INDO-CANADIAN MALES and HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCES Case Study

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

INDO-CANADIAN MALES and HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCES Case Study INDO-CANADIAN MALES AND HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCES 1 Running head: INDO-CANADIAN MALES AND HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCES Case Study: A study of a selected group of Indo-Canadian males and their experiences at high school Amandeep Sidhu Department of Integrated Studies in Education McGill University October, 2009 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Masters of Arts in Culture and Values in Education © Amandeep Sidhu 2009 Library and Archives Bibliothèque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l’édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-66365-3 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-66365-3 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L’auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l’Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L’auteur conserve la propriété du droit d’auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author’s permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privée, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont été enlevés de thesis. cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n’y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. INDO-CANADIAN MALES AND HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCES 2 Abstract This qualitative case study describes and analyzes the educational identities of second generation Indo-Canadian high school males in British Columbia. I draw from post-traditionalist sociology for my theoretical framework. I conducted face-to-face individual interviews to develop a collective and individual understanding of the perceptions of seven Indo-Canadian teenage males from four cities in British Columbia. Results indicate that their educational and personal identities are constructed more in relation to their daily social interactions and less in relation to traditional Punjabi cultural norms. Results from the student interviews reveal that they negotiate their identities in relation to social interactions that are always shifting. A pattern emerged whereby the participants are constantly trying to find a sense of self and belonging as they discuss how they identify themselves and their place in relation to school, family, culture, and peer groups. This study has implications for educators and for second generation identity studies. Increasing ethnic and cultural diversity creates a need for educators to encourage and embrace the involvement of parents from the often reluctant Punjabi community. Understanding and recognizing the different ways these youth develop their identities may enable educators and identity researchers to confront the growing academic underachievement of Indo-Canadian high school male youths. INDO-CANADIAN MALES AND HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCES 3 Résumé Cette étude de cas de nature qualitative décrit et analyse l’identité scolaire d’élèves masculins Indo-Canadiens de deuxième génération fréquentant l’école secondaire. Le cadre théorique de cette étude repose sur la sociologie post-traditionnelle. Des entrevues individuelles ont été menées afin de développer une compréhension collective et individuelle de la perception de sept adolescents masculins d’origine Indo- Canadienne provenant de quatre villes de Colombie-Britannique. Les résultats indiquent que leur identité scolaire et personnelle se construit davantage en fonction de leurs interactions sociales quotidiennes plutôt que selon les normes culturelles Punjabi. Les données d’entrevues révèlent que ces élèves négocient leur identité en lien avec des interactions sociales toujours changeantes. Les résultats suggèrent l’émergence d’un mode selon lequel les participants tentent constamment de trouver un sens de soi et un sentiment d’appartenance en lien avec la façon dont ils s’identifient et à la place qu’ils occupent dans leurs écoles, leurs familles, leur culture et leurs groupes de pairs. Cette étude a des implications pour les agents d’éducation ainsi que pour les études concernant le développement de l’identité d’immigrants de deuxième génération. Une plus grande diversité ethnique et culturelle requiert des agents d’éducation qu’ils encouragent et acceptent l’implication des parents, souvent réticents, de la communauté Punjabi. Comprendre et reconnaître les différentes façons qu’ont ces jeunes de développer leur identité peut permettre aux agents d’éducation et aux chercheurs dans le domaine de l’identité de contrer l’augmentation de l’échec scolaire chez les élèves Indo-Canadiens masculins de niveau secondaire. INDO-CANADIAN MALES AND HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCES 4 Acknowledgements It was with the kindness and patience of many great friends that this thesis was written. I would like to thank Dr. Mary Maguire for her tireless efforts in guiding me through this project. After having the privilege of working with Dr. Maguire, I realize how dedicated she is to her students, her profession and the entire discipline of academic studies in Education. Over the course of this thesis, Dr. Maguire has not only made me a better student, she has also become a role model for the way I will conduct my professional life. I would also like to thank the seven participants and parents of this study. They were all trusting and honest individuals who opened their doors and gave me their time. I feel very privileged to have been able to work with them and share their stories. I am grateful for the opportunity to study at McGill University. The fine faculty and staff are the pillars of this University’s earned reputation. I am grateful for having the opportunity to pursue full time studies and make contributions that will expand and create new information and knowledge. I owe a great deal to my parents, who have enabled my access to institutions that were beyond their own reach. I made many friends at McGill and I will always remember the time we shared. I would like to thank Mary Kate Wallbridge for her endless support and feedback and I would like to thank the professors that encouraged my ideas and supported my causes. I am grateful to my brother Pawandeep Sidhu and my friend Wayne Egers for always being there when I needed a proofreader or soundboard. And, I would like to thank my wife Bindy. She was my biggest supporter and the source of my motivation. INDO-CANADIAN MALES AND HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCES 5 Table of Contents ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................. 