Second Generation Youth in Canada, Their Mobilities and Identifications: Relevance to Citizenship Education

Based on narrative data recently collected from youth’s in three Canadian cities, our paper focuses on second generation perceptions of youth’s identifications in a society increasingly influenced by the forces of globalization and how these perceptions may or may not be reflected in programs of study dealing with citizenship education. We utilize a framework consisting of a continuum of mobilities of mind, body, and boundaries to situate their sense of self. The façade of globalisation is examined in terms of its impact on identity formation and these youths’ impressions of diversity and multiculturalism. Finally, we consider the relevance of the findings for citizenship education in Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta.


Introduction
The proliferation of new cultural flows, new modes of belonging, and new practices of citizenship mobilize minds and bodies with identifications beyond nation-states.These referents stretch beyond nationality, ethnicity, religion, culture, nation, minorities, majorities, and territorial belongings (Hannerz, 1997;Hoerder, Hébert, & Schmitt, 2006).New arenas of interaction, deliberation, and influence are created, where diversities are taken for granted and where people are not defined as minority or majority, where transcultural modes of belonging are accommodated, organised, and lived, bypassing existing political, territorial, and cultural boundaries between peoples (Appadurai, 1996;Sicakkan, 2005).These concepts are of interest to the understanding of the diversity in identity formation amongst second generation adolescents who receive much research and policy attention, as these youth's integration patterns are unlike those of other generations (Reitz & Somerville, 2005).
Mobilities of mind, body, and boundaries are particularly relevant in understanding how identities are formed.Three mobilities are defined by Sicakkan (2005) with respect to adults of diversity, public places, and civil society.Mobility of mind allows for mobile identities and shifting belongings between different references of identification, whereas mobility of bodies refers to migration and frequent movement across places and different spaces of interaction.Mobility of boundaries recognises shifting territorial, political, cultural, economic, social, and individual boundaries.In a Canadian context then, and especially for youth, an openness to others that is part of multiculturalism in practice would require forms of mobility, so as to be able to imagine oneself as another, to take up new belongings, and to move across cultural, linguistic, religious, ethnic, racial spaces of interaction and boundaries.
The concept of transculturation which refers to the phenomena of converging and merging cultures has gained acceptance internationally.Detaching the concept from its original colonial and nationalist contexts (Ortiz, 1940(Ortiz, , 1983(Ortiz, /1995)), several scholars have recently proposed its use in contemporary settings (Bernd, 2002;Gunew, 2002).In this translation, transculturation is extended from being a concept situated in economically dependent regions in a post-colonial process to take up an emphasis on creativity and performativity that links past with present.Transcultural approaches offer possibilities of opening up the notions of culture and cultural belonging, so that the negotiating and networking of individual and collective identifications and differentiations are better understood.More a perspective than a fixed concept, transculturation permits re-readings of homogenised histories that construct belongings as fixed and that essentialised cultural, ethnic, national, gendered, religious, racial, and/or generational dimensions.Transculturation reconceptualises difference and diversity as negotiable, intersectorial, strategic, and mobile (Hoerder, Hébert, & Schmitt, 2006).This concept is of particular interest in terms of citizenship education, as most major societies today are plural as a result of massive migration around the world which is accompanied by calls for recognition and an exploration of the relevance of multicultural policies.
Our purpose is to discuss Canadian youth's perceptions of their identifications in a society increasingly influenced by the forces of globalization and the relevance of the findings to identity formation, knowledge construction, and citizenship education curriculum.Of particular interest are second generation youth, born in Canada, whose parents moved across national and territorial boundaries to settle in the new world, as these youth are called upon to construct and situate themselves in terms of multiple frames of reference.In this light, we examine second generation Canadian youth's patterns of interaction, deliberation, and influence, where mobilities and transcultural modes of belonging are created and lived in three cities, namely, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Toronto.
