The Multiple Worlds of Ghanaian-Born Immigrant Students and Academic Success

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (9) ◽  
pp. 1-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Kumi-Yeboah
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Immigrant Youth ◽  
The United States ◽  
African Culture ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Multiple Worlds ◽  
Group Interviews

Background/Context The multiple worlds model is defined as the ability of students to connect, manage, and negotiate to cross the borders of their two worlds to successfully transition through different everyday worlds of school, family, and peers. Prior research has linked multiple worlds such as school, teacher, family, and peers to the academic success of immigrant students. However, there is a dearth of research about how Ghanaian-born immigrant youth (African-born immigrant youth) integrate the experiences surrounding their multiple worlds of families, schools, peers, and teachers in their daily lives to affect academic achievement. Purpose/Objectives/ Research/Focus of Study This qualitative study explores the factors associated with immigrant students from Ghana to strategize how to combine their multiple worlds of families, schools, peers, and teachers to affect academic engagement within contexts of school and classroom situations. Another aim was to was to explore teachers’ perception and understanding of the sociocultural and past educational experiences of immigrant students from Ghana. I analyzed two interviews (face-to-face and focus group) transcripts (students and teachers). Population/Participants/Subjects Forty Ghanaian-born immigrant students and 10 certified teachers in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area were recruited and interviewed. I interviewed 40 students (n = 23 male and n = 17 female) in 10th grade (8 students), 11th grade (20 students) and 12th grade (12 students) and 10 teachers including 4 Whites, 2 African Americans, 3 Latino/as, and 1 Biracial. Research Design The study used a qualitative research design by using open-ended semi-structured and focus group interviews in which the participants were comfortable in the interviews. With the assistance of the Ghanaian Immigrant Association in Atlanta and the school district, I sampled for Ghanaian-born immigrant students (students who were born in Ghana with one or two African-born parents and who migrated to the U.S.) and teachers to participate in the study. All data from semistructured and focus group interviews were transcribed and analyzed to address the research questions of the study. Findings/Results The study findings revealed seven emergent themes: desire to succeed in school, managing two worlds and relationships with teachers and peers in the classroom, crossing boundaries with educational opportunities, managing transitions in school, and the role of parents. Conclusions and Recommendations The findings suggest that Ghanaian-born immigrant students undergo several complex transitional paradigms combining two worlds of African culture, education, family values, learning new cultures, and adapting to new school settings to achieve success in American educational systems. Overall, Ghanaian-born immigrant students developed strategies to manage two worlds in school, which shaped their perspectives and helped them to cross boundaries as stipulated in the students’ multiple worlds model. Therefore, it is important that teachers, educators, and school administrators understand the social, cultural, and educational backgrounds of these immigrant students as not much is written about them with regards to their transition to schools in the United States educational system.

The Dilemma of Cultural Responsiveness and Professionalization: Listening Closer to Immigrant Teachers who Teach Children of Recent Immigrants

2012 ◽  
Vol 114 (12) ◽  
pp. 1-37
Author(s):  
Jennifer K. Adair ◽  
Joseph Tobin ◽  
Angela E. Arzubiaga
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Research Method ◽  
The United States ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Recent Immigrants ◽  
Immigrant Teachers ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Group Interviews

