Language planning and bilingual education for linguistic minorities in China, a case study of the policy formulation and implementation process

grantor: University of TorontoThe issues of minority language policy and planning in contemporary China (1949present) are pursued in this study within a theoretical framework derived from three related areas of research: language planning, educational policy studies, and bilingual education. The aim is to achieve an understanding of the nature and the characteristics of Communist language policies and their impact on the life and education of over 90 million people. They are labelled as the Chinese national minorities consisting of 55 ethnic groups with extremely diversified languages and cultures. Chinese policy making and implementation processes are examined including relationships between macro-policy goals and micro-implementations within a complicated bureaucratic structure. Employing the combined methods of documentary reviews, intensive interviews, and field observations, a series of case studies are conducted through research at various levels from the Centre (Beijing), to the region/province (Xinjiang and Gansu), and the local (prefectures, counties, and schools). Several minority groups (the Uygur, Kazak, Xibo, Yi, Dai, and Tibetan) and their languages and education situations are examined closely. The study illuminates a process within which minority language policy decisions are determined, conditioned, influenced and implemented. Important factors in policy making are identified including the Communist ideology, the CPC's political agendas, the strategic positions of the minorities, the deeply rooted imperial traditions, and the changing world environment. An examination of how these factors interact, restrain and reinforce one another reveals the close relationships between the use of a language and political power, nation building and cultural identity. The study seeks to contribute to empirical and conceptual knowledge on international studies of minority language policy, planning, education, and social change. It also provides an insight into current research in the fields of bilingual education, language planning and educational policy studies.Ph.D