Important to the study of adolescent integration, the school as institution is a micro-society in which relations of power, inequality, injustice, and privilege play out and can be observed.Social stratification within classes, between the rich and not-so-rich, the brilliant students and less brilliant, those who succeed and those who fail, those in mainstream classes and those in alternative forms of schooling, all are evident in school settings.The three cities, in two contrasting regions, are extremely diverse within the ideological construct that is "English Canada," which allows us to problematize specificities which may be perceived as natural and nonproblematic.The two Prairie cities, Winnipeg and Calgary, represent smallscale immigration in mid-sized urban centres, with an increasing rate of ethnic diversity.Metropolitan Toronto represents large-scale immigration and a long history of ethnic diversity, receiving nearly half of Canada's immigrants and refugees (Citizenship and Immigration Canada [CIC], 2002).

Methodology
Situated within a three-year inquiry into processes of negotiating difference and understanding democracy of Canadian youth, we ask two questions in this paper.How do young people who are the second generation view their identity within Canadian society?How are their identities reflected in the formal curriculum of Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta?Situated within a critical qualitative paradigm (Back, 1996;Cohen, 1999;Back, Cohen, & Keith, 1999) descriptive statistics, content and textual analysis, as necessary to deal with complex, nuanced data (Creswell, 1998;Kincheloe & Steinberg, 1997;May, 1999;Popkewitz & Fendler, 1999).To address these two questions, we draw from a variety of narrative data, specifically, written responses, interviews, annotations of graphic images, and demographic profiles of up to six secondgeneration youth per city, enrolled in secondary schools.The gender, ancestral ethnicity, and religion of the participants in each city are shown in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Self-Ascribed Characteristics of Selected Second Generation Youth, 2004Youth, -2005 The code names were self-selected by the participants whereas ethnicity was identified using a demographic profile form.In Toronto, the project was accepted in a Catholic high school, while in the other two cities, the project was located in secular high schools.While this may account for the predominance of one religion, it should also to be noted that this is the largest religious group in Canada.
Based on an examination of these youths' narrative data, recently collected in Calgary, Winnipeg, and Toronto, the three step analysis focuses first on their mobilities of mind, body, and boundaries, and then examines the façade of glocal spaces wherein the voices and perspectives of the youth reveal the unpleasantness behind the attractive mask of globalisation and the ideal of multiculturalism.Constituting a social syntax, these illustrate how today's youth locate themselves as subjects and represent contexts that shape them and vice versa.Finally, the relevance of the findings to the formal programs of study in the three provinces is examined to determine whether or not these varied identities are adequately reflected.

Youth's Mobilities of Mind, Body, and Boundaries
The three mobilities are re-defined for youth in secondary schools, with respect to their preferred places, so as to serve as criteria for data analysis and for understanding identity formation.While mobility of the mind generally allows for mobile identifications and shifting belongings, (a) mobility of mind for youth includes being able to imagine oneself as an other, as living elsewhere in another place or time, as being comfortable with having different references of identification, moving beyond tolerance and openness to the acceptance and negotiation of difference.This type of mobility also includes the ability to recognize in their local surroundings, symbols which have international, transcultural, and/or global reference.While mobility of body generally refers to migration and frequent movement across places and different spaces of interaction, (b) mobility of body for youth, especially second generation youth, is further defined as a familiarity with and an awareness of parents' journeys as well as their own journey of moving across cultural and other spaces of interaction, developing complex forms of attachment and identification in youth specific and friendly places.Whereas mobility of boundaries generally recognizes shifting boundaries, (c) mobility of boundaries for youth recognizes moving across and beyond linguistic, cultural, religious, ethnic, racial spaces of interaction and boundaries, to take up new belongings in transcultural modes.
With these concepts, we present and illustrate below several themes in the youths' data sets, including immobility/mobility of mind, body, and boundary; the façade of globalisation, multiculturalism, and democracy; the shoppers; and the angst of second generation youth.

Mobility of Mind
For second generation adolescents in a plural society, being comfortable with multiple attachments is particularly salient, as is being able to symbolize, to think about world problems, to imagine being in other situations, and to cross over.The participants exhibiting mobility of mind make use of symbols, including metaphors of identity, and recognise significant relationships within local spaces with global reference.Travelling often involves shifting thoughts as a means of adapting to the area being visited.While the physical act of travelling is evidence of mobility of body, experiencing a culture and interacting with people suggests mobility of mind and boundaries.