Background/Context Many scholars in the fields of teacher education, multicultural education, and bilingual education have argued that children of recent immigrants are best served in classrooms that have teachers who understand the cultural background and the home language of their students. Culturally knowledgeable and responsive teachers are important in early education and care settings that serve children from immigrant families. However, there is little research on immigrant teachers’ cultural and professional knowledge or on their political access to curricular/pedagogical decision-making. Focus of Study This study is part of the larger Children Crossing Borders (CCB) study: a comparative study of what practitioners and parents who are recent immigrants in multiple countries think should happen in early education settings. Here, we present an analysis of the teacher interviews that our team conducted in the United States and compare the perspectives of immigrant teachers with those of their nonimmigrant counterparts, specifically centering on the cultural expertise of immigrant teachers who work within their own immigrant community. Research Design The research method used in the CCB project is a variation of the multi-vocal ethnographic research method used in the two Preschool in Three Cultures studies. We made videotapes of typical days in classrooms for 4-year-olds in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings in five countries (England, France, Germany, Italy, and the United States) and then used these videos as cues for focus group interviews with parents and teachers. Using a coding framework designed by the national CCB team, we coded 30 focus group interviews. The coding framework was designed to facilitate comparisons across countries, cities, and categories of participants (teachers and parents, immigrant and nonimmigrant). Findings/Results Teachers who are themselves immigrants from the same communities of the children and families they serve seem perfectly positioned to bridge the cultural and linguistic worlds of home and school. However, our study of teachers in five U.S. cities at a number of early childhood settings suggests that teachers who are themselves immigrants often experience a dilemma that prevents them from applying their full expertise to the education and care of children of recent immigrants. Rather than feeling empowered by their bicultural, bilingual knowledge and their connection to multiple communities, many immigrant teachers instead report that they often feel stuck between their pedagogical training and their cultural knowledge. Conclusions/Recommendations Bicultural, bilingual staff, and especially staff members who are themselves immigrants from the community served by the school, can play an invaluable role in parent–staff dialogues, but only if their knowledge is valued, enacted, and encouraged as an extension of their professional role as early childhood educators. For the teachers, classrooms, and structures in our study, this would require nonimmigrant practitioners to have a willingness to consider other cultural versions of early childhood pedagogy as having merit and to enter into dialogue with immigrant teachers and immigrant communities.

Race And Representation On Tv: The Influence Of Tv Status On Latino Identities

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (26) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesus Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Mexican Americans ◽  
The United States ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
American Television ◽  
Authority Figures ◽  
Tv Media ◽  
Strong Representation ◽  
Group Interviews

It has been observed that most American TV media has taken on a format that seems to concern itself primarily with White, middle to high-income family situations. Even though the United States of America has a Latino population that reaches 17% (approximately 55 million Latinos—with Mexican Americans making up 63% of that number) and growing (Krogstad 2016), we still see a tremendous lack of Latino characters in American television. This leaves millions of Americans with no substantial representations that they can relate to, or form an identity off of. Instead, Latinos are forced into believing they are not important enough to merit TV roles and perhaps not really be American at all. This research was a content analysis of 79 scripted shows that aired through 2011-2015 to determine how often Latinos came out and how they were portrayed. Results showed that they appeared an average of six minutes on screen and they were generally depicted as criminals. Additionally, four focus group interviews were conducted, and participants also responded that shows tend to stereotype minorities while they showed White characters as authority figures. Both content analysis and focus group interviews found that Latinos lack strong representation in American television.

scholarly journals Recently Certified Athletic Trainers' Undergraduate Educational Preparation in Psychosocial Intervention and Referral

2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Lynn Stiller-Ostrowski ◽  
John A. Ostrowski
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Athletic Training ◽  
Psychosocial Intervention ◽  
Athletic Trainers ◽  
Athletic Training Education ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
The United States ◽  
Content Area ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Group Interviews

Abstract Context: “Psychosocial Intervention and Referral” is one of the 12 content areas established by the National Athletic Trainers' Association Education Council and is required to be taught in athletic training education programs (ATEPs). The perceived preparation of athletic trainers (ATs) in this content area has not been evaluated. Objective: To explore the preparation level of recently certified ATs within the content area of “Psychosocial Intervention and Referral.” Design: Qualitative design involving semistructured, in-depth, focus group interviews. Setting: Interviews were conducted at 2 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I institutions in 2 regions of the United States. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 11 recently certified ATs who met predetermined criteria were recruited. The ATs represented a range of undergraduate ATEPs and current employment settings. Data Collection and Analysis: Focus group interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed deductively. Peer debriefing and member checks were used to ensure trustworthiness. Results: The ATEPs are doing an adequate job of preparing ATs for many common communication and interpersonal issues, but ATs report being underprepared to deal with athlete-related issues in the areas of motivation and adherence, counseling and social support, mental skills training, and psychosocial referral. Conclusions: Limitations of undergraduate ATEPs regarding preparation of athletic training students within the “Psychosocial Intervention and Referral” content area were identified, with the goal of improving athletic training education. The more we know about the issues that entry-level ATs face, the more effectively we can structure athletic training education.

