Schooling, Identity, Ethnicity in A
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SCHOOLING, IDENTITY, ETHNICITY IN A NEW IMMIGRANT STATE: THE CHALLENGES OF BELONGING AND PERFORMANCE AMONG VIETNAMESE MONTAGNARD REFUGEE STUDENTS IN AN URBAN HIGH SCHOOL Liv Thorstensson Dávila A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Education. Chapel Hill 2010 Approved by: Xue Lan Rong Jocelyn Glazier Rebecca New Lynda Stone Karolyn Tyson ABSTRACT Liv Thorstensson Dávila Schooling, Identity, and Ethnicity in a New Immigrant State: The Challenges of Belonging and Performance among Vietnamese Montagnard Refugees in an Urban High School (Under the direction of Xue Lan Rong) This dissertation examines how a group of Vietnamese Montagnard refugee high school students transact their identities at a low-performing, urban high school in the U.S. southeast. As a qualitative study, this research draws on principals of ethnographic inquiry and prioritizes the individual voices of nine students and their teachers, as well as field notes taken during classroom observations. It also draws on background data from interviews with parents, and community members to build an understanding of broader tensions and possibilities that shape these students’ identities in school. Findings are analyzed though Holland et al.’s (1998) and Holland and Lave’s (2001) framework of identity. Findings reveal that the students generally view themselves and are viewed by their teachers and peers as “good kids” but “poor students,” owing to their experiences as a marginalized ethnic minority in Vietnam, interrupted formal education, limited English proficiency, and graduation requirements that stymie their sense of success in and beyond ! ""! school. In spite of the tensions they face, all of the students persist in school and hold a strong desire to graduate. Their identities not only problematize the dominant dichotomizing discourse on Asian immigrants in U.S. schools, which has positioned them as either high-achieving and obedient, or low-achieving, delinquent, and a burden to teachers (Lee, 2005), but also reveal the wide range of academic identities among Asian American students who fall between the stereotyped dichotomizations. In addition, rather than viewing themselves through the lens of race, the students generally transact identities, whether internally or externally, through the lens of their Montagnard ethnicity. This study sheds light on the dynamic interplay between labeling, self- perception, and experience, a process which defines the way these students experience school. Findings have direct implications for questions surrounding newcomer refugee education, scholarship on refugee students, teacher education/enrichment, and educational policies geared toward high school completion. ! """! To Jerry, Ellen, and Alex. ! "#! Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank the students for welcoming me into their lives and allowing me to work with them. I also want to thank the teachers and administrators at Franklin High School who welcomed me into their school and classrooms. The ESL teachers were especially generous with their time and insights. Without their interest in my study and willingness to share their stories and perspectives this dissertation would not have been possible. Thank you to Xue Lan Rong for her collegiality and invaluable advice and feedback throughout this project. Thank you also to Lynda Stone and Jocelyn Glazier for their continuous and in-depth feedback on earlier drafts of this dissertation, and to Rebecca New and Karolyn Tyson for their thoughtful questions and insights. Thank you to Susan Jassan, Cira Ponce, Ksang Bonyo, Glick Rlan, Hayley Eban and Helen Evans for numerous conversations about refugee populations in Bankston. Their insight provided considerable grounding for this project. I have been lucky to have been surrounded by a congenial cohort of friends, colleagues, and family members throughout this process. Thank you to Julie Keane, Lara Willox and Kim Markworth for their feedback, and for bringing humor to this process. Thank you also to my friends Susan Jassan, Liz Clasen-Kelly, Jennifer Everhardt and countless others, including my brother, Martin, who remained inquisitive and supportive ! "! throughout. Thank you to my parents, Roland and Edi, for instilling in me a curiosity of languages and cultures at an early age. Finally, thank you Jerry, Ellen and Alex for the, hugs, laughs, motivation, and for helping me stay focused on the bigger picture. ! "#! TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………….……vii LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………..…viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS………………………………………………………….....ix Chapters I. