The Impact of Bilingual Literacy and Education Level on Ethnic Pride from the Conflict Theoretical Perspective: A Case Study of Chinese Korean Minority Students in Yanbian

Abstract

Abstract This article focuses on the impact of Korean minority students’ bilingual proficiency, multi-dimensional knowledge and educational stage on their ethnic pride. Analysis of data collected from 693 Chinese Korean minority high school and university students tests three hypotheses from the conflict theoretical perspective: (1) Korean minority students’ bilingual proficiency positively impacts on their ethnic pride, (2) their multi-dimensional knowledge impacts on their ethnic pride positively but differently, (3) from high school to university, their ethnic pride is strengthened as they are further exposed to the bilingual education programme. The analysis indicates that bilingual proficiency and minority knowledge positively contribute to students’ ethnic pride, but their diaspora knowledge and educational level have negative impacts on their ethnic pride. The Korean minority's pragmatic pursuit of upward mobility and the increasing conflicts it causes over time could contextually explain why their ethnic pride fails to sustain itself at higher levels of education.