Immediate Context, Life Experiences, and Perception: How do rural migrants in urban China perceive an unfair policy?

Abstract

This article examines how rural migrants in China perceive a policy that deprives their children of the opportunity for a high school or college education. In-depth interviews with migrant families in Shanghai reveal that many remain unconvinced that the future of their children is strongly affected by this policy. Rather, they devalue the importance of formal education and emphasize individual effort and alternative pathways to success. By drawing on theories of cognition and the sociology of understanding, I argue that their perceptions of this policy are formed through three processes of validation: recognition of certain views by authorities such as school teachers, social workers, and the media; corroboration with the daily experiences of living in a modern city; and resonance with past experience. This study asserts the importance of immediate context and overall everyday life experiences in shaping perception toward policies. This case also provides insight as to how structural oppression that situates certain individuals in disadvantaged positions is subtly achieved through mechanisms at the micro-level.