Learning the Ropes: A Grounded Theory Study of Children Crossing Cultures

Patricia E. ReynoldsSchool of Education, Northcentral University

Prescott Valley, AZMarch 2012

Dr. Susan Stillman, Chair of CommitteeDr. Donna Rice, Committee memberDr. Glen Gatin, Committee member

Current demographics demand a change in

praxis

P-12 under federal mandates to “Leave No child Behind”

Information gaps exist for the educators working with English Language Learners

The loss of human and cultural capital

Introduction

Little is known about how English Language Learners

cross cultures in school environments

Current praxis is based on models that have assumed adaptation and freedom of choice

Educators lack information about the academic as well as the sociocultural processes

Research on first and second generation children is difficult to locate and almost non-existent

Problem Statement

To examine the recollected experiences of

youth who have had to cross cultures in order to discover a pattern of behavior that facilitated or hindered the process.

To determine how these experiences affected students’ ability to acquire language and to move through the developmental stages of identity formation.

Purpose

Current studies fail to make a distinction

between the experience of adults, who have made informed choices to move across cultures, and children who are not able to control their choices

Schools focused on language development Schools carry the “burden” for the

acculturation process

Current Concerns

Determining the concerns and behaviors

children crossing cultures engage in while they go through the acculturation process.

Understanding identity development accomplished while in multicultural transition.

Balancing concerns of academic and language development in educational settings.

Theoretical Framework

Choice of grounded theory as the method to

allow a theory to emerge from the data. Desire to go beyond the current constructs

and determine my own theoretical framework for the study.

Bring a new approach to an issue in education that did not have good explanatory power for educators.

Grounded Theory

How do PreK–12 transcultural students recall the

experience cross cultural transitions had upon their arrival at and progression through their education?

What significant events or milestones may initiate or expand a cultural experience for school-age transcultural students?

What specific aspects of the educational experience are affected by cross-cultural transitions?

How does the experience in schools influence transcultural student choices of opportunities in the United States?

Research Questions

Tell me about your recollections and

experiences as you entered school in the United States for the first time..

Grand Tour Question

Northern Virginia: Multiethnic and Multiracial

Participant Pool: Graduates of high schools in one district who had been designated Limited English Proficient.

Personal interviews and documents provided by participants.

Nature of the Study

Focusing on the actual experiences of students

provided conceptual theory of explaining how students cross cultures.

Developed a theory grounded in the experience of people as they resolved their main concerns.

Current methodology is focused on academic development and may be missing important aspects of identity development.

Significance of the Study

Acculturation

Cultural Dissonance

Immigrant a. Voluntary vs. Involuntary

Four Phase Model ( Oberg)

Terms

Current Models in Use

Based on Oberg, 1954

Krohls 1958

Gullahorn &Gullahorn, 1963Ting, Toomey & Chung, 2005

Outdated models may not be explanatory of

the process of crossing cultures by young children in

P-12 settings.

Educators are not well trained to identify cultural dissonance in children.

The actual process of crossing cultures is more complex than heretofore acknowledged.

Literature Review

Method : Qualitative

Design: Classical Grounded Theory

Instrument : Grand Tour Question

Method and Design

Theoretical Sample

Documents and school records provided by participants

Total of 13 participants interviewed for the study

Participants and Materials

Interviews with all 13 participants were transcribed Documents were provided by all 13 participants Interviews and documents were analyzed for theoretical codes Codes were transformed into concepts Memos about the concepts were ongoing throughout the

analysis Constant comparative analysis of concepts until saturation Concepts led to the development of a basic social process Once the process emerged from the data, four participants

were re-interviewed to determine fit, work, grab and modifiability of the basic social process.

Data Analysis

Learning the Ropes

A Grounded Theory Study of Children Crossing Cultures

4 Stages Stage 1: Frozen in Time Breaking the Ice Hiding in Plain Sight Stage 2. Turtling Slaying Dragons Closing the Door Stage 3. Painting a new Picture Getting a New Voice Aiming to Please Stage 4. Finding the Future Staying Ahead of the Game Something Always Missing

The Stages

Unlike current models in practice, this stage

demonstrates that students are not able to engage because they are suspended in space and time.

They must break the ice and develop a comfort area to move into the process.

They hide in plain sight and observe what will be the best course of action.

Stage 1:Frozen in Time

Stark contrasts between the two cultures are

difficult for children to process. Consequently, they go between cultures “turtling” by putting on a hard shell when they have to emerge from the home environment.

They constantly are slaying dragons because they have to survive in both worlds without much guidance.

At some point, they have to come to terms with closing a door on the past and moving forward into the new culture.

Stage 2. Turtling

Once the new culture is then accepted,

participants related they had to figure out a way to develop a new persona in the new culture by imitating those around them.

By getting a new voice, individuals are now able to self advocate consequently finding a value and identity in the new self.

When this happens, individuals set about aiming to please everyone around them so they can continue to access new information.

Stage 3. Painting a new Picture

There is no clear end to the process. But there is a

recognition that one has gotten this far and can apply newly developed strategies and keep going to discover new pathways.

Challenges at this stage are attempting to stay ahead of the game so that ground achieved is not lost with a clear view to the future.

The one clear knowledge that does emerge at this stage is that something will always be missing and the recognition of who they may have been or known is forever lost to them.

Stage 4. Finding the Future

Two dimensions, although relevant, were

external to the stages process of the theory, yet added a complexity to the learning the ropes behavior for many of the participants. Nonetheless, the significance of these dimensions to the participants is notable.

Coloring my World Talking about the Past

Dimensions

Findings were indicative that further

understanding of the sociocultural aspects would enhance teachers ability to work with culturally and linguistically diverse students.

Grounded action study to develop professional development for educators.

The two dimensions that emerged should be investigated in depth for the implications they may imply in P-12 environments.

Further Research

Questions and Comments

Thank You