December 21, 2020

How do immigrants assimilate into Singapore culture?

As we mark International Migrants Day on the 18^th of December, we recommend a relevant article by Associate Professor Hyekyung Choo and Associate Professor Srinivasan Chokkanathan (NUS Social Work) titled ‘The acculturation experiences of Asian immigrants in Singapore’ (Asian Population Studies, 2018), which examines the cultural adaptation strategies of Asian immigrants who are permanent residents and new citizens in Singapore.

Through in-depth focus group discussions, the authors found that these immigrants’ acculturation strategies are strongly influenced by the way the host society perceives and treats them based on their country of origin and whether they had been members of a minority community there. The study also highlights the migrants’ difficulties in maintaining inter-ethnic contacts despite valuing Singapore’s multiracialism.

Most importantly, the authors emphasized how their findings can assist immigration destination countries in carrying out appropriate interventions to help migrants. More programmes can also be developed to encourage and increase inter-ethnic contact between immigrants and natives of their destination countries, which should reduce prejudicial attitudes.

Read the article here.