No description available.

This study explores the experiences of first-generation Somali immigrants working for Swedish political parties, shedding light on their challenges, opportunities, and contributions to the political sector. Through a qualitative case study approach, five semi-structured interviews were conducted. Tajfel and Turner's (1979) social identity theory and Crenshaw's (1989) intersectionality theory guided the study. The study revealed the significant barriers to entry that the participants face, including cultural and language barriers, prejudice and discrimination, and a lack of social and political networks. In addition, the study found that while the participants experienced exclusivity and resistance within the party, they also reported experiencing opportunities for political engagement, including support from fellow party members and advancement. Moreover, the findings suggest that political parties can play a crucial role in promoting immigrant political integration by providing opportunities for community engagement, training, and mentorship. However, the findings also highlight the need for more inclusive and culturally responsive policies and practices within political parties to better support the political participation and representation of immigrant politicians in political parties. This study adds to the literature by enhancing our understanding of the challenges of immigrant political integration.

Students who are the first in their families to attend college are less likely to earn a college degree as compared to their continuing-generation peers. In efforts to increase college graduation rates for first-generation college students, support programs designed to assist first-generation college students are increasing in numbers. These first- generation programs are relying on existing research to build effective curriculums. Even though an extensive body of literature exists in the fields of self-efficacy and first- generation college students, research investigating the self-efficacy of first-generation college students are extremely limited. The research is further limited when examining academic self-efficacy and generational status. The purpose of this study is to investigate if parental levels of education affect college students’ self-reported levels of academic self-efficacy. The following research questions guided this study: 1) Do survey response hierarchies differ between first-generation college students and their continuing- generation counterparts on a scale that measures academic self-efficacy?, 2) Do levels of item endorsability vary based upon parental levels of education? and 3) Do the results produced from the college student survey support the existing literature on first- generation college students and academic-self-efficacy? Quality control indicators were utilized to assess the soundness of the instrument and to ensure that the rating scale functioned appropriately. Variable maps were used to compare and contrast student responses and item hierarchies. Pairwise differential item functioning (DIF) was used to examine item endorsability based upon levels of parental education. Results encourage practitioners to be mindful of the importance of data-informed decision making.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the use of social network analysis to examine the peer involvement and supportive relationships of students living within an exclusively first-generation RLC. Using network surveys targeted toward a first-generation population, the networks of first-year residents were visualized and measured. The supportive peer relationships that provided students with encouragement, validation, and academic assistance were identified, as well as the networks for friendship and study partnership. The networks identified for this study were examined to find if change occurred between the start and the end of the semester. Multiple regression QAPs were performed to explore if the RLC’s social programming displayed an association with the network ties students formed at the end of their first semester. The results of these analyses are presented, in addition to recommendations for future research studies and evaluations. This study indicates that first-generation RLCs can gain a great deal of information about their students’ social involvement using social network analysis techniques, as well as investigate if students are acquiring support from peers as intended.

Rather limited research and few significant field studies have been done on recent immigrant students particularly from the Muslim societies of the Horn of Africa and the Middle East in the American high school context regarding their linguistic, cultural and religious needs. Most research studies suggest that immigrant students receive insufficient provision. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role high schools play in provision addressing the following questions: (1) What kinds of provision have been implemented to support a culturally sensitive education in public high schools in the U.S., and how effective have they been? (2) If any, what was the effect of the reform paper No Child Left Behind? (3) How could the role of teachers as culturally responsive educators be further enhanced regarding first/heritage language and cultural heritage maintenance? (4) Which steps would have to be taken in order to move towards a culturally responsive system? Peterson’s iceberg theory regarding cultures was the guiding theoretical approach which emphasizes the fact that in order to get to know each other’s cultures, one has to closely examine the underlying issues that belong to them as the information available on the surface is simply not sufficient. Qualitative case studies were conducted based on survey questionnaires and interviews among students, parents, ESOL/ELL teachers and mainstream teachers from 6 different high schools. This study has demonstrated that high schools can, in fact, be inviting, well-equipped with adequate ESOL/ELL programs. Findings from field work carried out in Loudoun and Fairfax County public schools in Virginia in 2011, indicate that there is a need to address misconceptions among ESOL/ELL students, their teachers and their parents as to what constitutes as multicultural education environment, and first language maintenance. It is explained how the role of culture-based after school extracurricular clubs like the Muslim Students Association can serve as a bridge between the culture of one’s origin and the host society. While teachers could serve as facilitators, students can become researchers and see relevance of their culture. The result from this investigation through existing literature, stories of individuals and institutions will add to current knowledge on ESOL/ELL provision and offer a deeper understanding of needs from both parties.

