ABSTRACT
In China, rural migrant students must change themselves to conform to the urban system. This chapter illuminates the municipal policy contexts that constrained teachers from adapting instruction to migrant youth's needs. It investigates the lack of teacher adaptations toward the most academically vulnerable migrant youth who attend public school: those who do not know their 'ABCs'. The chapter focuses on the population in English class because they encountered the most extreme experiences of 'invisibility', a phenomenon in which their academic needs are acknowledged, but largely ignored by teachers. From the perspective of public school teachers, the chapter reveals the important 'contexts' that constrain teachers from adapting instruction to migrant's educational needs. The chapter advances understanding on how policymakers, schools, and teachers can more effectively respond to increasing student diversity in East Asia. China constitutes an important case study to illuminate teacher responses in other East Asian societies, where teachers face similar institutional and policy contexts of high-stakes testing.
