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

Zhenjie Yuan, Yulin Xie, Jun (Justin) Li, Jie Li and Rong Yang
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Zhenjie Yuan: Centre for Human Geography and Urban Development, School of Geographical Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Yulin Xie: Centre for Human Geography and Urban Development, School of Geographical Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Jun (Justin) Li: Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, China
Jie Li: Centre for Human Geography and Urban Development, School of Geographical Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Rong Yang: Centre for Human Geography and Urban Development, School of Geographical Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 8, 1-14

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.

Keywords: ethnic identity; national identity; social mobility; education; Xinjiang class; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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