China's Left-behind Children (<i>Liu-shou-er-tong</i>): Development and Challenges for the Future

Abstract

This article analyses the left-behind children (LBC/Liu-shou-er-tong) phenomenon resulting from rural-urban mobility, focusing on their well-being and the problems faced. It demonstrates the current development, challenges and direction of social development as a result of this unprecedented phenomenon in Wuxi County, Chongqing. Interviews and semi-structured questionnaires were utilized in this research, which covered town and village schools, and individuals from NGOs as well as government departments. A brief concluding section draws together local government initiatives and programmes, offering a few general and interesting observations on the solutions using five models.

Keywords

• left-behind children
• social development and security
• government
• programme initiatives
• reforms
• China