2 RÉSUMÉ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................................... 4 PROLOGUE ................................................................................................................................................. 7 FAMILY HISTORY AND EDUCATION OF PARENTS ............................................................................................ 7 PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN MY EDUCATION............................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 17 FOCUS OF INQUIRY........................................................................................................................................ 18 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND THEMES ............................................................................................................ 21 TERMINOLOGY .............................................................................................................................................. 22 RATIONALE FOR MY STUDY.......................................................................................................................... 24 SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW............................. 26 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.......................................................................................................................... 26 Identity and self-reflexivity.................................................................................................................
Recommended publications
  • Getting by High School: Identity Formation and the Educational Achievements of Punjabi Young Men in Surrey, B.C
    GETTING BY HIGH SCHOOL: IDENTITY FORMATION AND THE EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF PUNJABI YOUNG MEN IN SURREY, B.C. by HEATHER DANIELLE FROST M.A., The University of Toronto, 2002 B.A., The University of Toronto, 2000 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Geography) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) December 2010 © Heather Danielle Frost, 2010 Abstract This thesis is concerned with the lives and educational achievements of young Indo-Canadians, specifically the high school aged sons of Punjabi parents who immigrated to Canada beginning in the 1970s, and who were born or who have had the majority of their schooling in Canada‟s public school system. I examine how these young people develop and articulate a sense of who they are in the context of their parents‟ immigration and the extent to which their identities are determined and conditioned by their everyday lives. I also grapple with the implications of identity formation for the educational achievements of second generation youth by addressing how the identity choices made by young Punjabi Canadian men influence their educational performances. Using data collected by the Ministry of Education of British Columbia, I develop a quantitative profile of the educational achievements of Punjabi students enrolled in public secondary schools in the Greater Vancouver Region. This profile indicates that while most Punjabi students are completing secondary school, many, particularly the young men, are graduating with grade point averages at the lower end of the continuum and are failing to meet provincial expectations in Foundation Skills Assessments.
    [Show full text]
  • Voice Online
    12/8/2020 New project to showcase Punjabi Canadian history in B.C. | Indo-Canadian Voice https://voiceonline.com/new-project-to-showcase-punjabi-canadian-history-in-b-c/ New project to showcase Punjabi Canadian history in B.C. By ​posted by: Rattan Mall ​- September 3, 2020 ​BRITISH Columbia is celebrating the contributions of the Punjabi Canadian community to its economy, history and culture through the development of new educational supports, exhibits and online resources. The project is part of the Province’s commitment to creating a welcoming and inclusive society. “The Punjabi community has a long and unique history that has contributed significantly to the strength and success of our province,” said Premier John Horgan. “The Punjabi Canadian Legacy Project will share these stories with future generations, while honouring the resilience and diversity of our multicultural communities.” 12/8/2020 New project to showcase Punjabi Canadian history in B.C. | Indo-Canadian Voice https://voiceonline.com/new-project-to-showcase-punjabi-canadian-history-in-b-c/ Premier John Horgan (3rd from left) discussing the project with MLA George Chow (1st from left) and UFV’s Satwinder Kaur Bains (2nd from left). The Province is providing $1.14 million to the Abbotsford Community Foundation to create and deliver Haq and History: A Punjabi Canadian Legacy Project in collaboration with the South Asian Studies Institute of the University of the Fraser Valley and other community partners. Haq and History reflects on the right of Punjabi Canadians in British Columbia to record their vast and significant history, correct and enhance the public educational and historical records, and create community legacies that extend beyond the current time for future generations.
