“FUNDS OF KNOWLEDGE” AMONG FIRST AND SECOND GENERATION
IMMIGRANT STUDENTS
A Thesis
Presented to the faculty of the Department of Graduate and Professional Studies in
Education
California State University, Sacramento
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
Multicultural Education
by
Freshta Gran
SPRING
2014
© 2014
Freshta Gran
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ii
“FUNDS OF KNOWLEDGE” AMONG FIRST AND SECOND GENERATION
IMMIGRANT STUDENTS
A Thesis
by
Freshta Gran
Approved by:
________________________________, Committee Chair
Dr. Lisa William, Ph.D.
________________________________, Second Reader
Dr. Sue Baker, Ph.D.
________________________________
Date
iii
Student: Freshta Gran
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format
manual, and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for
the thesis.
_________________________, Graduate Coordinator _____________________
Dr. Albert Lozano, Ph.D.
Date
Graduate and Professional Studies in Education
iv
Abstract
of
“FUNDS OF KNOWLEDGE” AMONG FIRST AND SECOND GENERATION
IMMIGRANT STUDENTS
by
Freshta Gran
The United States has a large immigrant population, which only seems to be
increasing. Many of these immigrants are currently living in poor economic conditions
and are achieving academically (as measured by matriculation into a four-year university
and completion of a bachelor’s degree) at rates lower than that of native-born students.
Some immigrant groups, however, seem to thrive academically in spite of their low
economic status. It is the belief of the researcher that if K-12 teachers made more of an
effort to reach out to their students and learn about what resources they possess at home
that could support classroom instruction, achievement would be greater for all immigrant
groups. As such, this study aims to explore what types of “funds of knowledge”
(knowledge and experiences they inadvertently gained at home through family activities)
four immigrant students possess and how and if teachers utilized these “funds of
knowledge” in the classroom.
_____________________, Committee Chair
Dr. Lisa William, Ph.D.
_____________________
Date
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………….. vii
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION ……………...……………………………………………………….. 1
2. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................. 12
3. METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 32
4. DATA AND ANALYSIS .................................................................................................. 39
5. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................... 59
Appendix A Interview Questions............................................................................................ 64
References ............................................................................................................................... 66
vi
LIST OF TABLES
Tables
Page
1. Share of Immigrants Aged Twenty-Five to Thirty-Four with a Bachelor’s
Degree or Higher by Generation and by Race and Ethnicity, 2009, by Percent…….17
2. Bachelor’s Degree Attainment of First- and Second-Generation Immigrant
Aged Twenty-Five to Thirty-Four by Region of Origin, 2009, by Percent………...17
vii
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Background
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, there are 40 million immigrants in the United
States. This accounts for 13 percent of the population. Of the immigrants in the age 25
and older bracket, 68 percent were high school graduates or higher. Among the 25 and
older native-born population, however, 89 percent were high school graduates. In
regards to median household income, native-born households earned more than
immigrant households. The median income for native households was $50,541,
compared to immigrant households who earned $46,224. Data on the poverty rate
follows this same disparity, with 19 percent of immigrants living in poverty, compared to
15 percent of native-born. There was a similar trend for the poverty rate for those under
18. Thirty one percent of immigrant children were living in poverty, while only 21
percent of native-born were (Grieco, Acosta, de la Cruz, Gambino, Gryn, Larsen,
Trevelyan, & Walters, 2012).
This census data also shows that there is both an income gap and an achievement
gap between immigrants and native-born. According to Simms (2012), immigration rates
have been increasing rapidly and are almost as high as rates during the 1920s. In
addition, many studies have shown that there is a correlation between achievement and
one’s socioeconomic background (Flono & Kettering, 2010; Lacour & Tissington, 2011;
Rowan, Hall, & Haycock, 2010). With such a large immigrant population, many of
whom are in the lower socioeconomic bracket (Grieco et al, 2010), achievement becomes
2
an ever bigger problem. According to Fry (2008), “The Pew Hispanic Center projects
that the number of school-age children will increase by 5.4 million from 2005 to 2020.
All of the growth will be composed of children of immigrants” (Fry, 2008, p. 1). A
population as large as this is one that cannot be ignored. Teachers, administrators, and
policy makers need to pay attention to any discrepancies in achievement between
immigrant and native-born populations and work to close this gap.
