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Migration and Parent Involvement: Ethiopian Immigrants in Chicago DePaul University Via Sapientiae College of Education Theses and Dissertations College of Education Spring 6-13-2015 Migration and Parent Involvement: Ethiopian Immigrants in Chicago Daniel Hasso Shashe DePaul University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/soe_etd Part of the Adult and Continuing Education Administration Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Other Educational Administration and Supervision Commons, and the Urban Education Commons Recommended Citation Hasso Shashe, Daniel, "Migration and Parent Involvement: Ethiopian Immigrants in Chicago" (2015). College of Education Theses and Dissertations. 74. https://via.library.depaul.edu/soe_etd/74 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Education at Via Sapientiae. It has been accepted for inclusion in College of Education Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Via Sapientiae. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DePaul University College of Education MIGRATION AND PARENT INVOLVEMENT: ETHIOPIAN IMMIGRANTS IN CHICAGO A Dissertation in Education with a concentration in Educational Leadership By Daniel Hasso Shashe ©2015 Daniel H. Shashe Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education June 2015 The dissertation of Daniel Hasso Shashe is hereby approved. ABSTRACT My study examines the experiences and perceptions of Ethiopian immigrants in Chicago particularly as they relate to their involvement in their children’s schooling. Through narrative interviews I was able to hear stories of migration, education, and life changes within families as they emigrated from Ethiopia and (eventually) settled in the US. Migration, conditioned by political contexts at home, circumstances of mobility, and available support structures, is translated into life experiences that are infused with emotion (of various sorts), hardship (and various strategies to understand it and deal with it), an evolving vision of life in the US, and a changing sense of identity. Transitioning to life in the US is experienced as a paradox: reconciling expectations vs. reality, confusion in the way they raise their kids (as Ethiopians or Americans), and other issues related to cultural change arise as one navigates the long-term migration process. The participants were deprived of a full education in Ethiopia because of the brutality of the regime; this experience has motivated them to provide their children the best educational experiences they can. At the same time, cultural and language barriers create misunderstandings among immigrant parents and American schools. I interviewed seven Ethiopian parents for my study—three women and four men. These parents have been sending their children to American schools. They support their children in their educations based on their Ethiopian cultural values and beliefs which they also want to pass onto their children. Their Ethiopian approaches to parental involvement are not always recognized by American schools, yet their approaches evolve as they spend more time in the US. iii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................. IX DEDICATION .............................................................................................................................. XI CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 THE SITUATION OF MIGRATION TO THE US ................................................................................................. 1 RESEARCH PROBLEM AND PURPOSE ........................................................................................................... 4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................................. 5 IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY ..................................................................................................................... 6 ORGANIZATION OF THE DISSERTATION ........................................................................................................ 7 CHAPTER 2. REVIEW OF SCHOLARSHIP ..........................................................................................8 MIGRATION ........................................................................................................................................... 9 Migration as a Social Process ....................................................................................................... 11 Why People Migrate ..................................................................................................................... 12 The Impact of Migration on Immigrants, Refugees, Sending and Receiving Countries ............... 17 THE ETHIOPIAN COMMUNITY IN CHICAGO................................................................................................. 24 Traditional Education ................................................................................................................... 31 Modern Education ........................................................................................................................ 35 Education during Imperial Rule (1930 – 1974) ......................................................................................................... 37 Education during Military/Socialist System (1974 – 1991) ....................................................................................... 39 Education during the Federal System (1991 – Current) ........................................................................................... 41 PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT ....................................................................................................................... 45 Roles of Race and Ethnicity in Parental Involvement ................................................................... 54 Types of Parental Involvement ..................................................................................................... 58 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................ 62 CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH DESIGN .................................................................................................. 63 THEORETICAL LENS: ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS THEORY .................................................................................... 63 The Ecological Systems and Their Influences ................................................................................ 64 Microsystem ............................................................................................................................................................. 65 Mesosystem ............................................................................................................................................................. 65 Exosystem................................................................................................................................................................. 66 Macrosystem ............................................................................................................................................................ 66 Chronosystem .......................................................................................................................................................... 67 RESEARCH APPROACH ............................................................................................................................ 70 PARTICIPANTS ...................................................................................................................................... 71 METHODS ............................................................................................................................................ 72 Recruiting Participants ................................................................................................................. 72 Data Collection: Interviews ........................................................................................................... 73 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................................ 74 ETHICAL ISSUES ..................................................................................................................................... 75 iv QUALITY ISSUES .................................................................................................................................... 77 INTRODUCING THE PARTICIPANTS ............................................................................................................ 81 Bekele Mulugeta ........................................................................................................................... 81 Mulu Tefera .................................................................................................................................. 81 Maru Dawit ................................................................................................................................... 82 Roman Mulatu .............................................................................................................................. 83 Markos Haile ................................................................................................................................
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