CUESTIONES RELACIONADAS A LAS LOCUCIONES LINGÜÍSTICAS Y A LAS

Ethnicity which is one of the major identity indicators has remained controversial and elusive in academic circles. It is often used as a synonym for race which is contentious by itself, and is also regularly used to describe natural and biological sameness. In some contexts ethnicity signifies a latent commonality among a group of people sharing the same origin and traits (Spencer 2006: 45; Hussein 2005: 3). Although ethnicity and race are often used to refer to the same concept, a distinction nevertheless can be made. Ethnicity can be viewed as a conceptual self definition of a group in terms of “collective

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identity” and “shared values and beliefs” whereas race refers to a genetic background (Spencer 2006: 45).

Ethnicity is also seen as synonymous with concepts such as “nation” and “nationality”. The Constitution of PDRE, for example, (1995: 96) defines ethnic groups in Ethiopia as “nations and nationalities”. The conceptualisation of a “nation” and “nationality” as ethnicity has been dubious because they vary in meaning from context to context. Ethnicity is often used as a sociological descriptive term to define a group as a people who have common features such as language, religion, custom and history while “nation” and “nationality” often designate an ideological frame of thought linked to the betterment of a group of people who share ideological views (Human 2005:16; Van Niekerk 1999: 13; Anderson (1983) in (Human 2005: 16). Hence ethnicity is used in this study rather than “nation” and “nationality” to refer to group of people who claim common features.

It has to be borne in mind that ethnicity is viewed differently from different theoretical perspectives. The instrumentalists consider ethnicity as a means to attain certain individual or collective social, economic and political goals which may lose its synergy when the goals are achieved (see Spencer 2006: 78; Human 2005: 16). From a symbolic interaction perspective, ethnicity is viewed as an expression of collective meaning which a social group constructs and transmits about the self, human relations, emotions, and feelings in a culture (Spencer 2006: 175). The primordial theoreticians explain ethnicity in terms of blood and kinship connections, history, and components of culture such as religion, language, region, custom, etc. (Spencer 2006: 77-78; Smith (1991) (in Hussien 2005: 3). Although Spencer (2006: 113) suggests that the post-structuralism and feminine perspectives better explain ethnicity, from an African perspective, the primordial view which emphasises the significance of blood relations and cultural commonalities such as language, religion and shared history, still inform the essence of ethnicity. This view seems to emphasise the concept of sameness and concurs with the description of ethnicity above which is applied in this study.

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Literature on ethnicity in the Ethiopian context suggests that the concept “ethnicity” or “ethnic group” is more accommodative and neutral than terms such as “nations”, “nationalities” and “race” (cf. Tsegaye & Wogari 2006: xix; Hussein 2005: 8). Hence, the terms “ethnicity” and “ethnic group” are used in this study to designate a dynamic group that has its own common origin, history and culture (Woolfolk 2010: 157; Hussien 2005: 3).Thus, the term ethnicity is used in this study to refer to a group of people who share these components of identity.

Studies show that ethnicity is powerful in reflecting identity, both at societal and at institutional levels. Ethier and Deaux (1994) in Taylor et al. (2006: 102) assert that “ethnic identity is the part of an individual’s self-knowledge that concerns his or her membership in a particular ethnic group”. Taylor et al. (2006: 102-104) argue that students from a non- dominant ethnic group find it challenging to mix with other ethnic groups when they join colleges and that students, who often participate in activities that relate to their ethnicity, foster a strong sense of ethnic identity. It is, however, argued that institutional environments could provide different identity groups with opportunities for meaningful conversation, and sharing of feelings, experiences and perspectives (Goodman 2011: 113-114).

Another study showed that social and political realities could impact on the identity formation of students. Dawson (2007: 83-92) who studied student identity formation in a racially integrated South African high school found that the identity of students is still very much influenced by a history of inequality in education. He argues that ethnic, linguistic, religious, gender, and class backgrounds of students affect their attitudes and the relationships they establish with their out-group mates and teachers (Dawson 2007: 458). The study confirms the vitality of social diversity issues in forming relationships in educational institutions.

Boughey (2009: 1-21) who made a national and international contextual assessment of the South African pre- and post-apartheid higher education system found that the pre- 1994 higher education was fragmented in accordance with diversity factors such as race

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and colour. Her assessment also indicated that since the 1994 of the transition to democracy, the government has been trying to provide equitable and quality education that responded to the social and developmental demands of the country. However, the study does not show how much the country has succeeded in addressing non-racial diversity issues in the country.

In the Ethiopian context, Haileyesus (2010: 90) studied ethnic identity and interethnic relations among Addis Ababa University main campus freshman students. The study which was conducted quantitatively and qualitatively focused on students from three ethnic groups, namely Amhara, Oromo, and Tigray students. It was found that students develop critical awareness about their identity and seek a sense of belonging when they join university. It attributes students’ search for identity to a lack of trust in and misconception about students from different backgrounds. However, it does not provide information on the identity perception of students before they joined the University and the role of collective campus life in the development of inter-group relations.

The above studies underpin the impact of ethnicity on identity formation and the establishment of inter-group relations in education environments. However, they do not emphasise institutional management efforts addressed at developing social cohesion of ethnically diverse students by means of CBLEs as is the case in this study.