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Examining Multiculturalism, Agency, and Identity

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Examining Multiculturalism, Agency, and Identity View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ETD - Electronic Theses & Dissertations EXAMINING MULTICULTURALISM, AGENCY, AND IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE CULTURAL DIVERSITY SCHOOL By Oluchi Chinyere Nwosu Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Community Research and Action December, 2012 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Dr. Sandra Lynn Barnes (Chair) Dr. Torin Monahan ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, this work would not have been possible without God’s providence, which sustained me throughout the research and writing process. Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with this opportunity to grow intellectually, broaden my worldview, and hopefully benefit the lives of others through this work. I praise God for his continual presence in my life and for the people that he places in front of and alongside me for support and guidance as I strive to remain in his will. My family and loved ones have been invaluable to me in times of doubt and frustration. I am grateful for their love and willingness to help me emotionally and spiritually through every stage of this often-rigorous process. To my parents, I doubt that I would be the person I am today without your advice, prayers, sense of humor, and comfort in times of distress; I love you, and cannot thank you enough for all that you do. I am beyond grateful to my advisor, Dr. Sandra L. Barnes, for the countless hours she has spent mentoring me, challenging me, and honing my critical thinking and writing skills. Thank you, Dr. Barnes, for your faith in my ability to complete this work, which at times outweighed my faith in myself. The amount of time that you have dedicated to my development as a scholar has been immeasurable, and I regularly thank God for you. Finally, I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of others within and outside of my department. Namely, I would like to thank Dr. Torin Monihan for his expert advice and keen insights that have fine-tuned this research endeavor. Last, but not least, I would like to thank the members of the school and non-profit who welcomed me into their precious community, without which this work would not exist. ii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Demographic Information for Schooltown Residents………………………… 132 2. Demographic Information for Haventown Residents…………………………. 134 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………… ii LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………… iii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………….. 1 Theories of Human Ecology and Acculturation………………………………… 8 Literature Review………………………………………………………………. 14 Research Challenges and Opportunities….…………………………………….. 23 The Cultural Diversity School: Context, Query, and Research Process...……… 27 Methods of Procedure...………………………………………………………… 30 Approach to Data Analysis...…………………………………………………… 32 II. CREATING AND CULTIVATING MULTICULTURAL SCHOOL SPACES..34 Campus, Context, and Culture.…………………………………………………. 37 Theoretical Implications of the CDS Experience………………………………. 57 III. CONTRASTING THE FRAMEWORKS THAT DRIVE CDS CURRICULA.. 59 Overview of the State-Mandated Curriculum...………………………………… 59 SMC and Implications for Multicultural Learning...…………………………… 66 Overview of International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program Curriculum... 68 Comparisons and Contrasts of IB PYP and SMC……………………………… 78 Discussion and Conclusion: IB PYP as an Experiential Blueprint…………….. 82 IV. FOSTERING IDENTITY, SOLIDARITY, AND AGENCY WITHIN THE CULTURAL DIVERSITY SCHOOL.………………...……………………………….. 84 The Voices of CDS Personnel: Methodology………………………………….. 84 CDS Personnel as Instruments of Change: Salient Themes……………………. 88 Multiculturalism and Identity at CDS: “Difference is the Norm”……………… 89 Globalism and Social Forces at CDS: “We’re All In This Together”………… 101 Agency, Dissent, and Social Change………………………………………….. 112 Discussion: Research Questions Revisited……………………………………. 117 V. BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER…………………………………………… 120 iv The Multi-faceted Nature of A Multicultural School: CDS...………………… 120 How Place, Programs, Pedagogy, and Personnel Undergird CDS……………. 125 Theoretical and Practical Implications………………………………………… 126 Strengths, Limitations & Future Directions...…………………………………. 130 APPENDIX……………………………………………………………………………. 132 A. DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FOR SCHOOLTOWN RESIDENTS..132 B. DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FOR HAVENTOWN RESIDENTS....134 C. OBSERVATION RUBRIC...………………………………………………..136 REFERENCES...