Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2004 Central American immigrant women's perceptions of adult learning: a qualitative inquiry Ana Guisela Chupina Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching Commons, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Women's History Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Chupina, Ana Guisela, "Central American immigrant women's perceptions of adult learning: a qualitative inquiry " (2004). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 933. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/933 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Central American immigrant women's perceptions of adult learning: A qualitative inquiry by Ana Guisela Chupina A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Education (Adult Education) Program of Study Committee: Nancy J. Evans, Major Professor Jackie M. Blount Deborah W. Kilgore Carlie C. Tartakov Michael B. Whiteford Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2004 Copyright © Ana Guisela Chupina, 2004. All rights reserved. UMI Number: 3145633 Copyright 2004 by Chupina, Ana Guisela All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 3145633 Copyright 2004 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 11 Graduate College Iowa State University This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation of Ana Guisela Chupina has met the dissertation requirements of Iowa State University Signature was redacted for privacy. Major Professor Signature was redacted for privacy. or the Major Program iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES x LIST OF TABLES xi ABSTRACT xii CHAPTER 1. OVERVIEW OF THE INQUIRY 1 Purpose 4 Research Questions 4 Definitions 5 Rationale 7 Significance of the Inquiry 9 Theoretical Perspective 9 Personal Background 10 Change 10 Marginality 12 Elder's Life Course Paradigm 13 Historical change 13 Human agency 13 Linked lives 14 Timing 14 Freire's Philosophy of Adult Learning 14 Schutz' s Phenomenology 17 Tentative Presuppositions 18 CHAPTER 2. CONTEXT FOR THE INQUIRY 21 Part One: Contemporary Immigration to the United States 22 Third-Wave Immigrants 22 Types of Migrants, Legal Status, and Social Support Benefits 32 Immigration from Latin America 35 Immigration from Central America 38 Economic Developments Leading to Central American Migration 39 Political Developments Leading to Central American Migration 42 Guatemala 43 El Salvador 46 Nicaragua 48 The Impact of Migratory Status 50 Settlement Patterns of Central Americans in the United States 53 Settlement Patterns and Social Characteristics of Central Americans in Iowa 54 Part Two: Immigrant Women in the United States 57 Female Predominance in Immigration to the United States 58 The Scholarly Study of Immigrant Women 63 iv Overcoming Gender Bias 64 Overcoming Ethnic- and Discipline-Particularism as well as Interpretation Constraints 68 Discipline-particularism 69 Interpretation constraints 76 Implications for the scholarly study of immigrant women 78 Moving Towards a More Comprehensive Understanding of the Engendered Migration Experiences of Men and Women 84 Engendered Inquiry into Central American Immigrants 88 Pre-Migration 89 Journey 91 Settlement 93 Employment 93 Social networks 105 Impact of women's employment on family and gender relations 107 Legalization 111 Return 114 Part Three: Viewing Central American Immigrant Women as Adult Learners 116 Adult Immigrant Education in the United States 116 Educational Profile of Central American Immigrants 121 Adult Education Opportunities Available to Central American Immigrant Women in the United States 124 Adult Education Program Areas 129 Program Limitations to Addressing the Learning Needs of Latino Immigrant Adults 131 Part Four: Summary of the Literature 132 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY 137 General Methodological Approach 137 Epistemology 138 Theoretical Perspective 140 Methodology 142 Methods 143 Rationale for Selecting a Qualitative Approach 145 Research Approach 146 Life History 146 Phenomenology 151 Participants 154 Locating Potential Participants 154 Selecting Participants 157 Data Collection Procedures 159 Data Analysis