    [Show full text]
  • Korean Immigrants in Canada Perspectives on Migration, Integration, and the Family
    korean immigrants in canada Perspectives on migration, integration, and the Family Edited by Samuel Noh, Ann H. Kim, and Marianne S. Noh korean canadians are one of the fastest-growing visible minority pop- ulations in canada today. However, very few studies of their experi- ences in canada or their paths of integration are available. to fill this gap, Korean Immigrants in Canada provides the first collection of schol- arly essays on korean immigrants and their offspring. the contributors explore the historical, psychological, social, and economic dimensions of korean migration, settlement, and integra- tion across canada. a wide variety of topics are covered: included are demographic profiles and in-depth examinations of entrepreneur- ship, mental health and stress, elder care, language maintenance, and the experiences of students and second-generation korean canadians. Providing a wealth of quantitative and qualitative research from an interdisciplinary perspective, this collection serves as a springboard for future study on the korean diaspora in canada. (asian canadian studies) samuel noh is the david crombie Professor of cultural Pluralism and Health in the department of Psychiatry at the University of toronto. ann h. kim is an associate professor in the department of sociology at York University. marianne s. noh is a postdoctoral scholar in the arthur Labatt Family school of nursing at the University of Western ontario. This page intentionally left blank korean immigrants in canada Perspectives on Migration, Integration, and the Family edited bY samUeL noH, ann H. kim, and marianne s. noH UniVersitY oF TORONTO Press toronto Buffalo London © University of toronto Press 2012 toronto Buffalo London www.utppublishing.com Printed in canada isbn 978-1-4426-4218-8 (cloth) isbn 978-1-4426-1115-3 (paper) Printed on acid-free, 100% post-consumer recycled paper with vegetable-based inks.
    [Show full text]
  • Download The
    BECOMING SIKH: SIKH YOUTH IDENTITIES AND THE MULTICULTURAL IMAGINARY by KALBIR HEER B.A., University College of the Cariboo, 1998 B.Ed., The University of British Columbia, 1999 M.A., Gonzaga University, 2005 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Educational Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) March 2018 ©Kalbir Heer, 2018 Abstract This dissertation explores the lives of second and third generation Sikh youth in the Greater Vancouver area in relation to the ways they think about their identities. As racialized youth growing up in a major Canadian urban center, being situated within an array of various ethnic, racial, religious, and gender differences plays an important role in how participants recognize what it means to be Sikh, and the potential to become differently. Particularly relevant in this study is an investigation into the ways competing discourses of multiculturalism both facilitates the way participants “do” their identities, and also shapes the ways Sikh youth come to (mis)recognize the multicultural “others”. Through small group and individual interviews, youth theorizing on the repetition, regulation and re-signification of identity categories is explored. Relying significantly on Judith Butler's theory of performativity, and Michel Foucault’s discussions of discourse, knowledge, and power, multiculturalism is taken up as an important societal discourse which requires racialized youth to perform their identities in everyday multicultural context such as schools. In other words, multiculturalism is theorized beyond policy and curriculum debates to investigate how youth “do multiculturalism” in different contexts through various embodied practices which constitute and regulate claims to a Sikh identity.
