Ethnicity,Religion, and Academic Preparedness: A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Supplementary Secular Schools and Nonsecular Church-Affiliated Schools |
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| Authors: | Ming Sun |
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| Institution: | 1. Département d’Administration et Fondement de l’éducation, Université de Montréal, Canadaming.sun@umontreal.ca |
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| Abstract: | Little academic attention has been given to the supplementary education experience of immigrant students in the Canadian research literature, especially in a non-English speaking context such as Quebec. Yet these schools are important for understanding the influence of ethnicity as well as religion on the academic preparedness and social integration of immigrant/minority students in the public school system. From a comparative perspective, this study explores the role that secular Chinese language schools and nonsecular, church-affiliated schools play in responding to the educational needs of Chinese youth in the public schools. Data were collected through ethnographical observation in the two school contexts, as well as through in-depth interviews with Chinese immigrant students, their parents, school personnel, and church ministers. Through a Foucauldian analysis of discourse, the author found that attendance at Chinese supplementary schools benefitted these students’ academic preparedness in a variety of ways, such as the reinforcement and development of ethnic identity. In secular Chinese language schools, ethnicity seems to function through the interaction of cultural attributes and social ethnic structures, whereas in church-affiliated, nonsecular schools, the influence of ethnicity seems to shift to the impact of Christian discipleship. Through this process, church schools actually act as socializing agents that facilitate positive interpersonal relationships among peers and families. |
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