, families, schools and communities. A large body of literature has revealed the importance of parental care and company for child development, but little research has incorporated multilevel factors in modeling its determinants, despite increasing recognition of the importance of community-level factors (Xie et al, 2019;Zhou, Guo, & Lu, 2020a). Furthermore, the patriarchal hierarchy still exists in many rural families, and son preferences probably lead to differences in resources and parental expectations for sons and daughters; thus, gender differences in educational expectations among leftbehind children need to be further examined.…”

The Causal Effects of Urban-to-Urban Migration on Left-behind Children’s Well-Being in China

“…In the large body of literature, it has been found that left-behind children are more prone to child injury [12,13], accidental injury, and psychological disorders [14,15]. In the absence of parental care, left-behind children are more likely to exhibit cognitive and behavioral difficulties [16][17][18]. Children's physical and mental health can be negatively impacted by parent-child separation due to a lack of love, care, and parental supervision [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26].…”