Bilingual education in a globalized age: an ecological perspective on two Chosonjuk schools in China

Abstract

ABSTRACT Drawing on ecological perspectives, this study investigates changes in the bilingual education of ethnic Koreans in China in the context of globalization. Focusing on two Chosonjuk (ethnic Korean in China, 중국조선족, 朝鲜族) schools in Northeast China that experienced challenges due to declining enrollment as a result of the increasing popularity of attending Han (ethnic Han Chinese, 汉族) schools, this study discusses the ways in which these two schools repositioned their bilingual programs to leverage the Korean (Chosonmal, 朝鲜语) and Mandarin (Putonghua, 普通话) languages as linguistic capital and the ways in which such repositioning affected the school choices of Chosonjuk families and other student families. Our findings show that these two schools implemented a series of changes, including the provision of individualized instruction to students to meet their specific needs and the enrollment of Han students and international students from South Korea who were interested in learning the Korean or Mandarin languages. These practices increased the attractiveness of the two schools to families with a variety of needs and concurrently created an inclusive educational environment for the students.