Cross-Cultural Educational Experiences and Academic Achievement of Ghanaian Immigrant Youth in Urban Public Schools

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 434-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Kumi-Yeboah ◽  
Patriann Smith
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Immigrant Youth ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
African Immigrant ◽  
Black African ◽  
Stress Changes

The past two decades have witnessed a rapid increase of immigrant population in U.S. schools. Little is known, however, about factors that promote cross-cultural experiences, academic achievement, and/or challenges of Black African immigrant youth, which is particularly significant today in the midst of the current social and political discourse over the influence of immigration in U.S. schools. Sixty Ghanaian-born immigrant students were recruited and interviewed. Analyses, which draw from in-depth interviews and observations, revealed that resilience to succeed, teacher and parent support, positive school environment, past histories including educational experiences, and challenging factors of racism, classism, xenophobia, acculturative stress, changes in curriculum, language, and cultural discrimination emerged as the major factors that largely influenced academic achievement of these learners. This article discusses the implications of these findings for educators who are tasked to render better educational settings for Black African immigrant students to succeed in U.S. schools.

Educational Resilience and Academic Achievement of Immigrant Students From Ghana in an Urban School Environment

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 753-782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Kumi-Yeboah
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Parental Support ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Religious Faith ◽  
The United States ◽  
Black Immigrants ◽  
Educational Resilience ◽  
Safety Issues

Educational resilience is often linked to educational success of various immigrant youth including Black immigrants despite the challenges they face. However, few studies have explored the factors that promote and/or constrain educational resilience and academic achievement of Black immigrants. To address this gap, the current article focuses on the educational resilience and academic achievement of Ghanaian-born immigrants ( N = 60) attending urban high schools in the United States. Results indicate that self-regulation, technology, religious faith, past experiences, parental support, resources, and safety issues played an important role. Implications and recommendations for educators and policymakers are discussed.

School engagement trajectories of immigrant youth

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frosso Motti-Stefanidi ◽  
Ann Masten ◽  
Jens B. Asendorpf
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
School Engagement ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Immigrant Youth ◽  
Academic Failure ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Teacher Judgments ◽  
Achievement Data ◽  
Status Effect ◽  
Social Adversity

We examined behavioral school engagement trajectories of immigrant and non-immigrant early adolescents in relation to their academic achievement. Data were based on teacher judgments and school records. Students from immigrant families living in Greece and their non-immigrant classmates ( N = 1057) were assessed over the three years of middle school (ages 13 to 15). Academic achievement influenced later school engagement more strongly than vice versa for both immigrant and non-immigrant students. Low achievement, being an immigrant student and social adversity were found to be risk factors for the initial level of behavioral engagement. An overall increase in students’ absenteeism over the course of the study was stronger for immigrant students. The immigrant status effect was due to immigrant students’ lower achievement. The results suggest that immigrant youth may disengage from school to protect themselves from academic failure. This would also be a plausible explanation for earlier findings that immigrant and non-immigrant students do not differ in psychological well-being, even though immigrant students have significantly lower academic achievement. Implications for interventions to promote academic achievement and to prevent disengagement in immigrant students are discussed.

scholarly journals The Meaning of Video Gameplay

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-126
Author(s):  
Rebecca Y. Bayeck
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Continuity ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
African Immigrant ◽  
Black African ◽  
Data Collection Technique

Reseaech  on African immigrant students video gameplay is still in its infancy . Yet,  the popularity of video games among college students in the United States suggest that African immigrant students may be video game players. This paper explores the video gameplay of three Black African immigrant students at an institution of higher education. This  study draws on research on immigrants use of media and on video game literature to  analyze the participants ‘experiences. This exploratory qualitative case study of three Black African immigrant students uses semi-structured interviews as the primary data collection technique. The findings show that gameplay was a means to adjust to the new environment, a way to preserve identity, and ensure cultural continuity.

Exploring Factors That Facilitate Acculturation Strategies and Academic Success of West African Immigrant Youth in Urban Schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Kumi-Yeboah ◽  
Gordon Brobbey ◽  
Patriann Smith
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Extracurricular Activities ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Immigrant Youth ◽  
West African ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Acculturation Strategies ◽  
African Immigrant ◽  
New School

Immigrant students in U.S. educational system experience challenges learning to adapt and integrate into new educational environments. Little is known, however, about factors that facilitate acculturation strategies of immigrant youth from West Africa and how they affect their academic success and challenges faced. Considering the current political discourse over the influence of immigration in U.S. schools, 20 immigrant youth from Ghana and Nigeria were recruited and interviewed in the metropolitan area of New York City. Analyses of semi-structured interviews revealed that teacher, parent, and peer support; social and electronic media; and extracurricular activities emerged as the factors that helped acculturation strategies and academic success. Challenging factors were dealing with sociocultural differences; discrimination, stress, and social integration; and language differences. The article discusses the implications of these findings for teachers to understand acculturation strategies to help West African immigrant youth to adapt, acculturate, and integrate into new school environments.

