State Identity and Ethnic Identity in State Education: Case Study of Hui Minority Students in Eastern China

• In Event: Debates, Dialogues, and Discussions on What It Means to Teach Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

Abstract

In this paper, we explored the Hui students’ lived experiences in school in P. R. China and the impact of their experiences on their identity construction. We used narrative inquiry as a theoretical framework to guide procedures of the study. Based on the case study of the two Hui students in eastern China, We found that state identity was constructed through curriculum design, knowledge selection, daily practice of mainstream ideology; schooling for the Hui students was a process of reproducing mainstream Han ideology and taking away their culture, knowledge, and identity; and mainstream Han culture, knowledge, and identity were imposed on the Hui students. We discussed the implications of the study.

Authors

• Yuxiang Wang, Purdue University

• JoAnn I. Phillion, Purdue University