This study examined differences between adult first-generation (AFG) and adult-continuing generation (ACG) students’ academic self-efficacy with regard to the online courses in which they were currently enrolled. The study used an online survey methodology to collect self-reported quantitative data from 1,768 undergraduate students enrolled in an online course at a mid-sized, four-year public university in the southwestern United States; 325 cases were usable for the study. The t-tests revealed no statistically significant differences between the academic self-efficacy of the AFG and ACG students. Parents’ level of educational attainment was unrelated to adult students’ academic self-efficacy with online courses. Ordinary least-squares analysis was used to evaluate student characteristics that might be associated with academic self-efficacy in the online environment. A combination of gender, GPA, age, race/ethnicity (White, Black, Hispanic, and other), and number of previous online courses predicted a statistically significant 12% of the variance in academic self-efficacy in an online environment (p < .001). Age (p < .001) and self-efficacy were positively correlated, meaning that adult students reported greater academic self-efficacy than did younger students; and number of previous online courses (p < .001) was also positively correlated to academic self-efficacy, indicating that students with greater experience with online courses reported a greater sense of academic self-efficacy in that environment than students who had completed fewer online courses. This study has implications of providing additional insight for higher education practitioners working with adult learners. Identifying additional factors influencing adult learners’ academic self-efficacy in an online academic environment may be useful when building effective strategies to improve online retention and completion rates for these students. Future research should examine a wider variety of variables beyond demographic characteristics. External and internal factors, along with existing theories of behaviors should be investigated to help explain adult persistence and retention online and in face-to-face courses.

Os trabalhos sobre intelectuais brasileiros atuantes no século XIX mostram-se contraproducentes quando dissociam o texto do contexto sociopolítico ou super valorizam capitais econômicos em detrimento dos capitais políticos e das relações sociais. Neste sentido, construímos uma análise que recupera texto e contexto e aproxima os capitais nas suas diferentes modalidades, confrontando dois grupos de peso intelectual: a Primeira Geração Romântica e a Escola do Recife. Seguimos por uma metodologia capaz unir, conjuntamente, à revelação do sentido por trás do enraizamento social e familiar dos escritores: as suas diferentes formações escolares; as expectativas profissionais dos grupos sociais aos quais pertenciam; e as aspirações traduzidas nas suas produções literárias. Os letrados do Recife conviviam com a dupla condição de marginalizados. Tanto eram excluídos políticos do establishement Imperial como operavam com baixos capitais econômicos e de relações sociais. Esta condição de intelectuais periféricos duplamente marginalizados explica em grande parte a reação contra o projeto político-literário romântico, iniciar-se primeiro entre os integrantes da Escola do Recife. Para eles, o modelo literário dos românticos, em particular o indianismo e o sertanismo, estava esgotado. Neste aspecto, os intelectuais da Escola do Recife apontavam a ausência dos grupos sociais urbanos na literatura romântica como emblemática da resistência dos românticos às novas transformações sociopolíticas, operadas no Brasil do século XIX, com o surgimento do indivíduo burguês. / Work on Brazilian intellectuals active in the nineteenth century appear to be counterproductive when dissociate the text of the sociopolitical or economic capital super value at the expense of political capital and social relations. In this sense, we build an analysis that retrieves text and context and near the capital in its different modalities, comparing two groups of intellectual weight: the First Generation and the Romantic Group and Escola do Recife. We follow a methodology that can unite together, to the revelation of the meaning behind the social roots and family of writers: their different educational backgrounds, professional expectations of social groups to which they belonged, and aspirations as reflected in their literary productions. The learned of Recife lived with the double condition of the marginalized. Both were excluded from political Establishement Imperial as operating capital with low economic and social relations. This condition of intellectual peripherals doubly marginalized largely explains the reaction against the project romantic political-literary, start first among the members of the Escola do Recife. For them, the literary model of the Romantics, in particular the Indianismo and sertanismo, was exhausted. In this respect, the intellectuals of the Escola do Recife indicated the absence of urban social groups in the literature as a romantic symbol of resistance of the new romantic-political changes which are made in Brazil in the nineteenth century with the rise of the bourgeois individual.

