Academic achievement of South Korean students in China : a case study in two secondary schools in Beijing

• Main Author: Du, Boning
• Published: University of Bristol 2014
• Subjects: 378
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.684912

The aim of the thesis is to critically examine the factors that influence the educational achievement of Korean Pre-college Study Abroad (PSA) students in two secondary schools in China and to make recommendations for secondary education policies and practices in order to improve their academic achievement of PSA students in China. It is achieved primarily through exploring the perceptions of both Korean and Chinese groups, including Korean parents, their children and Chinese staff in secondary schools, concerning the factors influencing the academic achievement of PSA students. The research is oriented by a cultural-ecological framework, according to the theses of cultural capital and social capital. The study contributes to the limited research focusing on the current PSA students in Chinese secondary schools, particularly from an educational perspective. Fieldwork was conducted from September 2011 to April 2012 in Beijing, China. The study employed a primarily qualitative case study design, whereby the sites were a mainstream Chinese school and a Korean minority school. Four methods of data collection were employed, namely, questionnaires, documents review, focus groups and in-depth interviews. The main analytic tool of this study is the Thematic Network Analysis. The main findings relate to Korean group's interpretations of and responses to the social system. In attempting to achieve/maintain upward social mobility through education, Korean PSA families have found that they are driven to desperation, or become resistant to or disengage from the social system, despite the fact that as middle class, they possess cultural and social capital within their own community. It is argued that the desire, on the part of foreign minorities to achieve/maintain social mobility through education is undermined by the mainstream agenda of integrating them into the Chinese nation state at the expense of their culture. During this process, Chinese group members who are serving these minority groups are also the victim of this social system. Accordingly, I propose some changes that need to be made by the governments and secondary schools in China, e.g. implementing a multicultural curriculum and offering staff development opportunities in the kinds of policies and processes. In doing so, it is possible for China's secondary education to be more responsive to the needs of oppressed groups, such as PSA students, whilst also responding to the educational challenges posed by the process of globalisation.