    [Show full text]
  • The Punjabi Experience in British Columbia
    Lesson Plan – Secondary Educator Hannah Morales Rationale: This lesson plan is a companion to the Indo Canadian oral history collections compiled by the Centre for Indo Canadian Studies at the University of the Fraser Valley found on the Royal BC Museum Learning Portal pathway, The Punjabi Experience in British Columbia. These interviews outline the Punjabi experience of immigrating and adapting to Canada. This lesson invites students to use the oral histories collection to gain better understanding of the culture and everyday life of Punjabi immigrants through these first-hand accounts. Curriculum Connections: Grade 9 Social Studies Social Studies Content: Global demographic shifts, including patterns of migration and population growth; local, regional, and global conflicts; discriminatory policies, attitudes, and historical wrongs Grade 10 Social Studies Big Ideas: Global and regional conflicts have been a powerful force in shaping our contemporary world and identities; Historical and contemporary injustices challenge the narrative and identity of Canada as an inclusive, multicultural society. Content: Canadian identities; discriminatory policies and injustices in Canada and the world Grade 910 Social Studies Curricular Competencies: Assess the significance of people, places, events, or developments, and compare varying perspectives on their historical significance at particular times and places, and from group to group; Assess the justification for competing historical accounts after investigating points of contention, reliability
    [Show full text]
  • Teaching Cultural Differences Through Korean Canadians: Teaching Material Development for English As a Foreign Language Classes
    Acta Educationis Generalis volume 9, 2019, issue 3 DOI: 10.2478/atd-2019-0013 Teaching Cultural Differences through Korean Canadians: Teaching Material Development for English as a Foreign Language Classes Mátyás Bánhegyi – Judit Nagy Received: August 24, 2019; received in revised form: September 4, 2019; accepted: September 4, 2019 Abstract: Introduction: Students of English as a foreign language must possess intercultural communicative skills in order to be able to interpret and discuss the cultural diversity that surrounds them when they use English for communicational purposes. This paper claims, and is based on the conviction, that the development of these skills takes place primarily through teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in most educational contexts. This approach is facilitated by the fact that the English language functions as the most widely used foreign language in the context of culture teaching. Methods: Based on these considerations and with a view to theoretical and practical aspects concerning teaching material development, the presented study discusses some fundamental concepts associated with the relationship between teaching EFL, teaching cultural information and developing students’ intercultural skills. After reviewing potential theories, it adopts Byram’s (1997, 2008) Intercultural Communicative Competence model as a theoretical foundation for creating teaching materials for the purpose of developing students’ intercultural communicative skills. Results: The study presents the results of this endeavour through the example of author-designed worksheets focusing on Canadian content, and analyses a worksheet that covers Korean immigrant culture in Canada in order to demonstrate, with the help of this example, how theoretical considerations can be put into practice in the scope of developing teaching materials with Canadian content focusing on the development of intercultural communicative skills.
    [Show full text]
  • The Punjabi Experience in British Columbia
    The Punjabi Experience in British Columbia Lesson Plan – Elementary Educator Hannah Morales Rationale: This lesson plan is a companion to the Indo Canadian oral history collections compiled by the Centre for Indo Canadian Studies at the University of the Fraser Valley found on the Royal BC Museum Learning Portal pathway, The Punjabi Experience in British Columbia. These interviews outline the Punjabi experience of immigrating and adapting to Canada. This lesson invites students to use the oral histories collection to gain better understanding of the culture and everyday life of Punjabi immigrants through these first-hand accounts. Curriculum Connections: Grade 2 6 Social Studies Curricular Competencies: Ask questions, corroborate inferences, and draw conclusions about the content and origins of a variety of sources Grade 2 Social Studies Big Ideas: Canada is made up of many diverse regions and communities Content: Diverse characteristics of communities and cultures in Canada and around the world Grade 3 Social Studies Content: Aspects of life shared by and common to peoples and cultures Grade 4 Social Studies Big Ideas: The pursuit of valuable natural resources has played a key role in changing the land, people, and communities of Canada. Content: The history of the local community 1 Grade 5 Social Studies Big Ideas: Canada’s policies and treatment of minority peoples have negative and positive legacies; Natural resources continue to shape the economy and identity of different regions of Canada; Immigration and multiculturalism continue
    [Show full text]
  • Impact of Acculturation on Socialization Beliefs and Behavioral Occurences Among Indo-Canadian Immigrants
