The Politics of Bilingual Education and Educational Levels in Ethnic Minority Communities in China

Abstract

Using the 1990 Chinese national census data, this study examines educational levels in minority communities during three stages in the politics of bilingual education over the last 50 years. Minority communities are classified into three types: (1) with regular bilingual education, (2) with occasional bilingual education, and (3) without bilingual education. Educational levels within Type 1 and Type 2 communities correlate positively with their literacy rates: communities with higher literacy rates tend to have higher educational levels or vice versa. In Type 3 communities, regardless of literacy rates, communities with higher Chinese proficiency have done well in education, but those with lower Chinese proficiency have not. Primary, secondary and college education in all three types of communities has been affected by the three stages in the politics of bilingual education, though in different ways and to different degrees. This study suggests that regular bilingual education is essential for all three types of communities, regardless of their history of employing written native languages in education, to make progress beyond primary education.