School Socialization, Cultural Learning, and Cultural Connectedness: The Identity of Yi Ethnic Minority Youth in Rural China

This chapter discusses the well-being of Yi minority youth, in particular their cultural learning and connectedness to the Yi group that defines their ethnic identity. In this chapter, we use the terms ethnic identity-exploration and cultural learning interchangeably, and the terms ethnic identity-commitment and cultural connections are also used interchangeably. Yi minority youth are considered to be a vulnerable group in southwestern rural China because of their collective experiences of chronic extreme poverty and parental loss. Instead of adopting a deficit approach in understanding their risk of adverse development, this chapter employs a strength-based perspective to identify promoting factors that can enhance the developmental trajectories of Yi. Based on the Theory of Cultural Trauma and Phinney’s Ethnic Identity Development Theory, we hypothesized that the school socialization process of teacher and classmate support could promote Yi youth’s cultural learning and connectedness, which is essential for their development of a strong ethnic identity. Having a defined identity is vital for ethnic minority youth because past literature repeatedly suggested that it predicted an array of positive developmental outcomes. Strong ethnic identity is also found to be a driver of cultural and ethnic integration in society. Data were collected from 988 Yi youth (aged 7 to 15; Male = 55%) who were boarding at 13 local primary schools. Longitudinal quantitative analysis was employed to manage three data waves collected between the years 2011 and 2014. Results showed that participants’ ethnic identityexploration and ethnic identity-commitment scores decline over time. Teacher and classmate support affected ethnic identity-exploration and ethnic identity-commitment in the youth. The rate of change in ethnic identity over time was different between those youth with higher versus lower classmate support; while Yi youth with higher classmate support showed a higher ethnic identity-exploration and commitment score at baseline, they experienced a faster rate of decline across the data waves. Similarly, the rate of change in ethnic identity-exploration and ethnic identity-commitment was dissimilar between those with more versus less teacher support. Those with less teacher support showed a higher ethnic identity score at baseline, yet respondents with more teacher support showed a slower rate of decline over time, suggesting the buffering effect of teacher support. Findings are inconsistent with existing international literature, suggesting that ethnic identity among minority youth increases during early adolescence and that teacher and classmate support positively affect their strength of ethnic identity. The inconsistent results suggest that we have to interpret the current results based on the rural China school context. Findings underscore the fact that cultural socialization is a complicated process. We need to examine the role of school environmental factors and teachers’ attitudes towards multiculturalism to explain our findings. Implications for research, practice, and policy to enhance cultural learning and connectedness among ethnic minority youths in rural China are discussed.