Two participants reveal a willingness to take up the tourist metaphor of identity, characterizing a person who explores, takes notes, learns transit schedules and how to get around, samples and gathers souvenirs, without necessarily being moved by the experience and having a home as safe haven for eventual return (Bauman, 1996)."The will to travel and the freedom to fly."These are the words Chiquita used to annotate a photo of a symbolic mosaic depicting a flamingo and the sun in her scrapbook, symbolizing her connections to Mexico and her willingness to explore the world.While considering that being Canadian means being able to state her opinions freely, Unicorn puts medium-sized flags of Antigua and Jamaica on the left and right sides respectively of a drawing, as symbols of her own identity.
Other forms of evidence for mobility of mind include use of symbols or metaphors for living with many cultures and ethnicities, and thinking deeply about the problems of the world in a reflective public space.These approaches take up the metaphor of pilgrim searching for truth, usually elsewhere, while embarked on a long life journey for understanding of self, other, and the world.For Rubber Duckie, a multi-coloured floral lei is "the best way to express myself as a cultural individual living with so many different ethnicities in Canada."This floral lei has great meaning for her; as reflected in the note on the exterior of her cultural collage in the shape of a shoebox, she has both an individual and socio-cultural perspective, which are both arguably Canadian multicultural values, which she expresses as "diversity without losing the courage and value to be yourself." "This place, I just do nothing and just think of the problems of the world."Mobility of mind for Captain Crack means focusing on the school as a micro-society, using some of its spaces to think about world problems and to observe struggles for power.Referring to a low walled space in front of the school, he credits the Relaxation Space for providing an opportunity for relaxation and reflection, for this is where he thinks at a global level and across boundaries.Very politically-minded and philosophical, he disagrees with democratic systems and prefers a more socialist/communist system, putting his views in writing in a response.He feels that these approaches are more effective and work quickly versus a democratic system that involves long, drawn out voting processes.Observant of political processes, he takes a revealing photo of a school area, "This is where gangs fight for control over the principle of power" and draws religious symbols on this page of his scrapbook, thereby imaging his insight that there may be underlying religious influences in the struggle for power.

Mobility of Body
Referring to an awareness of journeys, their own and their parents' across cultural and other spaces of interaction, developing complex forms of attachment and identification in youth-specific and friendly places (White & Wyn, 2004), several participants illustrate this type of mobility, expressing a variety of reasons: search for enlightenment, exploration, and forms of appreciation and attachment.
Three participants reflect upon their journeys.Gonzo has travelled to the desert but shrugs about which one.He "loves it" and feels relaxed when he is there.When asked what he feels he could accomplish in this space, he replies: "I could hope for knowledge or enlightenment, but I don't really expect anything".Another participant, Unicorn, says about her travels that "where I live, I am very relaxed and the places that I have traveled [to], I am filled with energy and ready to go exploring".Rubber Duckie, as a third intrepid traveler, comments, "In the Philippines, I felt both foreign and at home.In Minneapolis, Calgary, and Las Vegas, I felt like I was experiencing a whole different taste of the world."She describes her travels in Canada in similar positive terms."In Vernon [BC], I felt comfortable and got used to the conditions they set us in." While 4Lyfe evinces complex forms of attachment tied to parental restrictions and cultural belongings, he sees himself as a Portuguese citizen, with Aveiro, Portugal as his first choice of preferred place beyond Toronto: Appreciative of transcultural and transnational dimensions of her life situation, Shana states that she is: in favour of multiculturalism because you can eat other people's food and if the whole country was just one culture -it would be very boring.You can see everybody's food, their culture, the way they dress, their traditions.Because I enjoy learning about other people -how they live their lifestyle and how it is different from the way I live mine.In my neighbourhood, everybody treats everybody fairly.You are not judged because of the colour of your skin.There are a lot of different cultures in our neighbourhood -not just one specific culture.Our neighbourhood is pretty multicultural and the kids in the summertime -they usuallywe all come together and play.Reflecting upon transnational connections, Shana continues, um, I like buying clothes and stuff for myself but also sometimes we send barrels back home, so we usually buy things for my cousins back home or my aunts or uncles and buy things like all of our family, and we ship it off to my country because things sometimes are expensive and they can't afford it.

Mobility of Boundaries
Moving across and beyond linguistic, cultural, religious, ethnic, racial spaces of interaction and boundaries, participants take up new belongings in transcultural modes, revealing their awareness of change and their own creative role, either in redefining identifications beyond and across boundaries, or by disregarding boundaries.