    Impact of Acculturation On Socialization Beliefs and Behavioral Occurences Among Indo-Canadian Immigrants ZEYNEP AYCAN * and RABINDRA N. KANUNGO ** INTRODUCTION The multicultural character of the Canada has emerged as a result of the society hosting immigrants belonging to various ethno-cultural groups. When the immigrants enter Canada, they bring with them a cultural baggage that contains a unique set of values, attitudes, socialization beliefs and behavioral norms required within the country of origin. However, as they settle in Canada, their constant interaction with the host society gradually brings about changes in these values, attitudes, beliefs, and behavioral norms. This process of transformation is known as the process of accultiuation (Redfield, Linton, &°Herskovits, 1938). Harmonious growth and maintenance of the Canadian society depends on the development of appropriate acculturation attitudes, and related socialization beliefs and practices of the various ethno-cultural immigrant groups. This study ex£imines the experience of Indo-Canadian parents and their children by identifying their acculturation attitudes, and the ways in which such attitudes are related to socialization beliefs and behaviour occurrences. The Acculturation Framework The model of acculturation attitudes proposed by Berry (1984) raises two critical questions: (a) whether or not an acculturating individual values maintaining his/her own cultural identity and characteristics, and (b) whether or not maintaining relationships with the larger society is considered to be of value to an acculturating individual (Berry, Poortinga, Segall,&Dasen, 1992). Depending on the answers to these questions, four possible altemative attitudes can be identified (Figure 1). First, the attitude of "assimilation," occurs when an acculturating individual does not wish to maintain his/her ethnic identity, but seeks relations with the larger society.
    [Show full text]
  • 121 Book Reviews Ravinder Kaur, Since 1947. Partition Narratives Among Punjabi Migrants of Delhi, (Delhi: Oxford University Pres
    121 Book Reviews Ravinder Kaur, Since 1947. Partition Narratives among Punjabi Migrants of Delhi, (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2007) vii + 277 pp. (hb) Rs.910. ISBN-13: 978-0-19-568377-6 and ISBN10:0195683773. Born of Punjabi parents who migrated from Lahore and Rawalpindi in 1947 and then from Delhi in the 1960s, I have grown up hearing stories of how my family lived through Partition and built their future in the period that followed it. These are the types of stories that Ravinder Kaur sets out to elucidate in her book, Since 1947. Her ethnographic investigation looks at the interaction between the Indian state and Punjabi refugees in Delhi until 1965, the year the Ministry of Rehabilitation was finally shut. The book sets out to question the master narrative of Partition. This master narrative is not, as might be expected, simply the official public memory constructed and reinforced by the state. Rather, it is the most popular and enduring narrative of Partition rehabilitation, a narrative which actually diminishes the agency of the state in the whole account. It is the story of the hardworking and enterprising Punjabis who arrived in Delhi, fresh from the trauma of Partition, and energetically set about transforming their uprooted and dilapidated position to one of economic success. They seemingly lifted themselves out of homelessness and economic hardship through their shared Punjabi traits of strength and tenacity. There are many variations of this narrative including the equally popular disgust at the ‘Punjabification’ of Delhi aired amid the chattering classes of the capital, but as a narrative of the rehabilitation of refugees it is widely held and unquestioned.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Inequality and Class Consciousness in the Canadian Sikh Diaspora Harmeet S
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Scholarship@Western Western University Scholarship@Western MA Research Paper Sociology Department October 2016 Beyond the Land of Five Rivers: Social Inequality and Class Consciousness in the Canadian Sikh Diaspora Harmeet S. Sandhu [email protected], [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/sociology_masrp Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Sandhu, Harmeet S., "Beyond the Land of Five Rivers: Social Inequality and Class Consciousness in the Canadian Sikh Diaspora" (2016). MA Research Paper. 9. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/sociology_masrp/9 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Sociology Department at Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in MA Research Paper by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. BEYOND THE LAND OF FIVE RIVERS: SOCIAL INEQUALITY AND CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE CANADIAN SIKH DIASPORA by Harmeet Singh Sandhu A research paper accepted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Sociology The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada Supervisor: Dr. Anton Allahar 2016 ABSTRACT Romanticized visions of Khalistan became emotively embedded in the hearts and minds of Sikh-Canadians following the execution of Operation Blue Star. Today, insurgents residing within the contested homeland continue to draw support from Sikh immigrants and their Canadian-born descendants. Perplexingly, while a sizable proportion of second and third-generation Sikh youth advocate for the creation of the theocratic state of Khalistan, many selectively disregard the righteous way of life envisioned by the founders of the Khalsa Panth.
