Guilt, Shame and Model Minorities: How South Asian Youth in Toronto Navigate the Canadian Educational System
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GUILT, SHAME AND MODEL MINORITIES: HOW SOUTH ASIAN YOUTH IN TORONTO NAVIGATE THE CANADIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM by Sangeetha Navaratnam A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts Sociology and Equity Studies in Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education © Copyright by Sangeetha Navaratnam 2011 GUILT, SHAME AND MODEL MINORITIES: HOW SOUTH ASIAN YOUTH IN TORONTO NAVIGATE THE CANADIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM Masters of Arts 2011 Sangeetha Navaratnam Sociology and Equity Studies in Education University of Toronto Abstract The present study examines issues that South Asian youth face as members of a model minority group. Using 14 semi-structured interviews, South Asian youth (aged 18-26) discussed issues they encountered as they navigated educational institutions in Canada. The study found that participants were not aware of the term model minority. Furthermore, participants received input, either directly or indirectly, from family and community members regarding their career choices. Lastly, participants experienced guilt and shame during decision-making processes, but ultimately chose their own path with [eventual] acceptance from parents. Results indicate that schools in the GTA are not attuned to the needs of South Asian students which often left students at a disadvantage when making future career and educational choices. There is a need for educators, administrators, and policymakers to develop more specialized programs toward helping South Asian youth navigate the Canadian educational institutions. ii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank all of the South Asian youth who agreed to participant in this study. I would like to express my appreciation for your willingness to share your stories with me. I hope I did justice to your experiences. I would also like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Coloma. There were moments when I was sure that I could not finish this project but you encouraged and supported me to see this thesis to its completion. I will always be grateful for your patience and guidance throughout this process. I also need to express my gratitude to Dr. Cody the second member of my thesis committee for his feedback on this project and more importantly for his gentle push into the world of Tamil Studies. To Amma and Appa, although I’m sure that you both do not know what my degree is in, thank you for always offering me a room of my own. To my sisters from Akka’s Place, you ladies have been amazing. Thank you so much for laughter, stories and the food! I’ve learned so much from each and every one of you. I could not have asked for a more enthusiastic, critical or supportive group of people to spend time with while working on this project. Our discussions were continuous sources of inspiration for me and I am so happy that I have all of you in my life. Finalmente, ao Douglas. Você foi uma constante fonte de apoio, amor e compreensão durante todo esse trabalho, nada disso teria sido possível sem você. Obrigada por incontáveis vezes ler os meus rascunhos, trazer-me xícaras de café, buscar-me à noite na biblioteca e entender minha loucura. Você está presente, e muito, nesse projeto; só queria que estivesse aqui para comemorar essa conquista comigo. Amo você. iii Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................1 South Asians as a Model Minority...........................................................................................15 Model Minority Post-9/11........................................................................................................20 Dangers of the Model Minority Stereotype .............................................................................24 Model Minority and Education ................................................................................................26 Cross-Cultural Notions of Guilt and Shame ............................................................................32 Guilt and Shame in Asian Communities ..................................................................................36 Chapter 2 Research Methodology ........................................................................................37 The Participants .......................................................................................................................38 Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of the Participants .......................................................43 Table 2: Opinions about Parental Involvement in Children’s Education ................................44 Data Collection and Analysis...................................................................................................46 The Politics of Research ..........................................................................................................49 Limitations and Implications ...................................................................................................53 Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................................57 Results ......................................................................................................................................57 Overview ..................................................................................................................................57 Section A: Guilt and Shame .....................................................................................................60 Section B: Career Choices .......................................................................................................65 Professional Careers.................................................................................................................68 Section C: Gender Roles in Relation to Career Choices..........................................................74 Section D: Model Minority ......................................................................................................78 Chapter 4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................90 References ................................................................................................................................92 iv List of Tables Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of the Participants…………………………..………43 Table 2: Opinions about Parental Involvement in Children’s Education………….....……..44 List of Figures Figure 1: Breakdown of South Asians in Canada ....................................................................8 Figure 2: Islamophobic/anti-South Asian graffiti on the Toronto Transit System ................23 Figure 3: Visual Depiction of the Social Model of Guilt .......................................................34 Figure 4: Visual Depiction of the Social Model of Shame ...................................................34 List of Appendices Appendix A: E-mail text for recruitment…………………………………………..………..98 Appendix B: Letter of Information…………...………………………………….…..……...99 Appendix C: Interview Guide…..……………………………………………………..…...100 Appendix D: Consent Form………..…………………………………..…………………..102 Appendix E: Debrief Form………..……………………………………..………………...103 v Chapter 1 Introduction Wherever I turn, there is something of which to be ashamed. But shame is like everything else; live with it for long enough and it becomes part of the furniture… You can find shame in every house, burning in an ashtray, hanging framed upon a wall, covering a bed. But nobody notices it any more. (Rushdie, 1983: 21) In 1983, Salman Rushdie, a well-known South Asian author, wrote a novel entitled Shame . The novel takes place in an unnamed South Asian country 1, and explores the concept of shame through various themes such as the political arena, familial relations and personal emotion. In the novel, Rushdie discusses shame and other self-conscious emotions within a South Asian framework, which spoke to me on a personal level. The narrator of the novel explains that the South Asian understanding of shame is different from the Western word “shame”: This word: shame. No, I must write it in its original form, not in this peculiar language tainted by wrong concepts and the accumulated detritus of its owners' unrepented past, this Angrezi 2 in which I am forced to write and so forever alter what is written....Sharam, that's the word. For which this paltry 'shame' is a whole inadequate translation….A short word, but one containing encyclopedias of nuance….embarrassment, discomfiture, decency, modesty, shyness, the sense of having an ordained place in the world and other dialects of emotion for which English has no counterparts. (Rushdie, 1983, p. 33) Although the novel is set in South Asia, the narrator is a member of the South Asian diaspora, residing in London, England. I believe the narrator is telling this story from a particular diasporic context, one that gestures to the frustration of trying to navigate communities and circumstances that are neither exclusively South Asian nor wholly Western. In particular, 1 Most academics and literary critics claim that the country is Pakistan (Hussain, 1989). 2 Angrezi is a word used by Hindi speakers for English. 1 2 the word sharam captivated my attention. I do not speak a word of Hindi, but I knew exactlywhat Rushdie’s narrator meant when he suggested that English has no counterpart to the word sharam . Although, I did