Redefining ancestral origins to create anew, Lue Rue is proud of being Canadian because "it accepts me in its country, especially because I am not from here.It accepted me for being Lebanese," as noted in her life story.In her urban map, Beirut is her preferred place outside of Calgary, without further explanation.In her scrapbook, she stresses the importance of her computer in her room as internet makes everything accessible.Her cultural collage combines many elements of "Leb Pride": flags from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan; a symbol of a Christian cross, the crescent moon and star symbol associated with Islam, connected with a + symbol, as well as pictures of Arab celebrities, the term, "romance," a picture of some roses, and a picture of two heart shapes and rings.Later on in her interview when queried about the Lebanese/Syrian/Middle East influences in her collage, Lue Rue responds: I think that whole area is one and it will always be one, no matter whatever is going on… but we will always be one language, same culture, same people, like for me when people say that I am Lebanese, like, yeah, I am Lebanese but I am Syrian too, and I can say I am Syrian, I am Jordan, I am Lebanese, I can say whatever because I think they are all my people, they are all one.Acknowledging all influences to the region, this redefinition of ancestral identification moves beyond boundaries -be they ethnic, country, or religious -to create a new general territorial identification.
Aware that cultures evolve, adapt, and change over time, several participants stretch cultural, geographical, and relational boundaries.Capt Crack explains in his final interview about a centered photo of petroglyphs in a national park in the US with people walking trails in the background, in his cultural collage: "I found it interesting, the old culture clashing with the new culture," referring to symbols and providing evidence of his awareness of changing boundaries and creating anew.Penning a poetic parody about neighbourhoods, Gonzo clarifies the notion of "neighbourhood in the sense that anywhere I feel comfortable and at home is my neighbourhood.From the White Cliffs of Dover to the White Rocks of BC, my neighbourhood stretches the expanse of oceans." Experiencing cultural crossings when he goes to the Bollywood movie shop that his Indian friend introduced him to, Gelato represents this coexistence in his photoscape, noting that, yeah, well, my Indian friend showed me there, and just, I don't usually get anything from there, it's just cuz [because] he goes there and it showed like -it just goes to show -and then beside it there are different cultures.There's like an Italian store down the street and a Portuguese store and it just shows all the different cultures.Reflecting further upon multiculturalism, Gelato writes, I'm in favour of multiculturalism because we are all multiculturals.I'm not going to be a hypocrite and say that I don't like immigration when my parents were immigrants and I wouldn't be here if they didn't immigrate and I like how we are all different -something interesting.In this statement which goes beyond duality to multiplicity, he reveals that he is familiar with his parents' journey and aware of its meanings for him and for his appreciation of difference around him.This is highly significant for him for he puts an airplane in his cultural collage to represent immigration, thus modernising the notion that immigrants come by boat, landing in yesteryear at Pier 21 in Halifax.
Disregarding relational boundaries in choosing her friends, Mina explains, "if I look at my school, no one cares what colour skin you are, or what religion you are.They don't care about that.Like, when I met my friends, that's not the question I asked them or they asked me".This reflects what she believes of the labour market: "I think if you're going for a job, then I don't think people look at skin colour here 'cause everyone's from a different culture, a different country, no one is Canadian here, original Canadian, so really, very few people so..." Her views are consistent with her understanding of citizenship in a comparative context, To me, being a Canadian means to express my thoughts, being free to express my opinion.Rights to my own religion.
The reason I think this way is because in Sri Lanka, there are many wars and we don't have the right to express my thoughts.It's a free country, I think it's good, like its freedom, like it's not like back home, teachers can't hit you or stuff like that.Whether female or male, these profiles provide ample evidence of mobility of mind, bodies, and boundaries among participating Canadian youth, of their own participation and awareness of the processes, places, and images involved in the transcultural process of creating new modes of belonging.All is not sweetness and agreement; however, for ideologies are not the same as realities.

The Façade of Globalization and the Ideal of Multiculturalism
Second generation adolescents are particularly susceptible to being concerned with fitting in with everyone and being accepted.These young people also reflect on multiculturalism and democracy, finding them both laudable for their human rights, but mostly also decrying their shortcomings, as there is still racism and discrimination in Canada.While this may or may not be connected to consumerism as an expression of one's Canadian identification, such positions may result in limited or partial mobility and may be accompanied by angst.