Schools, Justice, and Immigrant Students: Assimilation, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Perceptions of Fairness and Order

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Anthony A. Peguero ◽  
Jennifer M. Bondy
Keyword(s):  
Research Design ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Immigrant Youth ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
The United States ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Ethnicity And Gender

Background/Context Students’ perceptions of justice, fairness, and order within their schools are arguably key building blocks of socialization to participation within a democratic society. The ideals of justice, fairness, and order within their schools are particularly imperative because the educational system is founded on a belief of democracy and meritocracy. It is also known that students’ perceptions of school justice can vary by race, ethnicity, and gender. What remains uncertain is how the fastest growing segment of the United States, students in immigrant families, perceive the school justice, fairness, and order within their school. Purpose The aim of this study is to explore if straight-line assimilation, segmented assimilation, and immigrant optimism hypotheses explain the relationships between schools, justice, and immigration, as well as the potential role of gender, race, and ethnicity in immigrant youth perceptions of justice, fairness, and order. Participants/Subjects This study utilizes the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS), a nationally representative sample of high school sophomores. Research Design This study's research design includes statistical analysis of secondary data. Findings/Results Findings do suggest that the students’ perceptions of justice, fairness, and order are indeed moderated by immigrant generation, race, ethnicity, and gender. Conclusions/Recommendations Educators and educational researchers who are seeking to better understand the schooling experiences of immigrant youth might benefit from questioning assimilation and Americanization as processes that inevitably promote educational progress. Given that immigrant youth are and have historically been marginalized within U.S. schools, it appears that socialization, Americanization, gender, and immigrant generational status are germane to creating democratic education for all students. Attentiveness to democratic school justice, order, and fairness is, therefore, imperative.

scholarly journals Sound and consumer buying behaviour: do apparel retailers take note of the effect of sound on buying behaviour.

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 375-382
Author(s):  
Elsa C. Nell ◽  
Michael Colin Cant
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Retail Stores ◽  
Direct Influence ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Buying Behaviour ◽  
Buying Decisions

The main aim of this study was to investigate the influence of sound on consumers buying behaviour in apparel retail stores. The type of research design used in this study was exploratory in nature, making use of a qualitative approach and a communicative technique of focus group interviews and naïve sketches. The data gathered was analysed by means of Tesch’s inductive descriptive coding technique, better known as thematic analysis. It was found that sound has the ability to influence consumers in either a subconscious or a conscious way. This has a direct influence on the amount of time that consumers are willing to spend in-store and ultimately influencing their buying decisions and behaviour in either a positive or a negative way.

Management Strategy for Distributing Questionnaires and Interview Guidelines in the Research Data Collection Process

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-111
Author(s):  
Po. Abas Sunarya ◽  
George Iwan Marantika ◽  
Adam Faturahman
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Management Strategy ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Good Management ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Data Collection Process ◽  
Group Interviews

Writing can mean lowering or describing graphic symbols that describe a languageunderstood by someone. For a researcher, management of research preparation is a veryimportant step because this step greatly determines the success or failure of all researchactivities. Before a person starts with research activities, he must make a written plan commonlyreferred to as the management of research data collection. In the process of collecting researchdata, of course we can do the management of questionnaires as well as the preparation ofinterview guidelines to disseminate and obtain accurate information. With the arrangement ofplanning and conducting interviews: the ethics of conducting interviews, the advantages anddisadvantages of interviews, the formulation of interview questions, the schedule of interviews,group and focus group interviews, interviews using recording devices, and interview bias.making a questionnaire must be designed with very good management by giving to theinformation needed, in accordance with the problem and all that does not cause problems at thestage of analysis and interpretation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document