The Impact of College Matriculation Policies on the Cultural Adaptation of Migrant Children: A Statistical Analysis of Perceived Discrimination in Chinese Cities
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical Basis and Research Assumptions
2.1. Developmental History of College Matriculation Policies and Factors Influencing It
2.2. Relationship Between Discrimination and Urban Cultural Adaptation
2.3. Relationship Between the College Matriculation Policy and Discrimination Perception and Acculturation
3. Research Design, Materials, and Methods
3.1. Study Sample and Data Collection
3.2. Variable Definition and Measurement
3.2.1. Demographic Variables
3.2.2. Cultural Adaptation Questionnaire
3.2.3. Perceived Discrimination Questionnaire
3.2.4. The Questionnaire on the College Matriculation Policies
3.3. Reliability and Validity Tests
3.3.1. Reliability Analysis
3.3.2. Validity Analysis
3.3.3. Common Method Bias Test
3.4. Analysis Method
4. Research Results
4.1. Variance Analysis of the Migrant Children Group
4.2. Correlation Analysis
4.3. Test of Moderating Effects
5. Discussion
6. Implications
- (a)
- Providing psychological support: Establishing mental health counseling centers in schools and communities to provide psychological support and counseling services for migrant children, helping them cope with the psychological pressure caused by perceived discrimination.
- (b)
- Enhancing community participation: Encouraging migrant children and their families to actively participate in community activities to foster a sense of belonging and identity and reduce the perception of discrimination caused by group isolation.
- (c)
- Promoting policy awareness: Improving the promotion and education of the college entrance examination policy across regions to enhance migrant families’ understanding and sense of policy inclusion, thereby reducing the negative impact of discrimination perception on cultural adaptation.
7. Limitations and Future Research
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Variables | N (%) | Variables | N (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Sex | Residence personnel structure | ||
Female | 892 (62.1) | Many outsiders | 95 (6.6) |
Male | 544 (37.9) | Almost the same | 501 (34.9) |
Type of household mobility | Many locals | 840 (58.5) | |
“Rural-urban” mobility | 1144 (79.7) | Father’s vocational type | |
“Town-town” mobility | 292 (20.3) | Unemployed, temporary, or agricultural workers | 221 (15.4) |
Father’s level of education | Ordinary workers, self-employed persons | 607 (42.3) | |
Primary school or below | 27 (1.8) | General management or technical personnel | 312 (21.7) |
Junior high school | 564 (39.3) | Middle management or technical personnel | 286 (19.9) |
Senior high school | 868 (56.3) | Senior management or technical personnel, private entrepreneur | 10 (0.7) |
Undergraduate | 37 (2.6) |
Total Scale | Subscale | Cronbach’s Alpha | |
---|---|---|---|
Perceived discrimination | 0.938 | ||
College matriculation policy | 0.955 | ||
Urban cultural adaptation | Campus culture adaptation | 0.956 (total scale) | 0.936 |
Community culture adaptation | 0.920 | ||
Customs and language adaptation | 0.923 |
Perceived Discrimination | College Matriculation Policy | Urban Cultural Adaptation | |
---|---|---|---|
KMO value | 0.957 | 0.903 | 0.967 |
Bartlett test | 2895.642 ** | 3090.116 ** | 5975.915 ** |
Number of factors | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Cumulative variance explained | 61.027% | 64% | 81.649% |
Perceived Discrimination | College Matriculation Policy | Urban Cultural Adaptation | |
---|---|---|---|
Prob > χ2 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
CD | 0.971 | 0.965 | 0.999 |