Finding multiculturalism to be advantageous, Gelato explains his thinking: I don't think anything bad could come of it.Maybe more people, more culture -would liven the culture.I don't have any bad feelings toward it.I like how the different cultures are here.I like how it's welcoming.It's free.Freedom.
He goes on to elaborate on the meaning of freedom in terms of the rights of free speech and worship: "well, you can express all your views and opinions without anybody putting you down.Like, there's mosques, there's temples, there's churches, there's everything".When asked about equity issues, he replies more tentatively, relying on his own personal experiences: Well, if they don't speak English, it might be a bit harder because English is a big language here, but I don't know.At my job, we have plenty of people that don't speak English and we're welcoming to them but and maybe in perhaps levels -a job like, maybe, if you don't speak English, it would be very tough.It is a free place; I don't think they are judged upon the colour of their skin.His views more generally are consistent with an understanding of diversity as civic pluralism and provide considerable evidence of mobility of mind.
Another view emphasises nationalist and environmental issues, while revealing his facade which hints that his strong views may be part of his brave public face.Admittedly shy, Malcolm X, for example, is trying to be more outgoing.His development of a somewhat more extraverted personality is based on a transparent facade of self-confidence.An underlying tone of sarcasm apparent throughout his activities supports his self-doubt and uncertainty.Malcolm X is "uncomfortable, quiet, and lonely" in new places whereas his close friends provide him with a level of comfort and acceptance, as they engage in many activities, including the YMCA and a philanthropy programme at his school.He shops infrequently, centering his activities on his home area which encompasses where he lives, where his friends are, where he attends school, and where his recreational activities take place.When referring to international issues, Malcolm X takes up nationalistic perspectives.In his written responses, he sees Canada's role in environmental issues as needing to protect its own environment and to act as a role model for the rest of the world.Titled, his cultural collage focuses on politicians in Canada and the USA, again indicative of Canadian nationalism.
Although Capt Crack thinks that multiculturalism is great because it provides perspective on every culture, he disagrees in a mini-interview with the ideal of having a multicultural society without racism.He sees no hope for removing racism from the world, even with multicultural policies, as this does not seem possible to him for racism is seen as cyclical and static: Even if you educate them [children] through government systems and non-racist camps and what not, and if you tell children that a guy is okay even though he is a different colour, there is nothing to fear from him.There will always be the parent out there that is afraid of what they do not know and they will teach their children to fear and hate what they do not know, as well.And it will continue forever, we will never be a non-racist world.This view stems from his personal experiences whereby he has been subjected to racism, a fact that he feels cannot be avoided.Commenting further on the power of globalisation, Capt explains in his exit interview: I believe that there is not real culture any more.It is all media and corporations tying to vie for business.There are religions but they don't really contribute to culture much any more, nobody really cares about that, everybody's trying to get away from religion and everybody's trying to make their own culture, but really they are following the culture, which is advertisements.More cynically, he comments on icons and social class, in that "jewellery is hip hop's hold on culture" and that "People define you by what kind of car you drive.So if you drive a sports car, you're a rich person.If you drive a truck, you're a working guy." Expressing discouragement and even despair, these Canadian youth are particularly astute thinkers, worried that society is too far gone to retreat from the internal impact of a global consumer economy upon western civilization.This contrasts markedly with those who are decidedly drawn to the malls.

The Shoppers
Several other participants see themselves primarily as consumers, shopping frequently, with a strong preference for certain shops, usually for leisure items and fashion.True to this pattern, Educ07 lists eleven different stores in Winnipeg where she shops for clothes, jewellery, and electronics.Under the photo of a store called Esprit on the first page of her scrapbook, she writes, "I feel glamour and happy, sophisticated clothing shop, I consider it to be 'my' store".She expresses her feelings about jewellery shopping with the words, "I feel like I am on clouds, a breathless scene."Having a strong commitment to consumerist life and responding without any depth of thought, this participant lacks understanding of globalization and its critiques.Although she has traveled to the USA, Europe, and Asia, she does not like any of the cities visited because of her strong ties to Winnipeg.Despite this, she wants to travel to the world to see different forms of architecture, here too consuming and collecting images, rather than being moved and energised by international travel experience.
