Investigating the Equity of Access When Comparing Migrant and Local Students

Abstract

This paper reviews the disadvantageous position of migrant students in urban areas since numerous people hold a wrong notion that migrant students are so fortunate to go to urban schools and accept relatively more developed instructions on schoolwork. However, there are still many barriers for migrant students to have equal access to quality education as local urban students. This paper will investigate external and psychological factors contributing to this situation and illustrate the possible influence on migrant students. First, in terms of external factors, it is common for migrant students to be discriminated against by local citizens. Secondly, some migrant students attending local migrant schools are threatened by the weak teachers. In addition, the absence of parental care in children’s growth results in some behavioral problems, and the lack of parental supervision in schoolwork tends to cultivate many unhealthy study habits. Regarding migrant students’ psychological condition, they are inclined to have some mental problems. The inferiority complex is a negative mental state of migrant students due to the contrast between rural life standard and urban life standard, and loneliness is mainly caused by insufficient interactions between migrant students and local citizens. Moreover, the identification problem mirrors migrant students’ distinct definitions of their identity. Overall, the disadvantages curbs migrant students’ integration into the urban society, and in the long-run, their future development.