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The Discursive Politics of Education Policy in China: Educating Migrant Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 February 2020

Min Yu Open the ORCID record for Min Yu [Opens in a new window]  and
Christopher B. Crowley
Min Yu*
Affiliation:
College of Education, Wayne State University.
Christopher B. Crowley
Affiliation:
College of Education, Wayne State University. Email: cbcrowley@wayne.edu.
*
Email: minyu@wayne.edu (corresponding author).
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Abstract

This article explores the discursive functioning of education policies, bringing into consideration community perspectives regarding policy enactment in contemporary China. With the intention of building upon ongoing discussions surrounding both the conceptions and purposes of policy sociology, we critically analyse policies directly related to the education of migrant children living in and around China's largest urban centres, with a specific focus on those implemented in Beijing. We emphasize two important aspects that previous studies of China's education policies have tended to underplay given their focus on social-economic perspectives. The first argument is that education policies have an underlying agenda that extends beyond that of simply addressing the educational needs of migrant children – evidenced through the discursive functions of policy texts. The second argument is related and seeks to raise questions about who is best served by these policies and for whom these policies are intended.

摘要

摘要

本文探讨了教育政策的话语功能, 并倡导从社区的角度来审视当代中国的政策制定。我们延续了围绕政策社会学的概念和目的进行的讨论, 并批判性地分析了与生活在中国大城市中心及其周边的流动儿童的教育直接相关的政策, 特别是在北京实施的流动儿童教育政策。鉴于先前对中国教育政策的研究往往倾向于从社会经济层面入手, 我们强调此前的研究低估了两个重要方面的议题。第一个议题是, 这些教育政策的潜在议程往往并不只是简单地为了解决流动儿童的教育需求的问题——此点通过对这些政策文本的话语功能分析得以证明。第二个议题所提出的问题是与此紧密相关的一系列反思, 所寻求的反思是这些政策归根到底为谁服务以及这些政策的目标对象究竟为谁。

Keywords

Chinese education policiespolicy enactmentrural–urban migrationmigrant childrenpopulation control中国教育政策政策制定农村向城市迁移流动儿童人口控制
Type
Research Article
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 241 , March 2020 , pp. 87 - 111
Copyright
Copyright © SOAS University of London, 2020

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