Another participant is also true to the overall pattern.Unicorn strongly prefers Best Buy, Kildonan Place, Future Shop, Aldo accessories, Athlete's World, and Sport Check, shopping for CDs, DVDs, and clothes five times a month.For food, she goes to Subway, Burger King, A&W, Mac's for candy, Dairy Queen for ice cream, Lisbon Bakery for cinnamon buns.Her cultural collage shows three computers, two cell phones, nine items of jewellery, six games, chocolate bars, as well as fashionable women and men.
Insight into this pattern is provided by another participant, Rubber Duckie, who considers that Canadians express themselves by means of brand names and commercials.She attaches a note to her cultural collage in the shape of a shoebox to explain that the outside of the box consists of "brand names, which we are privileged to experience, different representation of our weather and nationality."Inside a note states, "the freedom to be yourself, speak your own opinion, love and marry at your own discretion, and genuinely be the person who you feel you are inside."The shoebox itself symbolises her ability to reflect on her identity from both inside and out.

The Angst of Second Generation Youth
Being conscious of their parents' previous experiences with immigration and cultural practices while attempting to fit into Canadian life, second generation youth have been characterised in the literature as having two identities (Simard, 1999) rather than as weaving in elements from two sources of culture to create something new, that was not there before in either old or new country, that is, negotiating their transcultural lives (Hoerder, Hébert, Schmitt, 2006;Ortiz, 1940Ortiz, , 1983Ortiz, /1995)).Such bi-polar identifications are not however a generalized phenomena in our data.A few of the participants experience some angst, which manifests itself specifically as having two countries or more generally, as immobility of mind.In the latter case, such immobility appears to be linked to other personal experiences, such as family breakdown, and may be revealing of a more general difficulty with change.
Tensions in having more than one cultural source are revealed by two participants.One, who has never been to Vietnam, lives in a happy family and is proud to be a Canadian.In explaining what citizenship means for her, Barbie obliquely compares the two countries, which is typical of second generation youth.However, in doing so, she refers to her country, later clarified as Vietnam: "to have freedom, to do what you want and freedom of speech because, in my country, it's more of an age thing," thus revealing an imagined mobility and incertitude about the realities of her multiple attachments.Recently moved and now living in another Canadian city, another participant, Chiquita, is similarly conflicted by multiple attachments: "When I visit my family in Ontario, I feel like I'm 'home' again.Well, I went to Mexico and felt shy because I didn't know my cousins.When I went to France, I was so happy because I love it there; when I first moved to Calgary, I felt scared and nervous because I had just moved here." Exemplifying immobility of mind, three participants see themselves narrowly, as "normal," as strictly Canadian, or as rejecting adventure and change, thus revealing a discomfort with plurality, but more likely, a discomfort with change per se.In discussing the various groupings within her high school, one student articulated many pre-conceived notions and did not indicate any desire to cross boundaries and meet others; although, later Chiquita did admit that "there might be some truth to stereotypes": …particular cliques that you can immediately notice, for example, the popular clique always wear in-fashion clothing; they are the ones with boyfriends; they might be nice when they are older but, at my age, they are very, like, "I am better than you."Others wear black and are smoking; all have long hair and a whole bunch of makeup on their eyes; they kind of..., like, scary looking.There is a normal group that is a bit harder to find, but they are just the kids who are your average, not too black or smoking or whatever; and not too popular-looking.And I think that this is the kind of group that I hang out in.The Lebanese are so many; another group is Korean.The Arab males are really full of themselves and I don't communicate with them.Another participant, Ramel, had traveled extensively, in the US, Italy, England, Germany, Africa, Holland, and different parts of Canada, as indicated in his urban mapping, and yet, "I feel like a tourist and a foreigner in each country I have visited.My favourite places outside of Calgary are the Red Deer soccer field and the West Edmonton Mall." A third participant does not revel in adventure or change, which suggests that an immobility of mind may be lodged in a deeper fear of change.
queried, GCSPMEST explained, I feel shy, quiet and awkward anywhere I visit because I have not been there before.When I changed schools, I did not know what to expect and how others would treat me or if they would like me or not.It was difficult because I wasn't used to the changes.I needed time to be comfortable everything because I thought nothing would be the same.

