Empowerment of Chinese (English as a second language) youth through popular theatre

• Main Author: Lam, Angelo
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/4938

This study examines theories of delinquency and the history Of the Chinese community in Vancouver in recognition of the fact that they are important to the development and establishment of effective programs for Chinese ESL (english as a second language) youth. Without a clear understanding of how we have arrived at the current situation in youth work, it is difficult to separate the symptoms from the problems as they pertain to Chinese ESL youth. Existing programs focus on approaches to “integrate” and “incorporate” youth into Canadian society, yet it is not always clear if the goals of “integration” and “incorporation” are a help or hinderance to Chinese ESL youth. Programs targeted at “transformation”, such as popular theatre, may be more effective since they deal with problems at a socio-political and historical level. Such an approach also deal with the concept of power and analyzes the “covert institutional violence” that exists in society and strives for long-term changes at a structural level. The hypothesis put forward in this study is that a popular theatre program would have a positive effect on the self-esteem of Chinese ESL youth. The research uses a pre-test - post-test design. One group of 15 participants from a single Vancouver high-school was referred to the popular theatre program by school personnel. The Culture Free Self-Esteem Inventory was administered at the beginning and the end of the program to provide quantitative data on the change in self-esteem level of participants. Interviews with 3 of the participants were conducted and transcribed to provide qualitative data. It was found that the change in general, social and overall self-esteem was significant at the 0.005 level while other self-esteem sub-categories did not show a statistical significance at the 0.10 level. Analysis of the qualitative data obtained from the interviews identified 3 themes in the responses given by the interviewees concerning the popular theatre program: a) opportunities for expression; b) shared life experiences; and c) learning new ideas in order to take action. The results were consistent with the quantitative data as well as the ideas and techniques of popular theatre. The results suggest that programs targeted at “transformation” are effective at raising the self-esteem level of Chinese ESL youth.