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Learning to Succeed? Interplay between Ethnic Identity, National Identity, and Students’ Perception on Social Mobility in a Xinjiang Class School of China

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  • Zhenjie Yuan

    (Centre for Human Geography and Urban Development, School of Geographical Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
    Guangdong Provincial Center for Urban and Migration Studies, Guangzhou 510006, China
    Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, China)

  • Yulin Xie

    (Centre for Human Geography and Urban Development, School of Geographical Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
    Guangdong Provincial Center for Urban and Migration Studies, Guangzhou 510006, China)

  • Jun (Justin) Li

    (Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, China
    School of Tourism Management, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China)

  • Jie Li

    (Centre for Human Geography and Urban Development, School of Geographical Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
    Guangdong Provincial Center for Urban and Migration Studies, Guangzhou 510006, China
    Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, China)

  • Rong Yang

    (Centre for Human Geography and Urban Development, School of Geographical Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China)

Abstract

While studies on students’ ethnic identity, national identity and social mobility gained relatively good research development in Western societies, little attention has been given to other social contexts, particularly non-Western societies like China. A questionnaire (N = 570, aged 14 to 20) was conducted in a Xinjiang Class school in Southern China to examine the nexus of students’ ethnic identity, national identity and perception on social mobility. The Xinjiang Class is currently one of the most iconic preferential educational policies recruiting students from ethnic groups in Xinjiang (an ethnic minority-concentrated border region) and offering them senior secondary education in select Han-centric, senior-secondary schools in China’s central and east coast provinces. The results demonstrate that the strengthening effect of students’ ethnic identity on national identity is not obvious; students’ strong national identity contributes to their positive perception on upward social mobility. However, the widely accepted viewpoint that students’ ethnic identity has a negative influence on perception of social mobility cannot be fully supported in this case. This study enriches the extant literature by providing a combined model to explore the nuanced mechanisms between ethnic identity, national identity and students’ perception on social mobility in a multi-ethnic society and by helping to unveil the identity politics unfolded in current China’s educational sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhenjie Yuan & Yulin Xie & Jun (Justin) Li & Jie Li & Rong Yang, 2022. "Learning to Succeed? Interplay between Ethnic Identity, National Identity, and Students’ Perception on Social Mobility in a Xinjiang Class School of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-14, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:8:p:4444-:d:789613
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhenjie Yuan & Xia Li, 2019. "Measurement Model for Students’ Ethnic Identity, National Identity, and Perception of Social Mobility in China: Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(2), pages 21582440198, April.
    2. Ariel I. Ahram & J. Paul Goode, 2016. "Researching Authoritarianism in the Discipline of Democracy," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 97(4), pages 834-849, December.
    3. David Art, 2016. "Archivists and Adventurers: Research Strategies for Authoritarian Regimes of the Past and Present," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 97(4), pages 974-990, December.
    4. Dorsa Amir & Claudia Valeggia & Mahesh Srinivasan & Lawrence S Sugiyama & Yarrow Dunham, 2019. "Measuring subjective social status in children of diverse societies," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(12), pages 1-19, December.
    5. Marie-Eve Reny, 2016. "Authoritarianism as a Research Constraint: Political Scientists in China," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 97(4), pages 909-922, December.
    6. Lingxin Hao & Suet-Ling Pong, 2008. "The Role of School in the Upward Mobility of Disadvantaged Immigrants' Children," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 620(1), pages 62-89, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Shuai Zhang & Jiannan Du & Huiji Yue & Gui’an Li & Dian Zhang, 2023. "Study on the National Identity Education Intentions of Pre-Service Teachers: Evidence from PLS-SEM and fsQCA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-23, August.

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