Citizenship Education Curriculum and Identity Formation
Since the 1990s, there has been a quiet revolution and resurgence of interest in the concept of and approaches to citizenship education, including conceptual, curricular, and pedagogical renewal in many educational jurisdictions.An important part of citizenship education is the development of political and national identifications, as well as social, cultural, and supranational belongings.Models of citizenship include national identity which refers to the collective identity of their society which includes civic and societal culture; geographical, historical, artistic heritages; allegiance; and patriotism.Social, cultural, and supranational belongings are also included in a Canadian citizenship model to refer to the belongings of various types of minorities and diversity (Hébert & Pagé, 2002).Further to that, rights and responsibilities including civic participation are considered part of citizenship.Emphasis may be placed on inclusive democratic citizenship and student engagement in active participation to build trust, cooperation and networking skills (Print & Coleman, 2003).
Of considerable relevance to such models of citizenship, our analysis suggests that the political and national identifications of second generation youth are secure and that it is the cultural identifications that may be difficult to balance, compose with, and work through.Travel to other cities and countries is not sufficient to bring youth to reflect upon the experience and to develop a balanced point of view on the benefits and problems in living in complex situations.Our findings also support the importance of inclusion of multiple attachments, their negotiation to the understanding of democracy and its social practices in everyday life.The translation of such conceptual models into formal curriculum, such as official programs of study in the three is germane to our study's findings.Interestingly enough, the formal programs of study for Social Studies for secondary levels of schooling in the youth's three provinces, Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta, make references to global connections, diversity, and inclusion of others, but without necessarily explicitly including multiple attachments characteristic of second generation youth.In the Ontario Curriculum for Grades 9 and 10, 11 and 12, history, geography and civics courses include many important concepts: systems and structures; interactions and interdependence; environment; change and continuity; culture; and power and governance.The civics 20 course is organized into three strands: informed, purposeful, and active citizenship.However promising and relevant to world studies and to learning about the fundamental principles of democracy and of active, responsible citizenship, none of these concepts play out in their details to provide a legitimate basis for taking up contemporary realities of adolescents' own complex transcultural and transnational identifications and multiple mobilities.
In Manitoba, new mandatory programs of studies for Social Studies include identity, culture, and community among general and specific learning outcomes in which students explore these concepts in relation to individuals, societies, and nations.A critical consideration of these concepts provides students with opportunities to explore the symbols and expressions of their own and others' cultural and social groups.Through a study of the ways people live together and express themselves in communities, societies, and nations, students enhance their understanding of diverse perspectives and develop their competencies as social beings.This process enables them to reflect upon their roles as individuals and citizens to become contributing members of their groups and communities.(Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth (2006), p. 17) More specifically, students would be able to describe factors that shape identities; evaluate effects of assimilative policies on cultural and linguistic groups in Canada; describe effects of stereotyping and discrimination; evaluate the influence of mass media and pop culture on Aboriginal and Francophone identities and cultures; describe ways in which identity, diversity, and culture are protected in Canada; analyse current issues surrounding Canadian culture and identity; identify ways of addressing social injustices; be willing to consider diverse social and cultural perspectives; and appreciate Canadian cultural pluralism (p.69).The attention to diversity focuses most explicitly with respect to francophone identities and cultures, and to First Nations, Inuit, or Métis languages and cultures.While these general and specific learning outcomes make possible a critical consideration of the students' own complex cultural attachments to better understand themselves as emerging from a previous generation's migration, and within the process of integration, these are not explicitly included in the learning outcomes.
