LINGUIST List 21.4477 Mon Nov 08 2010 Diss: Anthro Ling/Applied Ling: Bahry: 'Perspectives on Quality in ...' Editor for this issue: Mfon Udoinyang <mfonlinguistlist.org> To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.cfm. Directory         1.     Stephen Bahry , Perspectives on Quality in Minority Education in China: The case of Sunan Yughur Autonomous County, Gansu Message 1: Perspectives on Quality in Minority Education in China: The case of Sunan Yughur Autonomous County, Gansu Date: 07-Nov-2010 From: Stephen Bahry <s.bahryutoronto.ca> Subject: Perspectives on Quality in Minority Education in China: The case of Sunan Yughur Autonomous County, Gansu E-mail this message to a friend Institution: University of Toronto Program: Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Dissertation Status: Completed Degree Date: 2009 Author: Stephen A. Bahry Dissertation Title: Perspectives on Quality in Minority Education in China: The case of Sunan Yughur Autonomous County, Gansu Dissertation URL: https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/19123 Linguistic Field(s): Anthropological Linguistics                             Applied Linguistics Subject Language(s): Chinese, Mandarin (cmn) Dissertation Director: Normand Labrie Dongyan Blachford Ruth Hayhoe Jim Cummins Dissertation Abstract: This exploratory multiple embedded case study investigates perspectives on education reform under conditions of minority language endangerment in Sunan Yughur Autonomous County, a minority-district in northwest China. The study included three school sites: a Yughur minority urban school; a Yughur minority rural district school, and a Yughur majority rural district school and four embedded cases: school administrators, teachers, parents and students, of Yughur, other minority, including Tibetan and Mongolian, or Han nationality. Adult stakeholders were interviewed on what is important to learn in 'education for quality', and what aspects of Yughur (or other minority) knowledge, culture and language should be included in school curriculum as part of education for quality, while students were asked what they enjoyed studying and whether they would enjoy learning stories, poems and songs in Yughur in school. Findings include strong support among parents and students regardless of ethnicity or school site for Yughur (as well as Tibetan and Mongolian) language and culture as 'essential qualities' to foster in Sunan County school curriculum, with moderate to weak support among educators ranges with some variation among sites. Three parallel visions emerge from the study of what it means today for a Chinese minority student to be an educated person in contemporary China: (a) regular Chinese-medium education; (b) multicultural Chinese-medium education; and (c) maintenance bilingual education in Yughur, or other minority language, and Chinese. The third vision envisions developing additive bilinguals who know the heritage of their minority as well as the national curriculum in Mandarin. A vision of balanced bilingualism and multiculturalism that sees heritage languages and Mandarin as 'resources' is shared by the large majority of parents and students, most teachers and some administrators. Holders of other visions for local minority education largely share a 'Language as Problem' orientation towards minority languages. One aim of devolution of school-based curriculum authority is to develop schools' individuality. This study reveals three divergent models of local schooling that have developed in one minority school district: one that centres on a monolingual model of national culture, one monolingual, multicultural model, and one bilingual, multicultural model, with the latter model corresponding more closely to minority stakeholder perspectives that schools should play a stronger role in the maintenance and revitalization of their cultural and linguistic heritage. Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue Page Updated: 08-Nov-2010       About LINGUIST    |   Contact Us       While the LINGUIST List makes every effort to ensure the linguistic relevance of sites listed on its pages, it cannot vouch for their contents.