Minority Student Success in Southwest China: Identity Work and its Structural Supports

Abstract

A strong relationship exists in many cultures between ethnic identity and educational success. This study was conducted at a teacher training university in Southwest China in 1997. It examines how ethnic minority students, through a series of micro-level interactions, construct “scholar selves” within their families, villages, and schools. The study also looks at how macro-level structural supports, built into the Chinese education system, help minority students overcome obstacles to academic success. These supports include special schools and classes for ethnic students, training teachers for nationality areas, financial support for minority education and additional points awarded on national examinations. The chapter suggests what scholars and practitioners might learn from an educational system that demonstrates the characteristics of flexibility, inclusiveness and cohesiveness.

Citation

Benton Lee, M., Hong, L. and Lihui, L. (2012), "Minority Student Success in Southwest China: Identity Work and its Structural Supports", Allen, W.R., Teranishi, R.T. and Bonous-Hammarth, M. (Ed.) As the World Turns: Implications of Global Shifts in Higher Education for Theory, Research and Practice (Advances in Education in Diverse Communities, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 345-366. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-358X(2012)0000007018