The Alberta program of study for Social Studies is based on two core concepts, citizenship and identity, from Kindergarten to Grade 12 which form the bases for skills and learning outcomes.The goal of social studies is to provide learning opportunities for students to: understand the principles underlying a democratic society; demonstrate a critical understanding of individual and collective rights; understand the commitment required to ensure the vitality and sustainability of their changing communities at the local, provincial, national and global levels; validate and accept differences that contribute to the pluralistic nature of Canada; and respect the dignity and support the equality of all human beings.(Alberta Education, 2007, p. 3) Ontario is the only province of the three under consideration with little mention of Canadian youth's complex identifications to more than one culture and of attachments to country of parental origins.Manitoba's, and especially Alberta's social studies curriculum allow for and even prescribe opportunities for critical consideration of multiple belongings and cultural allegiances, while developing strong national and political attachments to the Canadian state.We understand this scalar response to the realities of youth's contemporary identity complexities to be a function of time.Those programs that have undergone recent deep change, i.e., Manitoba and Alberta, offer the most opportunities for teachers to take up a nuanced but critical consideration of multiple cultural attachments.Thus, Ontario's formal curriculum does not yet fully captured ethnic diversity, nor has it contributed much to the shifting and multiple identities held by second-generation youth.This is particularly problematic as Toronto receives nearly half of all immigrants to Canada.This is where such curricular responses are most needed to facilitate the role of the school in assisting on-going integrative processes of second generation students.
Moreover, only Alberta's formal program of study takes up the influence of the market on identifications.In our view, it is quite problematic that some young people, especially females, perceive the Canadian identity as being a prolific and frequent consumer, to the extent of allowing the incessant neo-market, via certain shops and icons, to influence the very core of young human beings.This suggest that the young people who are sensitive to market pressures are finding support among their adults, so that the nature of the problem is much greater than second generation youth.Since the school has a very important contribution to make to the successful integration of all generations including second generation youth, these conceptual, curricular, pedagogical issues must be addressed.
Second generation youth who participated in our study are characterised by the weaving of complex identifications.We find that most adolescent participants in this study are well aware of the possibilities and tensions inherent in their situation.While all are quite clear that they are Canadians and proud of political and national identification, some find it difficult to hold dual cultural identifications while others revel in this as part of the adventure that is life.Increasingly, most participants are aware of globalisation, and some of them are also very critical and see through its glittering facade.
The findings are coherent and insightful of the process of identification and its multi-layered contexts.First, most but not all participants are able to imagine themselves as a Canadian and recognize that they are on a journey of life.Second, the mobility most likely to be possible for these adolescents is mobility of mind which allows them to think, imagine, and try out cultural identifications as part of the integration process.Mobilities of body and boundaries are more difficult, especially the latter, as these youth are centred upon their homes and schools, live with their parents, and are subject to the limitations of family budgets, projects, and objectives.Both immobility of mind and the tensions of dual cultural attachments are central to the angst typical of some second generation youth.
Third, most participants recognize the benefits of globalisation and the ideals of multiculturalism.Some of the participants, however, are highly critical of globalisation and multiculturalism, seeing beyond the facade and the ideal to recognize the unpleasantness behind the scenes.More specifically, many second generation youth in this study tend to be susceptible to the intense messages of the market, taking up the identification of "shopper," whereas those who do not are more likely to strongly and critically identify the issues of over-consumption, environmental issues, racism, and human rights issues inherent in the human and environmental exploitation that sustain current approaches to globalisation.
Finally, the study brings innovative data collection and analysis techniques which inform the process of social integration as well as the types of mobilities that are possible among youth.It is clear from this study, that the youth in question are facing difficult challenges with variable clarity and coherence and variable awareness of themselves and their possibilities.The nuances brought to bear nonetheless distinguish between political and cultural identifications and how the latter are symbolised in variable ways by the participating youth.Cultural flows are uneven; transcultural negotiation of young lives create new identifications that weave in elements of diverse sources, and their mobilities are similarly variable, with mobility of mind most likely to be possible for the second generation at this time of their lives.
, we work with several analytic techniques including In Portugal, I am free, could basically do anything I want, my parents trust me 100% in Portugal.In Canada, I am sorta trapped, doing the same thing everyday, my parents never trust me here.As for being Canadian, I was born here and I live here.Canada is very multicultural and people are not usually against people's colour or race.Thus 4Lyfe conflagrates political and cultural attachments; this is understandable as these typically overlap especially in historically homogeneous countries such as Portugal.The symbols of his cultural collage illustrate the importance of Portuguese symbols, such as futebol.
like the fact that I am Portuguese and I like to watch and play soccer.I am proud of myself more as a Portuguese citizen than a Canadian citizen because my parents are both Portuguese.Almost 17, I am more mature and responsible in Portugal without my parents there.I love listening and dancing to [Portuguese] music.And I have a passion for soccer.I spend time and have fun; and the drinking age is 16.