Timing and duration of paternal migration and the educational attainment of left‐behind children: Evidence from rural China

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between the migration of men from rural China and the educational attainment of their left‐behind children. The importance of migratory timing and duration are addressed. Using survey data, the study found that compared with rural children of nonmigrant parents, rural children of migrant fathers have a lower probability of being enrolled in school. In addition, the relationship between migratory timing, duration, and school enrollment shows an interesting pattern; children whose fathers migrated when they were infants are more likely to be enrolled in school, but children whose fathers migrated before their birth or after they reached school age are less likely to be enrolled in school. Possible explanations for this pattern are provided.

RETRACTED: The current situation and countermeasures of education and teaching of left behind children in rural areas

“…The word "LBC" first appeared in shangguanzimu's article, which means that parents go abroad to study and then entrust their children to relatives: 5,6 In the above four definitions, although there are some differences in the definition of rural LBC, their essence is the same. 7,8 On this basis, this paper defines the rural LBC as: for various reasons, both parents or one of their parents choose to go to the city to work, but because of the constraints of the conditions, the children can not go to the city with their parents and are forced to stay in the countryside alone, and one of the parents or other relatives to educate and look after them.…”

Does being “left–behind” in childhood lead to criminality in adulthood? Evidence from data on rural-urban migrants and prison inmates in China

“…Studies of educational outcomes of left-behind children in China are abundant. Most find that being left-behind has a negative correlation with schooling outcomes whether relative to children whose parents did not migrate or children who migrated with parents to urban cities (see, for example, Zhang et al, 2014;Meng and Yamauchi, 2017;Wang, 2019;Chen, 2018). The existing studies examine left-behind children's school performance when they were still at school, while here we examine their final educational outcome as measured by years of schooling in adulthood.…”

“…Shi et al (2016) and Zhao et al (2017) found that parental out-migration has a significant negative impact on the mental health and psychosocial well-being of "left-behind" children, as they tended to exhibit higher levels of anxiety and lower levels of self-esteem, emotional di culties and di culties in conduct, peer relationships and pro-social behaviors. Wang (2019) reveals that being left-behind reduces children's probability of being enrolled at school, while Hong and Fuller (2019) identified adverse impacts on children's educational aspirations.…”

Does being "left-behind" in childhood lead to criminality in adulthood? Evidence from data on rural-urban migrants and prison inmates in China

“…Studies of educational outcomes of left-behind children in China are abundant. Most find that being left-behind has a negative correlation with schooling outcomes whether relative to children whose parents did not migrate or children who migrated with parents to urban cities (see, for example, Zhang et al, 2014;Meng and Yamauchi, 2017;Wang, 2019;Chen, 2018). The existing studies examine left-behind children's school performance when they were still at school, while here we examine their final educational outcome as measured by years of schooling in adulthood.…”