……………………………………………………………………… 137 v CHAPTER I: Introduction In 2008, 36.0% of the 60,108 refugees entering the United States (U.S.) were children seventeen years old and younger (DHS Office of Immigrant Statistics, 2009). Integrating into American culture tends to be challenging for many immigrant populations. This is especially the case for refugees who differ from immigrants because they are typically fleeing persecution in their home countries, tend to have either experienced trauma, or have witnessed violence (Walsh, Este, & Krieg, 2008). Refugees can also differ from immigrants in the amount of preparation and circumstances associated with their departure from their country of origin. While some refugees depart in anticipation of a threat to their well being, others retreat in reaction to it (McBrien, 2005). Regardless of the departure reason, refugees are usually forced to migrate whereas immigrants have more control of this decision. These differing flight circumstances have implications for whether refugees are able to make financial, linguistic, and other preparations in anticipation of resettlement in a new society (McBrien, 2005). This transition is also particularly difficult for refugees whose migration difficulties may be exacerbated by the history and role of racial discrimination in the U.S., as well as apprehension toward religious and ethnic diversity due to the War on Terror (McBrien, 2005; Oikonomidoy, 2009; Singer, 2008). For example, according to the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (2006), a comparison of refugee arrivals by global region indicates that Africans 1 constituted the majority of refugees entering the U.S. in 2005. In fact, this report reveals that the number of asylum seekers from Africa rose from 6,662 persons in 1998 to 13,038 persons in 1999. With the exception of 2002, no fewer than 10,717 African refugees a year were admitted to the U.S. between 1999 and 2008 (DHS Office of Immigrant Statistics, 2009; U.S Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, 2006). Historical settlement patterns have better prepared some cities for the influx of persons from particular groups than others (Singer, 2008; Waters & Jiménez, 2005). To illustrate, gateway cities are entry points into the U.S. for immigrant and refugee groups. Traditional gateway cities are likely to have more established services for foreign-born populations and a greater number of people from foreign backgrounds in general; this has implications for the social capital available to refugees which in turn can influence their opportunities for advancement and access to resources (Portes & Zhou, 1993). However, newer gateway cities are typically less prepared—especially where refugee children are concerned (Alitolppa-Niitamo, 2004). This has implications for the resources, social networks, and social services available to incoming as well as resettled refugee populations. Educational services for refugee children are of particular concern. Research on the transition experiences of refugee populations has been highly medicalized (Eisenbruch, 1988; Mosselson, 2006). Transition experiences are often viewed as psychological and are sometimes measured by the extent to which foreign-born individuals suffer from consequent psychological stress (Rudmin, 2009). Increased potential for psychological stress, coupled with the trauma refugees may have experienced prior to resettlement in the U.S. have made refugees of special interest to 2 mental health researchers (McBrien, 2005). In an effort to assess and respond to the perceived mental health needs of refugee children, researchers and experts have positioned schools as a crucial social sector and venue for identifying, reporting, and addressing these needs (Eisenbruch, 1988; Hek, 2005; McBrien, 2005; National Child Traumatic Stress Network [NCTSN], 2005; Rousseau, Drapeau, & Corin, 1996). Given the fact that the number of refugees, particularly persons of African descent, entering the country has been on the rise, and that ethnic and cultural differences between various refugees’ societies and American society tend to be numerous, it is important to cultivate an ecological perspective to record and examine refugee student academic adjustment experiences in American school systems. As noted earlier, Sub-Saharan African refugees are likely to (and tend to) encounter multiple barriers to social integration as a result of their flight circumstances, linguistic differences, religious beliefs, and the ways in which they are racialized upon resettlement in the U.S. Several theoretical lenses can be used to explore how these and other aforementioned societal factors are likely to affect the daily and future experiences and opportunities of Sub-Saharan African refugee students. I will summarize several and their relationship to an ecological understanding of the current subject. For example, in Black Feminist Thought, Collins (2009) uses self-reflection, multi-sitedness, and intersectionality as
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