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………...1 Research Questions………………………………………………………………..3 Significance of this Study........................................................................................5 Vietnamese Montagnards ………………………………………………………. 13 Outline of this Dissertation……………………………………………………....16 II. RELATED LITERATURE AND ANALYTICAL FRAME………..………..18 Background Literature……………………………………………………….…..19 Broader Perspectives on Immigrant and Refugee Identities……...……...19 Identities of Immigrant and Refugees in School…………………………23 Identity and Language Proficiency in ELLs……………………………..27 School Policies and Student Identities……………………………..…….29 Asian Student Identities in American Schools ……………………….….30 Analytical Frame……………………………………………………………..…..33 Figured Worlds……………………………………………………...…...33 Identities within Figured Worlds………………………………….……..35 ! "##! Language and Self-Authoring……………………………………..…….41 Conclusion……………………………………………………….………43 III. METHDOLOGY AND SETTING………………………………....…….…45 Qualitative Inquiry and Ethnographic Research…………………………………46 Setting, Scope and Consultants…………………………………………………..47 Data collection…………………………………………………………………...56 Data analysis…………………………………………………………………..…60 “Truth” and Positionality in Qualitative Inquiry………………..……………….62 IV. CONTEXTUALIZING THE STUDENTS’ IDENTITIES…………...…..…68 The Figured World of FHS………………………………………………………69 Broader Tensions……………………………………………………………..…79 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….82 V. SELF IN SCHOOL: “GOOD KID,” BUT “POOR STUDENT”………..…..85 Model Minority or Problem Minority……………………………………………88 Past Experiences, Current Motivations………………………………….89 “Good Kid” but “Poor Student”……………………….…………….…..95 Perceptions of Language Proficiency………………………………..…111 Desires to Graduate, Prohibitive Policies…………………………...….118 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...122 VI. THREE PORTRAITS……………………………………………….…….126 H’yin……………………………………………………………………………129 Sieng……………………………………………………………………………138 Luis……………………………………………………………………………..145 ! "###! Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...154 VII. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS…………………………….….…158 Discussion of Findings………………………………………………………....159 Implications……………………….……………………………………………168 Theory…………………………………………………………… ……169 Educational Practice…………………………………………………....173 Teacher Education……………………………………………………...178 Policy…………………………………………………………………..179 Future Research…………………………………………….………………….182 Limitations……………………..………………………………………………184 Concluding Thoughts…………………………………………………………...185 APPENDICES……………………………………..…………………………………...187 A. Informed Assent/Consent…………………………………………..187 B. Sample Interview Questions………………………………………..193 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………196 ! "#! LIST OF TABLES Table #$ North Carolina census data illustrating demographic shifts between 1970 and 2008…………………………………………………………………………..10 %$ Bankston’s demographic makeup in 1970, 1990, and 2008…………………11 &$ Montagnard and ethnic Vietnamese population estimates…………………...15 '$ Characteristics of students in this study……………………………………...52 ($ The students’ daily schedules during the 2008-2009 school year………..72-73 )$ Findings in relation to research sub-questions ………………………..…86-88 *$ Findings in relation to research sub-questions …………………………….128 ! "! LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BPS Bankston Public Schools ELL English Language Learner EOC End of Course test ESL English as a Second Language FHS Franklin High School SIFE Students with Interrupted Formal Education ! ! ! "#! Chapter 1: Introduction This dissertation examines questions applicable to the United States broader experience with resettled refugees and their education by analyzing how a group of Vietnamese Montagnard refugee high school English Language Learner (ELL) students negotiate their identities at Franklin High School1(FHS), a low-performing, urban school in Bankston, North Carolina. It emphasizes the complexity of these students’ identities owing to multiple factors, including their experiences as persecuted minorities in Vietnam, and their resettlement in North Carolina, with low socioeconomic status, low English language proficiency, lapses in formal education, and unequal power relationships in school. This research comes out of my several years of experience as a high school teacher and director of a summer camp for English Language Learner (ELL) immigrant and refugee students. In addition, as a community college English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, I have worked with students who left high school early because of lack of academic preparedness, or pressures to provide financially for their families, or to get married. Rather than looking at factors that drive students to drop out, this dissertation highlights how a group of Vietnamese Montagnard ELL students negotiate their identities in a way that motivates them to remain