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In this dissertation, I examine the ways white women teachers construct whiteness as they teach students of primarily Asian, African and Latina/o heritage. The primary purpose of this study is to conduct a preliminary examination of how white women construct whiteness as an embodied racial identity in educational contexts. More specifically, my goal is to examine how whiteness is constructed through narrative and to critique how the constructions of whiteness perpetuate and/or resist the discourse of white supremacy. To frame the study of teacher narratives, I draw on theory from critical pedagogy, communication education, interpersonal/intercultural communication and critical cultural studies. Furthermore, I employ a critical-interpretive methodology to examine how teachers construct their personhood within complex relationships of power. This methodology is practiced through the use of three methods: Interactive classroom observations, dialogic interviewing and narrative analysis. Five women teaching at a Southern California high school acted as "co-researchers" during this study. Herein, I interpret their narratives in order to understand how whiteness is constructed within the stories each teacher tells about her personhood/identity, the stories teachers tell about the personhood/identity of the students she teaches and how each teacher accounts for her relationship and the relationship of her students to the social world. Titular terms include whiteness, personhood/identity, narrative, critical pedagogy, communication education, intercultural communication and critical cultural studies.

The increasing diversity of the U.S. population presents a challenge to providers of early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities, and their families. Information is needed about the cultural contexts of families with infants with disabilities which is currently lacking in the literature in special education. Using ethnographic methods of participant observation, in-depth interviews, and field notes, with member checks and peer debriefing for establishing trustworthiness, this study gathered information about the context of parenting an infant with developmental disabilities in Cork, Ireland during 1993. The primary respondents for this study were sixteen mothers of children between the ages of twelve and forty months, who had recently received a diagnosis which implied some degree of developmental disability. The findings reveal a process of adaptation and coping by the respondents that was informed by their cultural beliefs following their infant's diagnosis. A conceptual framework that described this process was proposed after being constructed during inductive data analysis. Within this framework, a three stage process of adaptation was identified. Specifically, the most salient aspects of the Irish culture that affected these mothers' adaptation were cultural models of motherhood, rules about not talking about problems and needing to "get on with it", and a need to address problems in the present without trying to predict the future. The clarity of the infant's diagnosis was directly related to the respondent's rate of adaptation. The respondents described their ability to cope with a profound strength and conviction that reflected their perceptions of self-reliance, optimism, and competence. The results of this study indicate the critical role and influence of culture on coping and adaptation in parents of children with disabilities. The implications of these findings for policy, research and practice in early intervention are presented.

Over the last 15 years, approximately 12,000 Somali immigrants and refugees have settled in the capital region of Ottawa-Carleton. According to a study of Somali youth (Ali, 1995), about seventy percent (70%) of the Somalis in Ottawa-Carleton are between 1 and 17 years old. The Ottawa Board of Education reported that in 1993, thirty three percent of all immigrant and refugee students were Somalis. While schools have been successful in helping a significant portion of these students to succeed in their learning, evidence shows that many are disconnected from productive learning. As establishing constructive connections between the home environment and the school environment is an important and crucial step to improve the educational opportunities for students who are at risk of failure, a study of the parents' perceptions is warranted. The main purpose of this study, therefore, was to investigate the Somali parents' perceptions of the school and non-school learning conditions that help or hinder the education of their children in Ottawa high schools. A survey questionnaire was used to collect the data from a sample of diverse Somali parents. The diversity of the sample is in terms of gender, level of education, employment, marital status, number of years in Canada, and number of children. Specifically, four research questions guided this study: (1) What do Somali parents consider to be the school and non-school learning conditions that help the education of their children who are succeeding in their learning? (2) What do Somali parents consider to be the school and non-school conditions that hinder the education of their children who are at risk of failure in learning? (3) What are parents perceptions of the school personnel's willingness to involve immigrant parents in educational decision-making? (4) What recommendations do Somali parents make to improve learning conditions for all children? Data were drawn from the survey responses of 85 Somali parents whose children attend high schools in Ottawa. Findings indicate that parents are concerned about the lack of diversity and multicultural instructional materials in schools. While parent responses regarding the treatment of their children in schools vary widely, there is a consensus among the parents that guidance counselors are not sensitive to the needs of immigrant students. Findings also indicated that parents expressed the schools' limited effort and interest in involving immigrant parents in school committees. Lack of effective communication is an other concern raised by parents. Most of participating parents stated that the only time they get a call from school is when there is a problem. Some expressed the schools unwillingness to communicate with parents even when a parent takes the initiative and visits the school of his or her child.

