East and West, education, identity and cultural transformation

grantor: University of TorontoMy doctoral dissertation is a study with two themes. It is a research on the lives of three first generation visible minority immigrant women who came to Canada from South Asia in their early to mid twenties. The three women participants--Anita, Salika and I, went to school in Canada. Anita and I are teachers, Salika is a professional hair dresser. I studied for post graduate degrees in teaching in Canada, Anita did many university courses related to teaching, and Salika went to a hair styling studio to get her diploma in aesthetics. Anita and I have been living in Canada for over two decades and Salika immigrated just over a decade ago. The data collecting techniques for this autoibiographical narrative method, where, the characters were fictionalized and their voices and background switched (He, 1998), was a combination of stories, journals and transcripts. Moreover, it was the analyses of the interviews that I, as a researcher, conducted with Anita and Salika, my participant women. Our stories were a recollection of the past based on memory, and the present day existence. These stories provided us a blend of perceptions that were intense at times and enlightening at other times. However, the challenging part of the thesis writing process was to interpret the stories in a way that was broad in magnitude and captured the past, present and future while maintaining the narrative truth. The research process which is presented as both, phenomenology and methodology, invoked among the participants, the questions, dilemmas and awareness about identity. An identity that we had while back in our homelands, and an identity imposed upon by living in a culture, where, a lot of times, the colour of skin sets the stage for undergoing disruptions and upheavals in life. The interpretation of our stories involved exploration of our chronicled experiences, along with the contemporary societal, cultural and Language contexts, with which we have a corresponding relationship. Though my study focussed on women from South-Asia, it has significance for understanding identity and cultural transformation, due in part to the variable forces active in the host culture, and that some of the conflicts experienced by the participants are specific to skin colour. The sub-theme, using the narrative inquiry, is my personal educational experiences in Pakistan combined with the Colonial Legacy, and the present state of affairs of education system there. Based on the findings, a conceptual framework is suggested to try to overhaul the primary and teacher education in Pakistan. The sub-theme has significance for educators, curriculum developers and policy makers in Pakistan. It also provides an understanding for the Canadian teachers and educators at various levels as to how and why South-Asian students function the way they do, in a Canadian school system.Ph.D