Ethnicity, Socialization, and Schooling

Project Snapshot

Client: NA

Goal: Conduct exploratory ethnographic research to understand the worldviews, resources, and challenges that Black refugee youth and their families navigate as they resettle in the U.S.

Impact: Use findings to design curricula and programs to support the social and educational success of Black immigrant and refugee children in U.S. schools

Duration: Approximately 2.5 years

Research Methods: Literature reviews, participant observation/field research, interviews, narrative inquiry, artifact analysis

Analytical Approaches: Narrative analysis, content analysis

My roles: Independent project - end-to-end project ownership; proposed project topic and research questions; conducted literature reviews; kept the project's IRB application status current each year; recruited participants (teachers and administrators, students, and parents); managed study compensation for participants; worked alongside a translator when necessary to conduct interviews; cultivated relationships with administrators at multiple sites to gain access to school and resettlement program sites for fieldwork; scheduled and conducted interviews with teachers, parents, and students; obtained informed consent and assent for study participation; organized field notes, artifacts, and interview recordings for analysis; transcribed and analyzed interview recordings by hand; conducted qualitative analyses; wrote and edited papers for peer-reviewed publications; presented findings at conferences

Description

• Much of the research and theory describing the immigrant experience in the United States draws on the experiences of immigrant populations from Europe and Asia

• Given the history and enduring role of racism in the United States, I was confused by how often this aspect of immigrants' experiences was either dismissed, romanticized, or just plain wrong

• Two cultural pathways for immigrants were often touted as ideal for upward mobility over time:

  1. Immigrant groups were often advised to assimilate, i.e., take on the characteristics of mainstream White American people, or

  2. Isolate, i.e., be otherwise unbothered by a lack of social integration and rely on ethnic enclaves to draw upon their own cultural and economic resources

• If and when the experiences of Black Americans was referenced, it was often described using coded language ("urban" or "underclass") and associated with routes to poverty

• As a second-generation immigrant racialized as Black, these theories triggered a slew of questions in my mind:

  1. Ethnic enclaves don't exist in a vacuum; how do social inequalities influence the presence and existence of these spaces?

  2. Culture isn't necessarily the result of picking and choosing practices or worldviews; sometimes it's a blend. Where do these theories make room for this reality?

  3. How do elements of the Black experience in American result in resources for resilience and success in spite of racist institutional and social barriers?

• My work sought to accomplish two tasks:

  1. Tackle these questions and expand prevailing theories on immigrant experiences in the U.S.

  2. Consider what these questions mean for how Black refugee and immigrant children are taught to navigate and succeed in the U.S.

Methods

Participant observation

Internship with the non-profit that founded the Cultural Diversity School (CDS)** | May 20, 2008 – July 31, 2008

Site visit to CDS | May 18, 2010 – May 28, 2010

Internship with Resettlement, Integration & Aid (RIA)** | May 29, 2013 – July 24, 2013

Family visits and building rapport via favors (e.g., rides, tutoring, etc.) | June 18, 2013 – October 3, 2013

Interviews

5 faculty and staff members at CDS | August 4, 2011 – October 19, 2011

5 families (9 children and 5 caregivers) affiliated with RIA's summer program | June 18, 2013 – October 3, 2013

Artifact Collection and Analyses

CDS curriculum materials, student assignments, and educational content | May 2010 – Jun 2011

RIA fliers, brochures, and summer program handouts | May 29, 2013 – July 24, 2013

** Pseudonyms for organizations involved in this study

Refugee/Immigrant Participant Profiles

Findings

Research on the African American experience, through Patricia Hill Collins and W. E. B. Du Bois, provides a crucial lens for understanding many Black immigrants' experiences and resources

• Respondents stories reflect recognition of and responses to oppressive systems of power

• Multi-consciousness and subjugated knowledges constitute cultural capital resources within the African and African American community that help individuals recognize opportunities and navigate challenges

Schools that want to support the healthy integration and success of Black refugee and immigrant youth can do so by:

• • Revising their definitions of origin and expectations of how ethnicity plays out for individuals

  • Creating safe and vulnerable spaces

  • Incorporating ethnic identity development into student's learning needs

  • Creating, promoting, and supporting the roles of cultural brokers

Impact: Why This Matters