“I’m Not from the Dominant Culture!”

2014 ◽  
pp. 144-161
Author(s):  
Joan Oigawa Aus
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Culturally Relevant ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Dominant Culture ◽  
Mainstream Teachers ◽  
Large Growth

The United States has experienced a large growth in the number of immigrant students who speak English as a non-native language. The results of a 2004 survey on the topic of English Learners (ELs) or English Language Learners (ELLs) showed the number of ELs had almost doubled to 5,119,561 in public schools across the nation (NCELA, 2008). These ELLs bring their cross-cultural expectations into dominant culture classrooms, and teachers must be prepared to meet the cross-cultural issues between student and teacher that might occur, where ultimately the student loses. Similarly, North Dakota has experienced enormous surges in its ELL populations in its previously culturally homogenous population; consequently, mainstream teachers struggle to learn how to interact with culturally diverse students. Instances of cultural dissonance negatively impact students’ performance and school culture. The awareness of culture and how it impacts content learning is thus a subject of critical importance, and developing cultural awareness as well as effective and culturally relevant instructional methods is a necessity for all classroom teachers. Therefore, this chapter describes multiple methods and strategies that are linguistically appropriate and culturally relevant for all teachers, but particularly for teachers of ELLs.

School-family-community collaborations: the contribution of the intercultural worker in accompanying newly immigrant parents to school

2016 ◽  
pp. 127-149
Author(s):  
Josée Charette ◽  
Jean-Claude Kalubi
Keyword(s):  
School Environment ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Professional Group ◽  
Immigrant Parents ◽  
Host Society ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Exploratory Approach ◽  
The Social

Families who immigrate with school-aged children face two particular challenges: the practice of parenting in general and the practice of parenting in an unfamiliar or acculturating school environment. It is on these challenges that an emerging professional group is working in Quebec. Specifically, it is the group of intercultural community workers in schools (ICSI). This group supports the social and educational experiences of immigrant families, facilitating collaborations between schools, families and communities. This article explores the practices of ICSI that stimulate the effective accompaniment of parents of recent immigrant students. Through a qualitative exploratory approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with three ICSIs from different administrative regions. The results show the relevance of implanting a welcome protocol to better accompany these parents. They also help understand the evolution of the relation between these parents and school, according to the adjustments of their family project and the challenges raised by their settlement in the host society. 

Applying Critical Race Theory as a Tool for Examining the Literacies of Black Immigrant Youth

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (13) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Kendra Nalubega-Booker ◽  
Arlette Willis
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Critical Race ◽  
Race Theory ◽  
Critical Policy Analysis ◽  
African Immigrant ◽  
Laws And Policies ◽  
Critical Policy

Background/Context There is a growing body of literature about the educational experiences of students who are African immigrants in U.S. schools. This study looks closely at a Ugandan immigrant's educational experiences in the U.S. as well as the laws and policies that preempted her education. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The purpose of this study is to examine the disconnect between the rhetoric and practice of second language/bilingual laws in one school district in a Midwestern state, with regard to the experiences of an African immigrant whose has a diverse linguistic background. Research Design This study is crafted through a critical race theory lens and applies critical policy analysis to understand current practices. Using autoethnography, we provide a first-person reflection on the lived experiences of a young African immigrant student and her family. Then, drawing on critical race theory in concert with critical policy analysis, we examine the implementation and practice of second language/bilingual laws and policies in the state of Illinois. Findings/Results We find that the discourse and rhetoric surrounding second language/ bilingual laws and policies on federal, state, and local levels do not align with actual practices in school districts and classrooms. We describe how the lack of coherence between discourse and practice has contributed to delimiting an African immigrant student's access to mainstream language and linguistic education and other academic opportunities. Conclusions/Recommendations We conclude with recommendations to improve bilingual services to speakers of African languages: acknowledge that some African immigrant students possess a diverse linguistic background; address and challenge the dominant attitudes that deprive African immigrant students of a quality educational experience. We call upon administrators and policymakers to evaluate and correct the disconnect between second language/bilingual laws and policies. We recommend that cultural competence be central to second language/bilingual laws and policies throughout the planning and implementation processes.

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