Educational Journeys, Struggles and Ethnic Identity

This book examines how state schooling in China has economically, culturally, and ideologically had an impact on and gradually transformed a traditional Muslim Hui village in rural Northwestern China. By discussing the interpretation and appropriation of dominant educational discourse of quality in the rural context, it illustrates the dichotomies of poverty and prosperity, civility and uncivility, and religiosity and secularity as they are perceived and understood by teachers, parents and students. Based on an original ethnographic research conducted in a secondary school, it further touches upon Muslim Hui students' negotiations of filial, rural, and ethnoreligious identities when they struggle to seek a life of their own in the journey to prosperity.

The book introduces audiences to multiple ways in which Muslim Hui students construct and negotiate identities through state schooling, especially the educational heterogeneity experienced by various Muslim youth. It also captures the changing rural-urban dynamic as state schooling continues to guide local formal educational activities as well as create tensions and confusions for both teachers and parents. Most importantly, the book challenges stereotypes about Muslim Hui students in Northwest China being assimilated into the mainstream culture by demonstrating how local Muslims live, study, pray, and fulfil the five pillars of Islam. It will be highly relevant to students and researchers in the fields of education, anthropology, sociology, and religious studies.

Draws on in-depth ethnographic research with secondary schools to explore the impact of compulsory education on Muslim Hui youth in China Addresses the agentic power of Muslim Hui youth in negotiating identities under China's assimilationist approach to its minority education Examines uniquely a Muslim Hui population in Northwest China in a region dominated by Hui

Auteur
Xinyi Wu is a lecturer at the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management & International Studies at University of Pennsylvania, USA. Her research involves ethnic minority education in rural China with special focuses on ethnic identity and education, access to education, and quality of education.

Contenu
Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. Education for Ethnic Minorities: Policy and Discourses.- Chapter 3. The Dilemma of Compulsory Education.- Chapter 4: Discipline as Teaching: Construction of an Educated Identity .- Chapter 5. Aspiring to Change One's Destiny: Cultural Inheritance in Time of Prosperity.- Chapter 6. Negotiating Schooling: An Unpredictable journey to Prosperity.- Chapter 7. Conclusion: Education for Muslim Hui Youth at a Crossroads.