Between Inclusion and Assimilation

: Ethnographic Insights into the Educational Experiences of Ethnic Minority Children and Families in a Hong Kong Mainstream Kindergarten.

Abstract

This thesis examines the educational experiences of ethnic minority children and families at Rainbow Kindergarten in Hong Kong through an ethnographic study. Situated in a sociolinguistic landscape dominated by Cantonese yet shaped by English and Mandarin, it investigates how institutional ideologies, classroom practices, and parental engagement interact to shape learning trajectories within a predominantly Chinese-medium, assimilationist system. Grounded in Cummins’ (2001, 2021) framework of collaborative empowerment and informed by translanguaging, language-ideology, and power perspectives, the study interrogates the gap between official discourses and the lived realities of minority communities. Fieldwork combined classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with the principal, head teacher, teachers, parents, and multicultural teaching assistants, systematic fieldnotes, and documentary/visual analysis.

Findings reveal systemic contradictions: while the school showcases symbolic multiculturalism through events and displays, core practices remain assimilationist—prioritising Chinese acquisition, enforcing monolingual norms, and marginalising home languages and cultural resources. Teachers demonstrate goodwill and pedagogical creativity but operate within restrictive policy imperatives and assessment regimes, alongside limited structural permission and practice-proximal professional development in bilingual and inclusive education. Ethnic minority parents, counter to deficit narratives, articulate high aspirations and engage strategically with the school, navigating tensions between integration and cultural maintenance.

The thesis calls for a shift from symbolism to structure in early childhood education. It recommends the systemic embedding of multilingual pedagogies, culturally responsive practice, and organisational readiness across Hong Kong’s kindergartens. It further argues that this support must extend into the K→P1 transition to ensure continuity for learners, recognising ethnic minority families as co-constructors of knowledge. By challenging assimilationist norms and aligning classroom practice with equity-oriented policy, the study contributes a fine-grained account of how inclusion is enacted and constrained in everyday school life and offers practice- and policy-level recommendations to move the sector from symbolic inclusion towards genuine, structurally embedded empowerment.

Date of Award	20 Jan 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Frances Giampapa (Supervisor) & Jeffrey Pocock (Supervisor)