This Centre for Research in Education in Asia (CREA) talk from Dr Sara Ganassin is titled ’Headteacher, please come as soon as possible. My dad and mom are fighting!'. It will explore the reality of privately-run migrant schools (PMSs) in Guiyang 贵阳, the provincial capital of Guizhou (in the south west of China), one of the country's most culturally and ethnically diverse provinces.

It uses data from a qualitative study that explored the perspectives of 26 educators involved in the schools, including their challenges and aspirations (Wang & Ganassin, in preparation). By providing quality education and support to their students, teaching and managerial staff in PMSs are committed to breaking the cycle of poverty and transforming the lives of their students.

Attend this event

The event will take place in 1 West North 3.09 on the University of Bath campus.

It will also be available as a live stream, which you can watch via Zoom.

Speaker: Dr Sara Ganassin

Dr Sara Ganassin's research focuses on how China has witnessed significant rural-to-urban domestic migration 城乡人口流动, and over 250 million people have relocated in search for better living conditions and work opportunities (National Bureau of Statistics, 2021).

Very often internal migrants end up in low-skilled employment and do not have full access to the local social welfare system, including state schools for their children (National Census, 2021). Migrant children who relocate with their parents are therefore at high risk of social disadvantage.

While the central government has passed laws and designed policies to enable migrant children to attend state schools, access is often difficult, often making privately-run migrant schools (PMSs) 民办随迁子女学校 their only option (MOE, 2021).