I Quit It Because I Wanted to: Ambitions and Aspirations of Women from Rural China Who Did Not Finish Compulsory Education and Became Migrant Workers

Yueyi Lai

doi:10.54254/2753-7048/29/20231478

Research Article

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Published on 7 December 2023

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Lai,Y. (2023). I Quit It Because I Wanted to: Ambitions and Aspirations of Women from Rural China Who Did Not Finish Compulsory Education and Became Migrant Workers. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,29,198-209.

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I Quit It Because I Wanted to: Ambitions and Aspirations of Women from Rural China Who Did Not Finish Compulsory Education and Became Migrant Workers

Yueyi Lai *^,1,

¹ Tsinglan School

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7048/29/20231478

Abstract

In China, compulsory education extends to grade 9 and is mandated by law. However, there are still significant number of rural girls who choose to dropout of school and become migrant workers in coastal cities. This research contributes to existing literature by exploring why rural girls drop out and become migrant workers through two aspects. The former focuses on the 'forced' perspective, in which economic and gender norms play a role in pressuring girls to drop out of school. On the other hand, some researchers point out that girls may exert their agency and autonomously decide to drop out and become migrant workers. This can be because of their internal motivations and life goals, such as the desire to contribute financially to the family, lack of interest in academics, academic difficulties, peer influence, aspirations for a better life in rural areas, etc. In today's world, rural girls' agency and autonomy are increasingly important, therefore, this study examines the interplay of forced aspect and voluntary aspect from a rural girl's narrative to fill the gap that previous studies have missed.

Keywords

female migrant workers, compulsory education, rural girls, early dropout

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Volume title: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication Studies

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ISBN：978-1-83558-173-5(Print) / 978-1-83558-174-2(Online)

Conference date: 15 November 2023

Editor：Enrique Mallen, Javier Cifuentes-Faura

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Volume number: Vol.29

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