• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of TUScholarShareCommunitiesDateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsGenresThis CollectionDateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsGenres

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Help

    AboutPeoplePoliciesHelp for DepositorsData DepositFAQs

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    SOCIAL CAPITAL AND CROSS-ETHNIC FRIENDSHIPS AMONG MIN KAO MIN, MIN KAO HAN, AND HAN STUDENTS AT MINZU UNIVERSITY OF CHINA: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    TETDEDXSun-temple-0225E-13235.pdf
    Size:
    2.225Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Download
    Genre
    Thesis/Dissertation
    Date
    2018
    Author
    Sun, Xiaoyang
    Advisor
    Goyette, Kimberly A.
    Committee member
    Zhang, Lu, 1979-
    White, Sydney Davant
    Zhao, Shanyang, 1957-
    Department
    Sociology
    Subject
    Sociology
    Cross-ethnic Freindship
    Ethnic Minorities
    Minzu University of China
    Social Capital
    Permanent link to this record
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12613/3620
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    DOI
    http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/3602
    Abstract
    This study examines ethnic minority students at Minzu University of China (Minzu) and the ways in which students form social capital and cross-ethnic friendships as strategies to support their academic and career pursuits. Minzu University of China (in Beijing) is selected as the site for the study because it is the leading minority university in China and its mission is to promote educational attainment and social integration among the nation’s ethnic minority population. The study calls on sociological work on social capital and schooling as well as work on cross-racial and cross-ethnic friendship formation to guide the theoretical and conceptual analysis. Three groups of students based on ethnic background and primary language spoken form the basis for the interview sample: 1) Han students whose primary language is Chinese Mandarin; 2) Min Kao Han students who are ethnic minorities fluent in Chinese Mandarin and who took the college entrance exam (the Gaokao) in Mandarin; and 3) Min Kao Min students representing ethnic minority students who took the college entrance exam in their native language and who may have limited Mandarin ability. The following research questions served to guide the study: 1) What differences exist among Han, Min Kao Han, and Min Kao Min college students in terms of the observable characteristics of their social connections and relations? 2) How do students form social relationships and connections and to what extent are there observable differences when comparing the three groups of students? 3) How do the students form cross-ethnic friendships and relations and to what extent are there observable differences across the three groups of students? 4) How does guanxi influence the formation of social relationships and connections among the three groups of students? Methodologically speaking, the study borrows from the qualitative tradition and emphasizes the kind of perspective taking critical to understanding the collegiate experiences of ethnic minorities. Field work was conducted during the spring semester 2017 over a five-month period and involved semi-structured interviews with 42 students (14 from each ethnic grouping and equal numbers of males and females), informal interviews, participant observation (mainly in the form of shadowing) and document analysis. Key research findings point to the fact that Min Kao Min students tend to lack confidence about their pre-college education and their Gaokao performance. The vast majority of students appreciated the cultural and ethnic diversity at Minzu University, although some reported shortcomings with the educational environment in terms of the academic quality and the campus infrastructure. Two major forms of social relations constituted students’ social capital formation—peer to peer connections and faculty/staff connections. Extracurricular activities and social media/online platforms provided important spaces for students to build social capital and cross-ethnic friendships. Guanxi, as a unique form of social capital in the Chinese cultural context, emerged as an important aspect of the collegiate experience and the formation of social connections. In terms of cross-ethnic friendship formation, Min Kao Min students tended to have the most homophilous friendship circles, whereas Min Kao Han students were more likely to have the most heterophilous friendships with Han students falling in the middle. The fact that Min Kao Min students are least likely to form cross-ethnic friendships was seen as an important factor in potentially limiting their social capital formation.
    ADA compliance
    For Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation, including help with reading this content, please contact scholarshare@temple.edu
    Collections
    Theses and Dissertations

    entitlement

     
    DSpace software (copyright © 2002 - 2023)  DuraSpace
    Temple University Libraries | 1900 N. 13th Street | Philadelphia, PA 19122
    (215) 204-8212 | scholarshare@temple.edu
    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.