    [Show full text]
  • Mapping Canadian Diasporic Media: the Existence and Significance of Communicative Spaces for Overseas Canadians
    Canadians Abroad Project Project Paper Series No. 10-01 March 2010 Mapping Canadian Diasporic Media: The Existence and Significance of Communicative Spaces for Overseas Canadians Sherry S. Yu School of Communication, Simon Fraser University www.CanadiansAbroad.ca Project Paper Series #10-01 Mapping Canadian Diasporic Media: The Existence and Significance of Communicative Spaces for Overseas Canadians Sherry S. Yu School of Communication, Simon Fraser University Executive Summary To understand how Canadian diasporas are established as communities, this study mapped the ―communication infrastructure‖ of the Canadian diaspora -- that is, media and organizations established within diasporic communities. As part of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF)’s Canadians Abroad Project, this study continues the APF’s efforts to profile the Canadian diaspora. This study identified 60 Canadian diasporic media, 53 organizations and 110 alumni networks in 12 selected destinations in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East, which represent nearly 60% of overseas Canadians. This study finds that the largest communications infrastructure has been established in the US (58), followed by the UK (37), China (24), Hong Kong (23), and France (22). Canadian diasporic media (defined in this study as Canadian-owned and operated media that are printed, broadcast or published online or offline in English, French or in any other third language, and directed at overseas Canadians) are most numerous in France (14), followed by the UK (10), the US (9), Taiwan (7) and China (6). Canadian diasporic media are mainly provided by volunteer-run, not-for-profit, overseas Canadian organizations (social networks or business organizations) in the form of online, micro media (e.g., newsletters, blogs, forums, social networking groups) to share Canadian understanding of the new locale and to facilitate interaction among Canadians.
    [Show full text]
  • The Characteristics and Experience of Immigrants on Settlement in Canada
    • The characteristics and experience of immigrants on settlement in Canada Consequences of Migration • Canada: roughly 250,000 “immigrants” yearly How does Canada cope with so many migrants? How do the migrants cope with all the changes? Adaptation (initial arrival) Acculturation (first generation: immigrants themselves) Assimilation (possible for the second generation: the children of immigrants) Economic integration?? – Adaptation • Adjusting to new physical and social environment • Learning how best to negotiate everyday life • Loss of support from family/friends • On arrival: – Language and cultural obstacles • Some speak neither English/French • Language of migrants: • If the migrant speaks the language of the host country, much easier to adapt. • Note: Major Issue for immigration to Japan. • How many outside of Japan can speak Japanese? • For Canada, less of an issue: Globally, there is almost a billion people who can speak either English and/or French. Most migrants to Canada are proficient in either English or French when they arrive Recall Points System (extra points for language) Canada – Permanent residents and language ability, 2012 (showing percentage distribution) on arrival in Canada Almost 3 in 10 do not speak English or French NOTE: KNOWLEDGE OF LANGUAGES DIFFERS BY IMMIGRANT CLASS: Family Economic Refugee Canada – Permanent residents by category and language ability, 2012 (showing percentage distribution) on arrival in Canada FAMILY ECONOMIC CLASS REFUGEE Applicant’s family Primary applicant ALMOST 4 in 10 Family Class and Refugee Class Immigrants Can not speak English/French on Arrival in Canada Not speaking English/French: One of the largest barriers to meaningful employment One of the largest barriers to civic engagement e.g.
    [Show full text]