Exploring the daily experiences and social capital of children from migrant families in their adaptation to city lives: A case study in China

Abstract

This thesis explores how children from migrant families in urban China construct, interpret and draw upon their social networks to support their adaptation to city life. Drawing on existing research that has primarily examined the structural disadvantages produced by hukou-related policies or the physical and psychological well-being of children affected by family migration, much less attention has been paid to the everyday challenges children encounter when adapting to the new urban social and cultural environments. To address this gap, this study adopts a child-centred, qualitative approach to examine children’s own understandings of their social networks in family, school, and community settings.

The research was conducted at case study of Rock Primary School (Anonymised), a public school in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province. Fifteen children from migrant families, aged 8-11, participated in two semi-structured interviews in Mandarin. During the first interview, children co-constructed eco-maps to visualise their self- defined social networks; the second interview used these eco-maps as elicitation tools to explore their daily interactions and emotional ties. Interview transcripts and eco- maps were analysed thematically, guided by Coleman’s social capital framework and complemented by Bourdieu’s attention to inequality.

Findings show that children’s social capital is concentrated within close family relationships, classmates and teachers at school, and more limited connections in residential communities. Family migration disrupts networks through frequent moves, but children actively rebuild connections, maintaining strong emotional bonds with their hometowns and dialects. In school, leadership roles and teacher support foster belonging and confidence. Also, language barriers, competitive schooling cultures, and constrained community spaces limit bridging connections with local peers.

This study shows how children from migrant families actively build and maintain social networks in different contexts such as school, community and hometown settings. By incorporating the perspective of children and considering Chinese cultural and policy contexts, this study offers a contextualised understanding of children’s urban integration.

Date of Award	14 Jan 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Alinka Gearon (Supervisor), Sam Carr (Supervisor) & Justin Rogers (Supervisor)