教室で生み出される民族間の教育格差 : ラオスの小学校におけるフィールド調査を通して

Since Lao PDR adapted a new economic system in 1986, the government has emphasized the development of the education sector in accordance with the increasing educational budget. However, educational access for ethnic minority children is still limited. These children's repetition and dropout rates are higher than those of Laotians who constitute the majority.

The purpose of this research is to investigate how and why these educational gaps have been created. The main research method focused on field research including participatory observation, interviews and questionnaires. The participatory observation approach focused on teaching at a mixed elementary school in which Hmong (minority) and Laotian (majority) students attend.

Research results from participatory observation suggests that the Hmong students at the fifth grade still have a problem with studying since they have had to study in Lao which is completely different from their mother tongue, Hmong. The Hmong students in the first grade also seemed to have difficulty in studying Lao since many of them had never heard the Lao language before entering school. The school data show that most of the Hmong students have to repeat the first grade due to the language problem. This appears to be the primary cause of the high repetition and dropout rates. However, teachers were not prepared to deal with or assist the disadvantaged. Interviews with teachers showed that the assimilation policy for minority students sometimes caused an increase of dropouts, since minority students lost their motivation for studying.

The questionnaire data also suggest that most of the Hmong students experience difficulties studying in only Lao. On the other hand, Lao students were satisfied with the current situation and expressed the necessity of a Lao-centered curriculum. It would appear that the educational gap occurs in classrooms where minority students tend to be disregarded.

The research results suggest that a school curriculum which suits minority students is particularly important in addition to teacher quality. This is because a well-designed curriculum may be attractive to minority students because it reflects their own language and culture. In conclusion, if the curriculum was focused more on the language and cultural background of minority students, it would help reduce the educational gap between ethic minority and the majority in the country.