Rural Migrant Women’s Informal Learning of Life Skills in Social Networks in Urban China

Abstract

Life skill programs have been widely provided for vulnerable women in Third World Countries but not for the deprived rural migrant women in China. This study explored the way these women informally learned life skills in urban China and their primary sources of learning, in hopes of providing insights into possible life skill programs targeting them. A basic interpretive qualitative research was conducted by interviewing seventeen migrant women in Northwest and Central China. Findings show that these women learned certain core life skills informally as they adjusted to the urban life. They regarded rural migrant social networks as the main source of learning. Yet, their aspirations to acquire better communication and occupational skills remained mostly unfulfilled and a few of them demanded extra emotional support. This study strongly suggests life skill programs provided for rural migrant women in China to enhance their capability for self-protection, empowerment and social integration.