Interventions for Rural Migrant Children in China: A Scoping Review

Abstract The large-scale rural-to-urban migration in China has resulted in more than 50 million rural migrant children facing various significant challenges. Despite the increasing intervention efforts that have emerged in response, a comprehensive synthesis of existing studies remains lacking. This scoping review attempts to fill this gap by identifying the issues addressed in existing intervention studies, examining the methodologies used, and highlighting gaps in current approaches to inform future efforts aimed at enhancing the well-being and development of rural migrant children. A scoping review was conducted using a systematic search of four English and one Chinese databases. Studies were screened for eligibility based on predefined criteria. Data from the included studies were charted, focusing on intervention characteristics, evaluation methods, and sample features. A total of 23 Chinese and 14 English articles were selected for final review. 70 codes of intervention focus were retrieved and categorized into five dimensions, consisting of psychological wellbeing, physical health and safety, personal empowerment, social wellbeing, and academic development. Among them, psychological wellbeing emerged as the primary focus of interventions, with 27 relevant codes being extracted from 16 studies. While current interventions were likely to take a deficit-based approach to address migrant children’s temporary psychological and social issues, future intervention research might consider applying a strength-based approach to nurture migrant children’s overall competence and resilience in a long run. In addition, a holistic approach is recommended to integrate resources and support from the migrant children’s micro-system in one intervention to enhance its effectiveness.