It is important to note here that the immigrant population is not one homogenous
group. Just as immigrants vary in regards to their background, their culture, and the
country from which they immigrate to the U.S., so does the achievement of these
different groups. Although the census data shows that academic achievement, in regards
to high school graduation rates as well as completion of a bachelor’s degree, is lower for
immigrants overall when compared to native born, there are definite discrepancies among
immigrant groups. For example, Asian immigrants are often portrayed as a model
minority, with the assumption being that Asians as a whole tend to do well academically.
The reality, however, is that there are differences within this group. Chinese students had
a higher achievement rate in 2007, with a college dropout rate of 2%, compared to
Hmong and Cambodian students, who had a college dropout rate of 7% (Zhao & Qiu,
2009). In addition, it has been found that students whose families immigrated from
China receive higher grades in high school than students from Filipino immigrant
families (Fuligni & Witkow, 2004). Differences such as these are important to pay
attention to, because lumping all students into the same category can be detrimental to
students who are struggling.
3
Another important thing to note when looking at data regarding immigrant
achievement is that achievement in the U.S. is often a direct result of one’s ethnic and
socioeconomic background (Park, Lawson, & Williams, 2012). There is an obvious
achievement gap that exists between minority students and their White counterparts, as
well as between students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and higher
socioeconomic backgrounds (Flono & Kettering, 2010; Rowan et al., 2010). For
example, it has been found that African American and Latino students perform roughly
three years behind White students in both math and language arts (Johnson & Kritsonis,
2006). Immigrant students, therefore, deal with a multitude of issues that contribute to
their achievement gap: they are likely to be of minority status and are more likely than
their native born peers to live in poverty (Grieco et al, 2010).
In a presidential address given to the Association for Public Policy Analysis and
Management, Ladd (2012) brought up several points about the plight of students from
economically disadvantaged backgrounds. She points out that many studies have shown
that there is a discrepancy between the academic achievement of students who come from
disadvantaged households versus students from more advantaged households. This
disparity, she states, is shown at all levels: school, district, state, and country. Ladd
(2012) then goes on to discuss the discrepancy between test scores of children from high
and low socioeconomic backgrounds. She cites a study done by Reardon (2011) in which
he looked at test scores and family income for school aged children over a 55 year span.
He was able to conclude that the gap in students’ reading achievement increased from a
standard deviation of .60 in the 1940s, to 1.25 in the 2000s, meaning that the gap
4
increased and more and more children from low-income backgrounds are not performing
at proficient levels. The author then compares this to the achievement gap between
Whites and Blacks, which went from one standard deviation in the 1970s to 0.50 standard
deviations in the 1980s. This shows that the gap between Whites and Blacks is
narrowing over time. She goes on to state, “As a result, the achievement gap between
children from high- and low-income families is now far larger than the gap between black
and white children” (p. 205). These findings suggest that while the racial achievement
gap is still a problem, the achievement gap between students from high SES backgrounds
versus those from lower SES backgrounds is becoming a much bigger problem.
Lacour and Tissington (2011) also looked at a number of studies which discussed
the low achievement of students living in poverty. One of the studies they examined was
done by the U.S Department of Education (2001), where they looked at the effects of
poverty on student achievement in students from third through fifth grade in high poverty
schools. They found that the students scored below the average in all grades and that the
students who lived in poverty scored lower than students who did not. Lacour and
Tissington (2011) also looked at a number of other studies which showed that students
living in poverty frequently scored below average on assessments when compared to their
middle and upper income peers. The difference was at times as great as 47 percentile
points. Again, it is clear that economically disadvantaged students are not succeeding
academically at sufficient rates. The data shows an alarming and worrisome trend that
only seems to be worsening.
5
The purpose of our public school system is to provide an opportunity for all to
achieve success, yet this is hardly the case in reality. For immigrant students who live in
poor economic conditions in the U.S., achievement is often difficult to reach, particularly
for certain subgroups (Crosnoe & Turley, 2011). Like many minority students,
immigrant students from low SES backgrounds are often overlooked by teachers because
of their ethnic background and social status. These students are frequently viewed as
coming from homes where families do not have much to offer in terms of educational
opportunities (Dray & Wisneski, 2011). This may be due to several reasons, one perhaps
being that some teachers feel that the students’ families simply do not have many
economic resources. Another factor may be that some immigrant families do not speak
English. According to Fry (2008) “about one in five school-age children of immigrants
have limited English-speaking abilities” (p. 1). In addition, public school teachers,
particularly those working in high poverty areas, are often faced with the pressure of
sticking to a scripted curriculum, which are very fast paced and do not meet the needs of
English Language Learners (Peck & Serrano, 2002). Regardless of these limitations,
however, it is important for teachers to realize that immigrant families provide a number
of resources to their children. Rather than limiting their students based on the fact that
they lack economic resources or do not speak English, teachers need to make an effort to
get to know their students and their families in order to tap into the knowledge base
which these families provide to their children.
