Growing Up In Taiwan: Cultural Adjustment And Challenges For Children Of Foreign Brides

Abstract

In 2010, there were over 400,000 immigrants residing in Taiwan, many of them women from Mainland China and Southeast Asia who had married a Taiwanese citizen. As a result, there has been a population boom in children of mixed nationality, and this has changed the cultural structure of Taiwan. Both non-Taiwanese residents and the children of immigrants face culture estrangement and alienation. The dominant Taiwanese ethnic group tries to impose their rules on other ethnic groups, which may result in an abuse of power that may then cause enduring pain to minority groups. This study considers the importance of culture in the lives of children of foreign brides. These children have to face individual, family, school, and societal factors that can impede their education and sense of self. In order to understand the challenges that these children may experience, this study illustrates risk factors for these children, and considers how educators can help alleviate ethnic tension and provide ethnic-related interventions to children from diverse populations.