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This paper examines the lived experiences of Chinese-Canadian youth in Alberta in relation to two multiculturalism debates: multiculturalism as a politics of recognition and multiculturalism as a cohesive force. It focuses on three themes of their lived experiences, which include racial discrimination and stereotypes in school; biased media representation; and the relationship between ethnic language maintenance, sense of belonging and multiculturalism policy within a bilingual framework. Two findings are highlighted in this paper. First, the racism youth experienced at school and the racist discourse against Chinese-Canadian students found in Canadian media indicate that Chinese Canadians as racialized and ethnic minorities have not been recognized and treated as equal partners in social interactions with the White dominant group. The multicultural policy focus and task of addressing racism in the 1980s has yet to be finished despite current multicultural policy having a new focus. Second, multiculturalism within a bilingual framework is more an assimilating force than a divisive one. Given the separation of language rights and cultural rights as well as the strong linguistic and cultural assimilation forces in major Canadian institutions, it is less likely for Chinese-Canadian youth to maintain their ethnic language and culture. The main factor that affects their sense of belonging to Canada is the racism in Canadian society rather than the symbolic recognition of diversity that multiculturalism encourages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public schools have historically been key sites where children learn of and adopt a common national identity. In states where multiculturalism plays a central role in the articulation of a national identity, schools actively recognize and support the diverse cultures of their students in fulfilling this function. Canada is a state where, via federal policy, multiculturalism has been identified as a fundamental element of the national ethos. Formal education has been a key area in which the government has implemented this policy. However, public education in Canada is also committed to secularism, and this has been a cause for resistance by diverse immigrant groups. This paper examines resistance among traditional Muslim groups to Toronto school policies and practices that reflect an avowedly secular orientation. It focuses on the experiences of one Muslim group in particular, Somali immigrants, and their encounters with school policies and practices that both supported and challenged their identities. In doing so, the paper exposes the schools as sites of countervailing policies and practices within which students must nonetheless forge new and meaningful identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]