The construction of British Chinese educational success: exploring the shifting discourses in educational debate, and their effects

ABSTRACT

The high achievement of British Chinese students in the British education system is established in the official literature and has recently been subject to increased attention and comment; albeit it remains the case that few studies have asked students or their families about the factors contributing to their success. This paper revisits findings from an earlier research project that investigated the extent to which British Chinese students and their parents value education (and their rationales), their experiences of British education, and the construction of British Chinese students by their teachers. The study revealed the ‘hidden racisms’ experienced by British Chinese students, the problematisation of their perceived approaches to learning by British teachers in spite of their high attainment, and the benefits, costs, and consequences of their valuing of education. This article contextualises these prior findings within more recent discourses and debates around ‘Chinese success’, precipitated by increased policy attention to the educational attainment of different groups of students, especially from low socio-economic backgrounds. It argues that these discourses on one hand elevate Chinese successes and teaching methods (in contrast to prior narratives), but on the other they continue to exoticise and ‘Other’ the British Chinese, misrecognising educational practices common among White middle-class parents.

KEYWORDS:

• British Chinese
• education
• cultural capital
• racialisation
• social mobility

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our thanks to all reviewers and editors who have provided comments and suggestions for the revision of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The British Chinese population is diverse and heterogeneous, representing a range of origins, language, and migration histories. At the time of this study, the majority of the student respondents were from second-generation British Chinese whose parents are from Hong Kong. In the last decade, the majority of new Chinese migrants in the U.K. have come from Mainland China. There is also a smaller but significant portion of the British Chinese community with links to Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam.

2 The Russell Group represents 24 of the most prestigious, research-intensive universities in the U.K., including University of Oxford and University of Cambridge.

3 See for example, Dweck's work on Mindset (e.g. 2012), or the research showing that ability at maths is frequently viewed as innate in the U.K. (Hodgen 2011).