Ethnicity on the move: Understanding the ethnic identity construction of Zhuang university students experiencing educational mobility in China

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates a cohort of Zhuang university students’ perceptions of their ethnicity, and the way they construct and negotiate their ethnic identity as they migrate from an inland, ethnic, autonomous province to study in an eastern, coastal municipality. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that the construction of ethnic Zhuang identity is influenced by the interplay between institutional power, sociocultural environment and individual agency. Specifically, participants show three divergent patterns of ethnic identification, namely: receivers, who readily accept their official ethnic classification but have limited ethnic awareness; constructors, who have strong ethnic awareness and strive for ethnic language transmission and heritage culture protection; and utilizers, who are keen on the instrumental values brought by their ethnicity. It is further found that the Zhuang language does not facilitate or strengthen ethnic Zhuang identification due to differences among language varieties.

Ethnic Identity Development, Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms, and Relationships with Primary Caregivers: A Two-Wave Longitudinal Study among Yi Ethnic Minority Youths in Rural China School Settings

“…However, these students' sense of ethnic identity declined over time [45]. The rural education curriculum focuses on academic excellence and preparing students to survive in the Han-driven economy, resulting in school management placing a lower priority on the teachings of ethnic minority culture and traditions [46][47][48]. Such an experience is similar to that of the indigenous populations in Western societies [17,26].…”

Effects of students’ perception of teachers’ ethnic-racial socialization on students’ ethnic identity and mental health in rural China’s schools

“…The notion of ethnic identity has been studied in the Asian societies, with qualitative research in Mainland China showing that young people also experienced similar sentiment towards their ethnic identity. In China’s university settings, Zhuang ethnic minority students showed different patterns of ethnic identification as influenced by their personal experiences and China’s cultural policies ( Lu and Gu, 2021 ). These patterns included: receivers, who accepted their ethnic classification but have limited ethnic awareness; constructors, who had strong ethnic awareness and strived to protect their cultural heritage; and utilizers, who saw their ethnicity as their asset of obtaining more resources.…”

Ethnic identity in school context: The case of Yi ethnic minority adolescents in rural China

“…The transition from ethnic village communities to the Han‐driven modern secondary school settings is a form of cultural shock for ethnic minority adolescents (Phinney & Ong, 2007). These rural boarding schools offer a curriculum that prepares its students, including ethnic minorities, for university admission examinations, leaving little room for cultural exploration (Lu & Guo, 2021; Wu & Lee, 2021; Xiong, 2020). Ethnic minorities often assimilate into the Han culture for upward mobility, which inadvertently diminishes their sense of ethnicity (Xiong, 2020).…”