The majority of migrant children living and studying in Shanghai don't consider themselves as Shanghainese, according to a recent survey conducted by researchers at Fudan University.

 

That suggests migrant children are having trouble integrating themselves into local society -- a situation the government should look into, the researchers said.

 

Starting last September, the researchers surveyed 698 migrant children in the city between the ages of seven and 12 about their attitude toward life and study in the city. The term migrant refers both to children born in the city to migrant laborer parents and those who moved here later in life.

 

Nearly 60 percent of the migrant children surveyed said that they didn't consider themselves as Shanghainese.

 

The non-Shanghainese identification is more prominent among migrant children who study at public schools with local kids. More than 75 percent of those children who have studied at local public schools for one year refused to regard themselves as Shanghainese.

 

"They (Shanghai native students and teachers) often speak Shanghai dialect that I cannot understand," said Zhou Ming, a 10-year-old boy from Anhui Province who is now studying at a public school in Putuo District.

 

Zhou, the son of a migrant fruit store owner, said language barrier constantly reminds him that he's different from his Shanghai native classmates.

 

The dialect impact is an objective reason for segregation. But subjective factors, such as bias from Shanghai natives and the country's region-marked social systems, also prevented migrants from recognizing themselves as part of the city, said Ren Yuan, a sociologist at Fudan.

 

The survey reported that more than 90 percent of migrant children were willing, or even eager, to make friends with Shanghai peers. But only 29 percent of them said Shanghai native children would lend a hand when they are in difficulty.

 

Although the city has made efforts to get migrant children to study in local public schools in recent years, the survey reported that many schools still put migrants into separate classes.

 

"As self-identification is a critical measurement for one's social integration, refusal to consider themselves as part of the city unveiled rifts behind normal social activities," Ren said.

 

Zhang Panke, who led the survey, said the city should make efforts to adjust regional segregation as well as promote anti-bias education among locals.

 

(Shanghai Daily May 17, 2007)