Ethnic minorities, national identity, and the state in Chinese textbooks

Multicultural education is implemented across societies to help students understand cultural and related forms of social difference. However, discourses of multicultural education are often based on views and practices from western societies, while others, including Chinese perspectives, are commonly neglected. This paper examines how ethnic minorities in China are represented in recent primary and secondary textbooks for social studies subjects. We find that textbooks frame ethnic minorities as patriotic Chinese citizens while legitimizing Chinese rule over minorities. This pattern of representation differs from most western societies, given the political context of China. This paper sheds light on how diversity is negotiated and formulated in a distinctive, internationally significant non-western society, enriching scholarly perceptions of theories and practices of multicultural education. Copyright © 2023 AERA.