CFI | 0.874 | 0.953 | 0.809 |
TLI | 0.832 | 0.943 | 0.782 |
RMSEA | 0.231 | 0.100 | 0.178 |
Variables and Grouping | Perceived Discrimination | College Matriculation Policy | Campus Culture Adaptation | Community Culture Adaptation | Customs and Language Adaptation | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gender | Male | 3.28 ± 0.76 | 2.95 ± 0.89 | 3.07 ± 0.92 | 2.82 ± 0.94 | 2.85 ± 1.01 |
Female | 2.86 ± 0.73 | 3.13 ± 0.87 | 3.56 ± 0.77 | 3.22 ± 0.94 | 3.24 ± 1.00 | |
T-test | −6.010 | −8.343 * | −11.582 ** | −8.344 | −7.945 | |
Type of household mobility | Rural-urban | 3.04 ± 0.74 | 2.98 ± 0.89 | 3.05 ± 0.87 | 2.79 ± 0.93 | 2.81 ± 0.99 |
Urban-urban | 2.83 ± 0.74 | 3.44 ± 0.83 | 3.90 ± 0.59 | 3.54 ± 0.82 | 3.58 ± 0.89 | |
T-test | −5.168 * | −9.583 ** | −19.500 ** | −15.044 ** | −14.543 ** |
Variables and Grouping | Perceived Discrimination | College Matriculation Policy | Campus Culture Adaptation | Community Culture Adaptation | Customs and Language Adaptation | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Structure of people in the place of residence | (a) More non-locals | 3.17 ± 0.79 | 2.70 ± 0.81 | 2.55 ± 0.55 | 2.33 ± 0.71 | 2.22 ± 0.67 |
(b) About the same | 3.00 ± 0.70 | 3.04 ± 0.88 | 3.21 ± 0.90 | 2.93 ± 0.95 | 2.93 ± 0.99 | |
(c) More local | 2.80 ± 0.74 | 3.53 ± 0.82 | 3.99 ± 0.48 | 3.64 ± 0.72 | 3.79 ± 0.70 | |
F-test and post hoc comparisons # | 31.438 ** a > b > c | 121.572 ** c > b > a | 549.839 ** c > b > a | 317.384 ** c > b > a | 456.93 ** c > b > a | |
Father’s education level | (a) Junior school | 3.09 ± 0.91 | 2.07 ± 0.71 | 2.88 ± 0.58 | 2.72 ± 0.73 | 2.36 ± 0.65 |
(b) High school | 3.19 ± 0.68 | 2.63 ± 0.72 | 2.50 ± 0.81 | 2.34 ± 0.66 | 2.37 ± 0.69 | |
(c) Bachelor’s degree | 2.95 ± 0.79 | 3.04 ± 0.87 | 3.04 ± 0.90 | 2.70 ± 1.00 | 2.73 ± 1.04 | |
(d) Master’s degree or above | 2.91 ± 0.72 | 3.25 ± 0.92 | 3.30 ± 0.89 | 3.33 ± 0.85 | 3.36 ± 0.94 | |
F-test and post hoc comparisons # | 18.160 ** a > b > c > d | 23.092 ** d > c > b > a | 117.421 ** d > c > a > b | 90.939 ** d > c > a > b | 83.407 ** d > c > b > a | |
Father’s occupation type | (a) Unemployed, temporary workers or agricultural laborers | 3.66 ± 0.76 | 2.87 ± 0.81 | 2.79 ± 0.63 | 2.51 ± 0.87 | 2.47 ± 0.87 |
(b) Ordinary workers or self-employed individuals | 3.17 ± 0.78 | 2.78 ± 0.88 | 2.86 ± 0.85 | 2.54 ± 0.87 | 2.51 ± 0.90 | |
(c) General management personnel and technical personnel | 3.01 ± 0.65 | 3.44 ± 0.87 | 3.84 ± 0.71 | 3.54 ± 0.79 | 3.66 ± 0.83 | |
(d) Mid-level managers and technical staff | 2.82 ± 0.62 | 3.67 ± 0.59 | 3.98 ± 0.37 | 3.76 ± 0.40 | 3.84 ± 0.51 | |
(e) Senior management personnel, technical personnel, private business owners | 2.70 ± 0.78 | 3.05 ± 0.98 | 4.50 ± 0.00 | 4.50 ± 0.00 | 4.33 ± 0.17 | |
F-test and post hoc comparisons # | 30.411 ** a > b > c > d > e | 84.730 ** d > c > e > a > b | 227.844 ** e > d > c > b > a | 214.658 ** e > d > c > b > a | 238.069 ** e > d > c > b > a |
(1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) College matriculation policy acceptance | 1 | ||||
(2) Perceived discrimination | −0.382 ** | 1 | |||
(3) Campus culture adaptation | 0.717 ** | −0.428 ** | 1 | ||
(4) Community culture adaptation | 0.814 ** | −0.372 ** | 0.428 | 1 | |
(5) Customs and language adaptation | 0.786 ** | −0.387 ** | 0.362 * | 0.348 * | 1 |
Variable | Model 1 | Model 2 | Model 3 | Model 4 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Standardized Coefficient | Standardized Coefficient | Standardized Coefficient | Standardized Coefficient | |
Gender | −0.228 *** | −0.209 *** | −0.129 *** | −0.078 * |
Type of household mobility | 0.215 *** | 0.204 *** | 0.145 *** | 0.076 * |
Structure of people in the place of residence | 0.369 *** | 0.343 *** | 0.254 *** | 0.155 |
