Life chances and birth registration: A study from rural China

Abstract

In recent years early childhood education has become a focus for ambitious reforms in China. The emphasis on early experiences in this study was designed to address issues of unequal life chances, that is, the opportunities that individuals have to improve their lives across the life span. Children in rural China are more likely to be educationally disadvantaged and lack of birth registration compounds this problem. This paper examines data from rural China that was designed to collect household information including details of birth registration. The survey data indicated that a significant number of children in the study had no birth registration. Here we contrast the families with a registered child and the families with an unregistered child in relation to their knowledge of childrearing and how their knowledge and beliefs were put into practice. Findings indicate that there were identifiable differences in the two groups and these may be significant for policy makers and local governments when designing interventions to assist in alleviating poverty.