Marching is for soldiers: Russian-born Buriat children in a Chinese bilingual school

Abstract

This ethnographic study examines the educational struggles of Russian-born Buriat Mongolian children studying in China at a Mongolian/Mandarin school, by emphasizing conflicting educational paradigms between the Russian and Chinese systems. Educational practices are compared. Standardized assessment, teacher-centered classrooms, and group- oriented values, all reflected Han-Chinese ideology, but conflicted with Russian educational norms and Russian/Buriat values, causing young Buriat students to resist.