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Abstract
This empirical research analyses an understudied population, Turkish immigrant youths' educational experiences of inclusion/exclusion in Vancouver. My information was gathered from in-depth interviews and participant observation with the first- and second-generation, Muslim and non-religious female and male Turkish immigrant youth from working and middle-class families. The findings of this study indicate that teachers' racism, linguicism and general Islamophobia are the factors of discrimination against Turkish immigrant youth in the education market. The findings suggest that cultural background, immigration status, class and religious affiliation are significant elements in students' relations to the school culture and their educational experiences of inclusion/exclusion in Canadian schools.
Notes on contributor
Dilek Kayaalp completed her PhD in Educational Studies at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Her doctoral dissertation, “Social, Cultural and Educational Inclusion/Exclusion of Turkish Immigrant Youth in Canada,” addresses the effect of social and educational marginalisation of young people on their conflicted identities and sense of belonging in the host country. She has taught the Sociology of Education course at the University of British Columbia, including Simon Fraser University, Canada. She has also worked as a research assistant in UBC's Centre for Culture, Identity and Education as well as in its Department of Educational Studies, where she conducted research on the sociology of immigration, sociology of education, race, ethnicity, social and educational inequalities, anti-racism, and various intercultural issues. Her publications include the authored book, Work and School Experiences and Cultural Practices of Male Working-Class Youth in Turkey, VDM Verlag, 2009.
Notes
1. Essentialising, reductionist and stereotypical interpretations of Middle/Eastern cultures.
2. The ideology based on the idea of the supremacy of European or ‘Western’ culture, as practiced in Europe and its overseas settler-states such as Canada, Australia and the USA.
3. Turks in Germany form the largest ethnic minority group. Therefore, I will focus on only Turkish minority in Germany.
4. Turkish population in Vancouver increased almost four times (from 1000 to 3380) between 2001 and 2006 (Statistics Canada Citation2001, Citation2006).
5. In the definition of class positions of my participants, their parents' occupational position was the main criterion, though education, income and lifestyle are other significant categories in determining one's class position, especially in the Turkish context. Accordingly, it should be noted that youths' class position changes from professional to working-class as their parents' diplomas are not recognised. That is, the level of occupation for new migrants frequently does not represent their status, education and social class in the country of origin.
6. Here, being ‘well-educated’ is associated with having an education in privileged schools and subsequent employment in urban, white-collar professions.
7. The names of my participants are pseudonyms.
8. Students who are culturally, linguistically and economically disadvantaged compared to students from dominant groups.
9. My interview with Melek was cut off repeatedly as she was crying while talking about her school memories.
10. I tried to avoid drawing conclusions that connect race, class and gender due to the small size of my sample.