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Entangled Between Esl-Ness and Poverty: Acculturation of Students in a Grade 3-4 Class

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Entangled Between Esl-Ness and Poverty: Acculturation of Students in a Grade 3-4 Class ENTANGLED BETWEEN ESL-NESS AND POVERTY: ACCULTURATION OF STUDENTS IN A GRADE 3-4 CLASS by Majid Malekan A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education In conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada (April, 2010) Copyright © Majid Malekan, 2010 ii ABSTRACT This qualitative case study investigated how an elementary school shaped the acculturation processes of grade 3-4 immigrant students. It was grounded on John Berry’s model of acculturation strategies which maintains that the existence of multiculturalism in the host society is a necessary condition for the integration of immigrants. Also, Geneva Gay’s conceptualization of culturally responsive teaching was accepted as the analytical framework which represents the actualization of multiculturalism in school settings. The site of the study was an elementary school with a large number of immigrant students in Western Canada. The study used participant observation and interviews as methods of data collection. The audio recording of the classroom sessions for five full weeks, interviews with teachers and students, as well field notes were the sources of data. The analysis of the data showed that there was little evidence of culturally responsive teaching in the classroom. Findings suggest that these grade 3-4 students were receiving an education which is usually typified as the education for working-class children, were detached from their own culture, were taught by a curriculum defined by themes and orientation from Western/mainstream culture, and were experiencing a whole series of disconnected relationships among teachers, parents, and themselves. It was concluded that, despite the powerful multicultural policies at the provincial and school board level, school practices, and teachers’ attitudes were reflecting the melting pot- model of host society in Berry’s model and the process of institutional acculturation favoured assimilation rather than integration. iii ACKNOWLEGMENTS از رھگذر خاک سر کوی شما بود ھر نافه که در دست نسيم سحر افتاد The dawn breeze Has taken all its fragrances From crossing your doorsteps (Hafez, Iranian poet) This work would be impossible without the help of many people. I am afraid I can only mention a few of them. First, I need to thank the School Board and the principal of the school for accepting my research proposal; also, the grade 3-4 teachers and students for their unlimited support. The main teacher’s openness and help were extraordinary and made an incalculable contributed to my work. Thank you Mrs. Kate! It is very difficult for me to express my thoughts and feelings about my supervisor, Eva Krugly-Smolska. While care, support, mentorship, guidance, kindness, encouragement, respect, and understanding are some aspects of what she offered me, all these words seem inadequate to capture how I have felt about her role in my program. I came to Queen’s because of her expertise in cultural aspects of science education. However, she patiently taught me many many other things in the areas of scholarship and research. Eva! I can only tell that I am tremendously grateful for all little things and all very important things that you did for me. I have written tens of pages about these “things” in my journal and in my heart. I hope I can prove that I have deserved them. Skip Hills has been a source of inspiration all these years in many capacities but most importantly as a member of my supervisory committee. He showed me the necessity and importance of constantly navigating between critical pedagogy, philosophy of education, and classroom practices. Thank you Skip for all your insights, difficult question, and iv unqualified help and support. Your spirit and sense of humour made my life much more meaningful. Howard Smith kindly saw me through my comprehensive exams before his retirement. His critical insights in qualitative research and social cognition were eye- opening for me. He exemplified how to be critical without being vocal. I greatly appreciate his high demands combined with support and directions. Azza Sharkawy kindly accepted to join my supervisory committee after Howard’s retirement. In addition to bringing her invaluable insights to this work, from shaping my proposal to end of the process, she has been a source of encouragement and heartening. She has never missed a single opportunity to support and help me. Thank you Azza! Sheryl Bond generously shared her small but cozy space in cultural and policy studies without patronizing me. She showed me that it is possible and OK to be critical about critical pedagogy without being punished. Thank you Sheryl for all your care and support! Working with Ruth Rees showed me how being militarily organized could lead to vigorous research. It was a privilege to have Ruth on my examining committee since her astute eyes substantially improved this dissertation. Thank you Ruth for your unfailing support! I need to thank Dr. Carl James, my external examiner, and Dr. Jan Mennell, my internal/external examiner for their insights. As a book worm I have lived a good part of my life in libraries. However, I have never experienced the support and kindness that I received from the people at the Education Library. Brenda, Corinne, Debbie, Nancy, and Peter, you have made the v library the most welcoming place for minority students and I did not find many of those places. Thank you a million! Brenda, thanks again and again for answering the same “non-smart” questions over and over. Paper works and finding/following regulations are not the easiest or the most pleasant part of a graduate program. However, with the help of great people in the graduate studies office, I did not experience even a grain of hardship. Thank you Marlene, Erin, Celina and Heather for this! At a personal level, I have been privileged with the support of my family. Through these years Haleh and Mitra not only had the burden of life on their shoulders, but also supported me with their love and care. “Thank you” is too short a phrase to express my gratitude. Although many friends helped me during the years, I need to especially thank Jun for her continuous invaluable support and kindness. These years would be unbearable without the company of many friends and colleagues. We shared our joys, stories, food, and drinks. Among many, I would like to thank Alicia, Anita, Bakti, Bo, Gerard, Han, Shaljan, Sue, Svitlana, Ted, Ying, Xuemei, and Yamun who made the time sweet and the “air” fresh and pleasant. This dissertation is about the experiences of immigrants. My initial settlement in Canada as an immigrant was helped by many friends. However, two of them, Hossein and Narges, had an important initial role in shaping my immigration experience. I think all of my achievements in Canada, including this one, owe them a lot. Thank you both! Last, but not least, I need to thank Amin for helping produce my desired visual representation of acculturation strategies. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................ 1 Section I: Positioning the Research……………………………………………….…..1 What Brought Me Here?..........................................................................................1 What Changed My Plan? ........................................................................................3 Section II Historical Background……………………………………………………..5 Terms and Conditions: The Mosaic, Visible Minorities, The Vertical Mosaic ....11 Mosaic………………………………………………………………………...11 Visible Minorities…………………………………………………………….12 The Vertical Mosaic………………………………………………………..…13 Reactions to Multiculturalism……………………………………………………14 The Retreat of Multiculturalism……………………………………………….…15 Multicultural Education……………………………………………….………....18 Language Education……………………………………………………..…….…21 An Outline of the Structure of the Dissertation…………………………..……...…..24 CHAPTER 2 CONCEPTUAL LITERATURE REVIEW………..…………….………..25 Multiculturalism: What is it? …………………………………………………….….25 The Political Theory of Multiculturalism……………………………………………26 Canadian Multiculturalism ……………………………………………………….….29 Critiques of (Canadian) Multiculturalism ……………………………………….…..30 Analyses of Official Multiculturalism in Canada…………………………………....33 Public Sphere versus Private Sphere in Canadian Multiculturalism………….....39 The Implementation of Official Multiculturalism…………………………………...40 Assumptions of Canadian Multiculturalism…………………………………….…...41 Multicultural Education in Canada……………………………………………….….44 Cultural Competence (Competency)……………………………………………..…..45 Language in Multicultural Education…………………………………………….….49 Different conceptualizations of Multicultural Education……...……………….……50 Where Do I Stand? ......................................................................................................53 Summary………………………………………………………………………….….54 CHAPTER 3 EMPIRICAL LITERATURE REVIEW…………………….…….…..56 Introduction………………………………………………………………….…...56 Section I Acculturation …………………………………………………….……57 General Research Findings about Acculturation …………………………….58 Canadians’ Attitudes toward Immigration and Multiculturalism
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