Os trabalhos sobre intelectuais brasileiros atuantes no século XIX mostram-se contraproducentes quando dissociam o texto do contexto sociopolítico ou super valorizam capitais econômicos em detrimento dos capitais políticos e das relações sociais. Neste sentido, construímos uma análise que recupera texto e contexto e aproxima os capitais nas suas diferentes modalidades, confrontando dois grupos de peso intelectual: a Primeira Geração Romântica e a Escola do Recife. Seguimos por uma metodologia capaz unir, conjuntamente, à revelação do sentido por trás do enraizamento social e familiar dos escritores: as suas diferentes formações escolares; as expectativas profissionais dos grupos sociais aos quais pertenciam; e as aspirações traduzidas nas suas produções literárias. Os letrados do Recife conviviam com a dupla condição de marginalizados. Tanto eram excluídos políticos do establishement Imperial como operavam com baixos capitais econômicos e de relações sociais. Esta condição de intelectuais periféricos duplamente marginalizados explica em grande parte a reação contra o projeto político-literário romântico, iniciar-se primeiro entre os integrantes da Escola do Recife. Para eles, o modelo literário dos românticos, em particular o indianismo e o sertanismo, estava esgotado. Neste aspecto, os intelectuais da Escola do Recife apontavam a ausência dos grupos sociais urbanos na literatura romântica como emblemática da resistência dos românticos às novas transformações sociopolíticas, operadas no Brasil do século XIX, com o surgimento do indivíduo burguês. / Work on Brazilian intellectuals active in the nineteenth century appear to be counterproductive when dissociate the text of the sociopolitical or economic capital super value at the expense of political capital and social relations. In this sense, we build an analysis that retrieves text and context and near the capital in its different modalities, comparing two groups of intellectual weight: the First Generation and the Romantic Group and Escola do Recife. We follow a methodology that can unite together, to the revelation of the meaning behind the social roots and family of writers: their different educational backgrounds, professional expectations of social groups to which they belonged, and aspirations as reflected in their literary productions. The learned of Recife lived with the double condition of the marginalized. Both were excluded from political Establishement Imperial as operating capital with low economic and social relations. This condition of intellectual peripherals doubly marginalized largely explains the reaction against the project romantic political-literary, start first among the members of the Escola do Recife. For them, the literary model of the Romantics, in particular the Indianismo and sertanismo, was exhausted. In this respect, the intellectuals of the Escola do Recife indicated the absence of urban social groups in the literature as a romantic symbol of resistance of the new romantic-political changes which are made in Brazil in the nineteenth century with the rise of the bourgeois individual.

Extant research suggests the necessity for teachers to be culturally responsive to teach effectively to a diverse classroom. Extant research has also examined the perspectives of immigrant students in Western countries and the perspectives of teachers teaching to immigrant students. However, few studies have examined the perspectives of Canadian teachers lived experiences teaching first-or second-generation Chinese students. This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to examine the experiences of six Canadian teachers who have taught first-or second-generation Chinese students and who have interacted with family members. The participants included four female and two male teachers with one teacher who taught in primary school and five teachers who have taught, and continue to teach in high school. The participants presently reside in British Columbia, Canada. The study’s data were gathered by semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed and analyzed to find common themes and the essence of the participants’ experiences. The study’s results indicated that Canadian teachers find teaching first-or second-generation Chinese students to be both positive and challenging. There are numerous differences between Chinese and Canadian preferences of learning, communicating, expectations, values, and perspectives of success, education, mental illness and learning challenges. The participants also provided recommendations for teachers and schools when teaching first- or second-generation Chinese students. / Graduate

Bharati Mukherjee’s 1989 novel Jasmine and Jhumpa Lahiri’s 2003 novel The Namesake both feature immigrant protagonists, who experience name changes and identity transformations in the meeting space of Indian and American cultures. Using the theory of cultural translation to view translation as a metaphor for identity transformation, I argue that as these characters alter their identities to conform to cultural expectations, they act as both translators and translated texts. Although they struggle with the resistance of untranslatability via their inability to completely assimilate into American culture, Jasmine and Gogol ultimately gain the ability to bypass the limitations of a foreigner/native binary and enter a space of negotiation and growth.