PART-TIME JOBS AND SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS OF MIGRANT CHIDREN FROM A VOCATIONAL

HIGH SCHOOL IN BEIJING

Alicia QI

Background of the Research

Site: A well-know vocational high school Duration: 12.2012 – 01.2012 03.2012 – 06.2012 Visiting time: 6-8 pm on weekdays (usually),

weekends, and other occassions Student classification: 1. Migrant students from ordinary migrant families

(Focus, 8 interviewed);2. Migrant students from better-off migrant families (2

interviewed)3. Rural students from Shanxi Province (1 interviewed)4. Local Beijing students (2 interviewed)

Working Part-time An obvious phenomenon: Quite a number of them are

currently doing or used to do part-time jobs Once started, they will carry on from one job to another Labor intensive jobs requiring longer working hours but

offering minimum wages:

Restaurant waitress, supermarket promotion girl, shopkeeper, telephone operat or, street flier giver, etc.

Working is not necessary a matter of pocket money. 5 reasons to work:

1. Pay for part of the tuition and living fees; 2. Earn some pocket money, so that will not have to ask from parents; 3. Workings becomes a culture;4. Too much free time; 5. Fail to recognize the importance of education (or nowadays vocational ed-

ucation system fails them first?)

For the First Two Reasons Feeling embarrassed or feeling responsible are two very important rea-

sons why they work. I think I am growing older, I feel embarrassed to stretch out my hands askingfor money from my parents (Yu).

Recently when I went back home, I found my father got thinner and his skin darker I feel my heart aches…My dad used to be rather fat, but now he is so tired that he losses weight. I feel my heart aches (Min).

Money earned goes to tuition, living cost, computer, or other goods and services.

Money helps them to stay longer in school – the lack of money deters their willing to go on studying

I feel that what we are learning now won’t be useful in future. Besides, there is the meal fee. I think it’s too expensive. I didn’t work much at that time. I have to ask them for money a lot. I have strong self-esteem. I don’t want to ask my parents for money. My older sister just started working, and my younger brother spent money carelessly. So it just came to me that I wanted to quit. I just started hate coming to school (Min).

Another Emerged Theme

“Money”These few days, I feel that the pressure is extremely high if I don’t work. And then I think when this semester ends, I have to pay tuition fees again. I am now very realistic. Everything is about money. I feel my childhood is all surrounded by money.

A very import theme the society has been constantly sending to them:

Their families are in the city for money; they are not in a good local school because of the lack of money; they might not be able to find a good job if their parents do not have money to know people and pave their way to a good job; they want a good job so that they earn more and they can have a better life.

The society apparently does not leave them much room or time for more romanticized imagination.

The Third Reason

“They All Go, So I Go Too”:They all go, so I go too. Ling and others all go! Maybe because I am a

very sociable person, I just love to be with others. If let me do it myself, I

won’t do it …Because others are doing part-time jobs, so I want to do too. There is no

other reason. I can either work or not! (Qi)

Peer pressure They think they need to work too because they either do not

want to be left out or they somehow sense the nerves and the signals of

competition sending off by their peers and subconsciously they feel they have to keep neck and neck with them.

First Impression is good

Moden and Peaceful Campus in well

developped community

School Promises Jobs

However…

• School does not teach much:

1. Curriculum is ap-parently designed too easy and the rhythm of teaching is too slow;

2. Little homework;3. Poor learning envi-

ronment;4. Easy examinations.

The overall environment is like that… Students chat, play mobile phone, sleep and put on make-ups in class. It’s getting even more exaggerating in the third year. Guys and girls change their shoes in class, girls from high heels to sports shoes and guys from sports shoes to football shoes (Wen).  In fact, each good kid will be bullied. “Why are you acting? Why are you pretending to be good? Why act? We are all vocational school students. We all belong to this level. Can you stop acting in front of me? Your grades are good. Why do you study that hard? We are chatting. Just join us (Wang).

As a Result, They Work outside

Min and Yuan worked before last Chinese New Year in a restaurant as waitress. Work lasted from 7 am to 7 pm, with little time to rest. Daily payment is 60 yuan. Accommodation is offered. But the condition of the dorm is horrible.

Chen, but she named herself Qian Duoduo (Means a lot of money), is now a part-time flier giver employed by an English training institute. Meanwhile, she also works for a Japanese restaurant. The institute pays her 8 yuan for giving off 200 fliers on street. After school, namely around 4 pm, Duoduo and her best friend will start working.

Qi and Ling worked at a wedding exhibition. These exhibitions usually held on a weekly basis at different shopping centers. There is not any basic salary. They earned bonus if they can drag a couple to the counters of the company that hired them.

This is Yu, an ice-cream promotion girl. She got paid 100 yuan as basic daily salary and 20 yuan as bonus if she could manage to sell more than 100 boxes of ice-cream.

Working inside School and Fiercer Competition

Employments of Former Graduates

• Reason:1. An employment hierarchy in this

school;2. Only those rank high in this

hierarchy have promising future;

3. And those privileged students are often cadres of the Student Union and the Youth League Committee.

• Results:1. Compete for the limited higher

positions in the Student Union and the Youth League;

2. Actively and purposely build a good relationship with their teachers by working for them;

3. Often times, it also involves nasty petty actions behind each other’s back.

Some students indeed earn their positions honestly. But this is a vocational school. Everybody plays their minds. In fact, they will try as hard as possible to drag you down (Wang).

• Wrong Guidance from Teachers:Our teachers make us into believing what the society is like. They always use what happened in the society as examples. Thus,

students have no other choice but become more sophisticated…They didn’t do that on purpose. In fact they can’t feel it. But the way how they teach us make us compete with each other maliciously. For instance, our

teacher told us companies are not as simple as schools. Those whom you work with will try to bring you down. And they will suck up to

their boss. Our teacher said that those who know how to pretend to be pitiable are those who are capable. If you don’t know that you will be kicked out. What they said make us think about our own future

and make us compete with each other (Wang).

• As a result:Energy goes to dealing with these issues and only little is devoted

to study;Real friendship is hard to find.

• This mentality in fact projects how these students view the society in general. They are preparing for the worst, namely a society full of competitions and tricks.

Conclusion

• Loopholes in the vocational education system:

There are much more improvement that can be carried out to make the schools a better place for the students to grow and

learn. For example, teaching quality evaluation system and improved curriculum.

• Lack of proper assistance and guidance

Migrant students attending vocational high school, their puberty ends too soon and adulthood starts too fast. Their life is led by the pressure of future employment and the desire for money,

and it involves too much competitions and wrong beliefs. Support and guidance from professional social workers will be in their interest.