ABSTRACT
Whether or not to go back to the hometown for school is one of the most important decisions a migrant student would ever make. For those choosing to stay, however, their first decision only leads to an equally consequential second one—what to do after middle school graduation. There are essentially only three options: stay at home with no job, find a job, or receive some sort of vocational training. In China, the minimum legal working age is 16. 1 In addition, parents are rarely willing to put their children in full-time jobs at such a young age. As a result, vocational school—the only option for further schooling—is a popular next step for migrant middle school graduates who decide to stay in the city. But great internal conflict often accompanies this step in migrant families because of the low social status and poor track record of vocational schools in China.