Father’s education level | 0.171 *** | 0.144 *** | 0.113 *** | 0.070 * |
Father’s occupation type | 0.220 *** | 0.203 *** | 0.124 *** | 0.115 ** |
Perceived discrimination | −0.160 *** | −0.097 ** | −0.030 | |
College matriculation policy acceptance | 0.375 *** | 0.470 | ||
Interaction term of perceived discrimination and college matriculation policy | 0.475 | |||
R2 | 0.580 | 0.601 | 0.683 | 0.779 |
Adjusted R2 | 0.572 | 0.592 | 0.675 | 0.772 |
F-test | 73.442 *** | 173.881 *** | 264.339 *** | 319.727 *** |
Variable | Model 5 | Model 6 | Model 7 | Model 8 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Standardized Coefficient | Standardized Coefficient | Standardized Coefficient | Standardized Coefficient | |
Gender | −0.176 *** | −0.159 ** | −0.017 | −0.003 |
Type of household mobility | 0.142 ** | 0.131 ** | 0.028 | 0.009 |
Structure of people in the place of residence | 0.252 *** | 0.228 *** | 0.072 | 0.044 |
Father’s education level | 0.131 * | 0.106 * | 0.053 | 0.041 |
Father’s occupation type | 0.313 *** | 0.299 *** | 0.159 *** | 0.156 |
Perceived discrimination | −0.143 ** | −0.032 | −0.024 | |
College matriculation policy acceptance | 0.661 *** | 0.665 | ||
Interaction term of perceived discrimination and college matriculation policy | 0.132 * | |||
R2 | 0.434 | 0.451 | 0.705 | 0.713 |
Adjusted R2 | 0.423 | 0.439 | 0.698 | 0.704 |
F-test | 40.807 *** | 107.805 *** | 291.506 *** | 361.267 |
Variable | Model 9 | Model 10 | Model 7 | Model 8 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Standardized Coefficient | Standardized Coefficient | Standardized Coefficient | Standardized Coefficient | |
Gender | −0.153 ** | −0.136 *** | −0.011 | 0.000 |
Type of household mobility | 0.114 * | 0.103 * | 0.013 | −0.002 |
Structure of people in the place of residence | 0.352 *** | 0.328 *** | 0.190 *** | 0.168 |
Father’s education level | 0.123 * | 0.098 * | 0.051 | 0.041 |
Father’s occupation type | 0.283 *** | 0.268 *** | 0.145 ** | 0.143 ** |
Perceived discrimination | −0.146 ** | −0.049 | −0.022 * | |
College matriculation policy acceptance | 0.581 *** | 0.586 | ||
Interaction term of perceived discrimination and college matriculation policy | 0.104 * | |||
R2 | 0.480 | 0.498 | 0.694 | 0.699 |
Adjusted R2 | 0.470 | 0.487 | 0.686 | 0.690 |
F-test | 43.841 *** | 115.094 *** | 86.240 *** | 368.014 *** |
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Zhi, X.; Sun, Y.; Sun, Z.; Ming, Y.; Lv, C. The Impact of College Matriculation Policies on the Cultural Adaptation of Migrant Children: A Statistical Analysis of Perceived Discrimination in Chinese Cities. Behav. Sci. 2025, 15, 1136. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15081136
Zhi X, Sun Y, Sun Z, Ming Y, Lv C. The Impact of College Matriculation Policies on the Cultural Adaptation of Migrant Children: A Statistical Analysis of Perceived Discrimination in Chinese Cities. Behavioral Sciences. 2025; 15(8):1136. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15081136
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhi, Xiaotong, Yun Sun, Zhendong Sun, Yuelong Ming, and Cixian Lv. 2025. "The Impact of College Matriculation Policies on the Cultural Adaptation of Migrant Children: A Statistical Analysis of Perceived Discrimination in Chinese Cities" Behavioral Sciences 15, no. 8: 1136. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15081136
APA StyleZhi, X., Sun, Y., Sun, Z., Ming, Y., & Lv, C. (2025). The Impact of College Matriculation Policies on the Cultural Adaptation of Migrant Children: A Statistical Analysis of Perceived Discrimination in Chinese Cities. Behavioral Sciences, 15(8), 1136. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15081136