6
Significance of the Study
Tissington and Lacour (2011) claim that educators need to reach out more to
families and build connections between the home and school. The country’s population is
becoming more and more diverse, and yet students of color, and students from lower
socioeconomic backgrounds are falling farther and farther behind. Educators need to
realize that it is not enough to follow traditional pedagogical practices. They need to
reach out and understand their students better. Moll, Amanti, Neff, and Gonzalez (1992)
coined the phrase, “funds of knowledge” to describe the knowledge that families impart
to their children in non-traditional ways. For example, children who partake in cooking
with their families are informally learning about math and science. Families do not
consciously include their children in these activities to teach them standard school
curriculum, but by partaking in these activities, children learn an informal curriculum at
home that can aid them in making connections in the classroom to the formal school
curriculum. By getting to know the students and their families, teachers can find out
what funds of knowledge they possess, tap into these funds of knowledge, and make
connections between what is being taught in the classroom and what they have already
learned at home. Without this type of relevant curriculum, students will continue to
experience challenges in receiving equitable educational opportunities. In their research,
Moll et al. (1992) trained a group of teachers who then made home visits and learned
about the funds of knowledge that their students utilized at home. The teachers then took
their findings and incorporated these funds of knowledge into their curriculum. They
7
found that the more the students’ funds of knowledge were tied into the curriculum, the
more engaged they were in the subject.
The effects of continuously neglecting low-income children’s funds of knowledge
are detrimental. We need to help students of color succeed academically and,
subsequently, economically. Connecting the students’ homes with classroom activities is
the first step in ensuring that they are allowed to succeed in school and climb the
economic and social ladder. This is not to say that these circumstances are the only ones
attributing to many immigrant students’ struggles in school. Teachers are faced with
many challenges as well, such as insufficient funding in schools that serve large
populations of low-income students and the stress that students living in poverty deal
with. Nevertheless, there does need to be more of an effort to reach out to students and
families and build connections between the home and school.
Statement of the Problem
Students who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds are often viewed by
teachers through a deficit lens. Rather than making an effort to learn about these students
and utilizing the knowledge base that they come with, teachers tend to push them aside
and view them as though they have nothing to offer (Franquiz, Salazar, & DeNicolo,
2011). Every student possesses a set of skills and a set of life experiences (funds of
knowledge) (Moll et al., 1992) that can be tapped into in order to make learning more
relevant and engaging. When teachers do not make an effort to learn students’ strengths
and “funds of knowledge” (Moll et al., 1992) and only see them from a deficit view, they
are setting their students up for failure. With the growing gap in achievement between
8
low-income students, many who come from immigrant backgrounds, and their middle
and upper income peers, such failure needs to be remedied.
Limitations of the Study
This study is limited in that it consists of a small sample size of four subjects.
Therefore, the information collected here cannot be generalized to any major findings
about immigrant populations’ achievement. In addition, those who were interviewed all
grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area within a 20 mile radius of each other. As such,
some of the similarities in their schooling experiences may be due to the fact that they all
attended school in the same district. Another limitation of this study is the fact that only
the students themselves were interviewed. More insight could be gained from speaking
to the subjects’ parents, and possibly their former teachers. Additionally, subjects were
asked to think back to their schooling experiences, which were as far back as 20 years,
for some. The fact that they had to recall memories from so long ago may affect the
accuracy of some findings. Further, this research may be prone to some research bias, as
the researcher herself is a second-generation immigrant whose family circumstances and
schooling experiences were similar to those of many of her subjects. Thus, the analysis
and conclusions are shaped by this bias.
Research Questions
This study will examine what types of funds of knowledge students from low-income
households with formally educated immigrant parents possessed during their K-12
schooling. In addition, the researcher will explore how and if these types of funds of
knowledge were utilized in the students’ K-12 classrooms and if these funds of
9
knowledge were instrumental in shaping their matriculation into college. To do this,
questions were asked where subjects could recall activities that they participated in at
home. Follow up questions were then asked to see whether the subjects recalled their
teachers being aware of the funds of knowledge that they gained at home and whether
they felt that any of this knowledge was used as examples in the classroom to help make
the learning relevant for them.
