Category construction and knowledge production in childhood studies: rethinking ‘left-behind children’ through the case of ‘liushou children’ in China

Narratives about children whose parents have migrated exhibit a common global trend, with these children and their families being widely pathologised, creating a stereotyped image of this group. Hence, it is timely and necessary to interrogate the category construction of left-behind children and the politics surrounding the knowledge produced. This article explores the global construction and widespread stigmatisation of left-behind children through the lens of a postcolonial critique and criticises the hegemonic notion of childhood promoted primarily by the Global North. It then explores the indigenous category of 'liushou children' for left-behind children in China – revealing its cultural expectations and Indigenous construction. Although the pathologisation of such children occurs in both global and indigenous dimensions, the understanding and causation of such pathologisation differs since diverse actors often present different understandings of this phenomenon, which refract different expectations, moral and value judgements, or political motivations. Therefore, this article calls for research on the lives of these children in the context of global economic and social structural shifts and how these are reshaped in local and national dimensions. In so doing, it provides insights into ongoing debates on the politics and ethics of knowledge production in childhood studies.