%0 Thesis
%9 Doctoral
%A Li-Gottwald, Jiayin (Kitty)
%B Institute of Education - Culture, Communication and Media
%D 2020
%E Dr. Preece, S
%F discovery:10100871
%I UCL (University College London)
%P 341
%T The negotiation of Chinese migrant parents' social relations and their social status in a Chinese complementary school in Germany
%U https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10100871/
%X This research aims at revealing the significance of social interactions in relation to the  ideas of social status and social capital among first generation migrant Chinese  parents at a Chinese complementary school in Germany. The study explores the role  of a Chinese complementary school for the parents beyond the education of their  children. I take an ethnographic approach in order to gain an in-depth understanding  of the parents interaction and social relations in the school setting, which are  discussed in relation to the parents socioeconomic backgrounds and individual  migrant trajectories.  Three distinctive groups emerged during the fieldwork at the school, which I named:  the Networkers, the High-Profiles, and the Marginalised, reflecting their social  economic status. The data consists of audio-recorded interactions among the parents  in the school setting, a series of interviews with key participants and fieldnotes.  Drawing on a discourse theoretical approach, I pay close attention to their  construction of meaning in the parental interactions at a micro level and at a macro  level. The study develops our understanding of the notion of bonding social capital  (Putnam, 2000) within the context of complementary schooling by illustrating how  strong emotional bond and group solidarity were fostered among the migrant parents.  Significantly, the study shows that bonding social capita among three participant  groups varied depending on their socioeconomic backgrounds. While the Networkers  and the High-Profiles were able to articulate resources and opportunities that emerged  during their social interactions to facilitate their involvement with the Chinese  complementary school and local Chinese community, the Marginalised were often left  out. Similarly, this study also illuminates various approaches towards bridging social capital (Putnam, 2000). Whilst the Networkers and the High-Profiles were much  better able to use their social interactions at the school to explore and reinforce their  close social contacts with the local German elite, the Marginalised engagement with  the host society was largely mediated by their children and associated with their  neighbours.  In summary, the research strongly suggests that the Chinese complementary school  acts as a microcosm of the reproduction of social order and resonates with Bourdieus  notion of the class-based nature of social capital. While some of the parents create  meaningful networks, mutual support and a sense of group belonging, which have  reinforced their social status and engagement with the host society. For other parents,  these are less accessible, provide limited benefits and reproduce social inequalities
%Z Copyright © The Author 2020. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request.