Identity Development of Mixed-Raced Students in a South Korean Multicultural School

Abstract

South Korea is undergoing a demographic change. Long term expatriates and immigrants are challenging how and to whom Korea provides public education. With new generations of mixed-Korean children, assimilation policies and practices in education can damage students who come from multicultural backgrounds if their diversity is not addressed intentionally and positively. This qualitative study examined biracial and biethnic students’ experiences and the development of their positive biracial identities. It has implications for how educational environments, especially in South Korea, can be restructured to be more supportive of the development of positive biracial identities and how teachers who teach mixed-Koreans and educational spaces/climates can better facilitate these developments. Several individual interviews were conducted with nine mixed-race members of the SKA School community; the founder/principal, a teacher, two former students and four current students. The participants were asked questions that were related to their personal identity, how they were perceived in Korean society, experiences and opportunities at SKA School and other ecological factors that influence identity development. Data was organized using Atlas Ti. It was first coded into groups which were created based on the conceptual theories and then coded a second time with themes that surfaced within the first coding. Several themes emerged from this investigation including school as an identity safe space verses school climate as an identity developmental safe space, United States multicultural education verses United Nations multicultural education and biracial identity development verse bicultural identity negotiation (navigation). Suggestions for future research and implications regarding biracial identity development in educational spaces/climates are discussed.