Procedures 162 T ranscribing Interview Tapes 164 Studying, Reducing, and Analyzing Interview Transcripts 164 V Sharing Interview Data through Life Stories and Themes 165 The life stories 165 The themes 167 Making and Analyzing Thematic Connections 167 Interpreting the Material 168 Design Issues 170 Credibility 172 Prolonged engagement 172 Peer debriefing 172 Member checks 174 Transferability 174 Purposeful sampling 174 Thick descriptive data 175 Dependability 175 Audit trail 175 Dependability audit 175 Confirmability 176 Practicing reflexivity 176 External confirmability audit 176 CHAPTER 4. FIVE LIFE STORIES OF LEARNING 177 Evelyn 178 Evelyn's Life Story in Spanish 179 Ninez y Adolescencia 179 Yendo a la escuela primaria 179 Abandonando los estudios bâsicos 181 Inmigrando a los Estados Unidos 182 Llegando al sureste de Estados Unidos 182 Migrando hacia el Medio Oeste 184 Migrando a otro estado dentro del Medio Oeste 185 Experiencias Recientes de Aprendizaje 187 Describiendo el ambiente de trabajo 188 Aprendiendo a usar la computadora 190 Aspiraciones Laborales y Académicas 192 Evelyn's Life Story in English 193 Childhood and Adolescence 193 Learning in elementary school 193 Quitting junior high school 195 Immigrating to the United States 196 Arriving in a large city of a Southeastern state 196 Moving to a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States 198 Moving to a different state within the Midwestern United States 199 Recent Learning Experiences 201 vi Describing the work setting 202 Learning to use the computer 204 Learning and Work Aspirations 205 Postscript 206 Ana 206 Ana's Life Story in Spanish 207 Ninez y Adolescencia 207 Asistiendo a cinco escuelas diferentes 209 Estudiando el idioma ingles 213 Primeros Anos de la Edad Adulta 214 Inmigraciôn, Retomo, y Estadia Final en los Estados Unidos 216 Primera estadia en los Estados Unidos 216 Retomando al pais de origen 220 Segunda inmigraciôn y estadia final en los Estados Unidos 221 Migrando hacia el Medio Oeste 223 Experiencias Recientes de Aprendizaje 225 Aprendiendo en Childnet 226 Aprendiendo en la iglesia 227 Aprendiendo a través de la maternidad 228 Aspiraciones en Estilo de Vida, Aprendizaje, y Trabajo 230 Ana's Life Story in English 231 Childhood and Adolescence 231 Moving through five different schools 233 Studying English 236 Early Adulthood 237 Immigration, Return, and Final Stay in the United States 239 First stay in the United States 239 Returning to the country of origin 243 Second immigration and final stay in the United States 245 Moving to the Midwest 246 Recent Learning Experiences 248 Learning in Childnet 249 Learning in church 250 Learning through motherhood 251 Life, Learning, and Work Aspirations 252 Postscript 253 Dulce 253 Dulce's Life Story in Spanish 254 Ninez y Adolescencia 254 Disfrutando la escuela primaria 254 Destacando en la secundaria 256 Completando el bachillerato con énfasis en secretariado comercial 259 Primeros Anos de la Edad Adulta 260 vii Cumpliendo con responsabilidades familiares, laborales, y académicas 261 Manteniendo una actitud positiva 263 Inmigrando a los Estados Unidos 266 Visitando los Estados Unidos por primera vez 266 Volviendo a los Estados Unidos para quedarse 267 Experiencias Recientes de Aprendizaje 268 Aprendiendo ingles en un programa auspiciado por la iglesia 269 Aprendiendo ingles en el trabajo 272 Aprendiendo inglés en la familia 274 Reflexiones Personales 275 Dulce's Life Story in English 276 Childhood and Adolescence 276 Enjoying elementary school 277 Excelling in junior high school 279 Completing high school with a major in commercial secretarial skills 281 Early Adulthood 282 Keeping up with family, work, and college 283 Maintaining a positive attitude 285 Immigrating to the United States 287 Visiting the United States for the first time 288 Coming back to stay 288 Recent Learning Experiences 290 Learning English at an ESL church program 290 Learning English at work 294 Learning English at home 295 Personal Reflections 296 Postscript 297 Domi 297 Domi's Life Story in Spanish 298 Ninez y Adolescencia 298 Destacando en la escuela primaria 299 Adaptândose en los estudios bâsicos 302 Disfrutando del diversificado 303 Aprendiendo