Responsiveness to a diverse population is a pressing issue for higher education today. The need to develop more connections with users from all areas is of growing importance in college and university libraries, especially in areas of computer access and skills. In an attempt to learn of the attitudes and experiences of Latino college students toward learning and using computer applications in an academic library, a two year, primarily qualitative study was conducted with Latinos as participants at one university. As a precursor to this research, a pilot study was conducted using in-depth phenomenological interviewing to learn what it was like for Latinos to use an academic library. Following the analysis of the pilot study, further research was conducted and data were gathered from field notes, observations, group discussions and e-mail journal responses from Latinos enrolled in two courses: an introductory course, Internet for Latino Studies, taught by a Latino professor, and an introductory Essentials of Library Research course, which I taught. Supporting data were gathered through 14 interviews and a survey questionnaire. Out of 137 questionnaires distributed to classes with a high concentration of Latino students, 129 were returned completed. The data were analyzed according to themes and findings are discussed in terms of their implications for librarians and educators. Findings include the following: (1) Social class and cultural capital were found to be more significant than ethnicity or language dominance in library use, comfort in the library, and asking for assistance from library personnel. (2) Latinos, in general, reported performing better and being more motivated when there was a supportive environment with a caring teacher/librarian who treated them as “a friend.” (3) Latinos reported the need for information to be presented in a way that was personally or culturally relevant to them. (4) Latinos were found to use nonverbal communication as an important means for transmitting and interpreting messages. Included in the final chapter of this study are implications and suggestions for improving library instruction to better accommodate differences in computer experience, learning styles, classroom environment and communication.

Temperament has been found to be consistently and significantly associated with externalizing and internalizing behavior in children. However, this relationship is in modest to moderate range, suggesting that there are some other factors in child's environment contributing to his/her externalizing and internalizing behavior. Moreover, these direct link (correlational) studies do not explain how the relationship between child temperament and externalizing and internalizing behavior is moderated by other factors. Indian immigrants' children have not been represented in studies on externalizing and internalizing behavior of young children in North America. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate, first, the role of child temperament and mothers' parenting styles in externalizing and internalizing behavior of young children of Indian immigrants, and second, how mothers' parenting styles moderate the relationship between these two variables. The sample comprised 160 first grade and kindergarten children and their Indian immigrant mothers. Child Behavior Checklist, Temperament Assessment Battery for Children-Revised, and Parenting Styles and Dimensions questionnaires were used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics, correlations and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data. Findings suggest that child impulsivity, negative emotionality, lack of task persistence, and inhibition were associated positively with externalizing and internalizing behavior of children. Activity level was associated positively with externalizing but not with internalizing behavior. Authoritarian and permissive parenting styles were associated positively, whereas, authoritative parenting style was associated negatively with both externalizing and internalizing behavior. The relationship between child temperament and externalizing behavior was moderated by mothers' parenting styles. High authoritative parenting style weakened the relationship between impulsivity and externalizing behavior in children, whereas high authoritarian and permissive parenting styles strengthened this relationship. The relationship of child negative emotionality and lack of task persistence with internalizing behavior of children was not moderated by parenting styles. However, parenting styles made significant contributions in explaining the variance in internalizing behavior of children beyond what was already explained by negative emotionality and lack of task persistence. In terms of relationship between child temperament, parenting styles, and externalizing and internalizing behavior of children, the results of the current study were similar to the findings of the studies conducted on the main stream population in North America.

This study explored how first and second generation Puerto Rican female headed households residing in Springfield, Massachusetts, utilize the extended family network in childrearing responsibilities. The study will examine how the process of acculturation to the mainland culture has influenced the structure and the dynamics between single-parent families and the extended Puerto Rican family. More specifically, it explored in what ways the traditional shared childrearing responsibilities between single-parent families and extended family have been adapted to fit with the mainland culture. In addition, it explored the aspects of the traditional shared childrearing responsibilities that remain functional. The results suggest that first generation and second generation Puerto Rican female heads of household are quite similar in how the extended family network is involved in the shared child-rearing practices.

The relationship of culture and healthcare plays an important role in the success of health care access for everyone. In recent decades, the United States has opened its door to welcome not only refugees and immigrants from Europe, but also from other countries all over the world. Coming to the United States, these ethnic groups must overcome many problems to adjust to the American healthcare system. Meanwhile, American health providers not only misunderstand their refugees and immigrant clients' culture, but also want them to conform to the requirement of purely biomedical treatment. The result is that access to healthcare for immigrant groups in the United States is likely to be difficult because of significant cultural differences between the clients and healthcare provider. This research used in depth-interviews, participant observations, and a case study to explore the interaction between culture and healthcare for Vietnamese refugee and immigrant adults and elderly living in the Greater Springfield, Massachusetts area; the level of their involvement in the American healthcare and in traditional healthcare; the extent of integration of American healthcare and traditional healthcare; the obstacles they face in accessing and using American healthcare; and the importance of health education in successful healthcare access. Theories of acculturation, such as Models of Acculturation (Padilla, 1980) and Health Care System Model (Kleinman, 1978a) were used to process the study data to determine the extent of the influence of culture on the effectiveness of healthcare. Finally, based on data analysis, I explain how Vietnamese refugee and immigrant adults and elderly acculturate to the American healthcare system, and make recommendations for improving healthcare for them, as well as for other ethnic groups throughout America.