1. What types of funds of knowledge did first and second generation immigrant
students (in K-12) from low SES backgrounds possess?
2. What types of funds of knowledge do subjects recall as being utilized in their K12 learning?
3. What types of funds of knowledge enable students to matriculate into, and
graduate from, four-year universities?
4. What funds of knowledge have helped low SES immigrant students pursue and
complete a bachelor’s degree?
Definition of Terms
Academic success
For the purpose of this study, academic success is defined as having obtained at least a
bachelor’s degree.
Cultural Capital
Jaeger (2011) states,” According to Bourdieu, cultural capital is a scarce resource that
equips individuals with knowledge, practical skills, and a sense of ‘‘the rules of the
10
game’’ in the educational system that is recognized and rewarded by institutional
gatekeepers and peers. (p. 83)
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
According to Brown-Jeffy and Cooper (2011), culturally relevant pedagogy is a method
by which educators connect the curriculum to students’ backgrounds and cultures. They
state, “Thus, culturally relevant pedagogy is a way for schools to acknowledge the homecommunity culture of the students, and through sensitivity to cultural nuances integrate
these cultural experiences, values, and understandings into the teaching and learning
environment” (p. 67).
Deficit view
This term refers to the idea that certain individuals, because of their background, are
lacking in some capacity. In this study, the term is used to describe the view that many
teachers hold of their low-income students. Because these students come from
economically poor households, they are thought to be poor in terms of enriching
opportunities at home as well. As a result, teachers assume the students have no
background knowledge regarding the concepts being taught in class, and thus have
nothing to offer. They are perceived simply as empty brains that need to be filled.
Funds of Knowledge
Moll et al. (1992) define funds of knowledge as the “historically accumulated and
culturally developed bodies of knowledge and skills essential for household or individual
functioning and well-being” (p. 133).
11
Immigrant
“Foreign-born students who are U.S. citizens with one or both parent(s) born outside the
United States, permanent residents, or eligible noncitizens.” (U.S. Department of
Education)
Low Income
For the purpose of this study, low income is defined as receiving free or reduced lunch at
school.
Second Generation Immigrant
Students born in the United States with at least one foreign-born parent. (U.S.
Department of Education)
12
Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
Achievement Gap
Lacour and Tissington (2011) looked at a number of different studies involving
poverty and academic achievement. They state that the rate of poverty in the United
States is increasing. The authors cite a study done by the U.S. Department of Education
in which third through fifth grade students in high poverty schools were shown to have
scored lower than other students when tested at all grade levels. They explain that
because poverty reduces the amount of resources one has access to, many students who
live in poverty suffer academically.
Noguera (2011) tackles this notion head on. He explains that recently, it has
become popular to take on a “no excuses” approach to achievement. In other words, the
belief is that teachers and schools can help students overcome any obstacles they may
face and make great gains in achievement. He states that it is not fair to assume that good
teaching alone can help students achieve. Rather, something needs to be done to help
remedy the exceptional challenges that students face so that they are actually able to
come into a classroom and be prepared to learn and benefit from good teaching. He
explains that “there is no evidence that even the best schools can overcome the effects of
poverty on their own” (p. 9). He describes how high poverty rates in concentrated areas
can impact students and schools in three ways: external support, environmental obstacles,
and negative social capital.
13
With regards to external support, Noguera asserts that a close relationship
between parents and the school impacts students’ academic performance. Middle-class
parents typically have strong relationships with the school in addition to having the
advantage of being able to provide their children with enrichment opportunities outside of
school. Low-income families, on the contrary, lack this strong tie with the school, often
because of a lack of trust due to differences in race and class between the parents and the
teacher and school. Therefore, not only do students living in poverty miss out on
educational opportunities outside of the school, but they are also negatively impacted by
the fact that there are no strong bonds between their families and the school. This lack of
a relationship makes it even more difficult for students from poverty to reach out for help
when needed.
In addition to external support, Noguera states that environmental obstacles, such
as safety and health, attribute to economically disadvantaged students’ low achievement.
Many of these individuals do not have access to services and the stress of this type of
lifestyle leads to poor academic performance. It is not surprising that dealing with such
life circumstances makes it difficult to learn, and teachers are often unable to resolve any
of these matters for their students. Therefore, it becomes an ever greater challenge to
teach students who are facing such obstacles.
The third contributing factor to poor academic performance in high poverty areas,
according to Noguera, is a lack of social capital. He describes how middle-class
neighborhoods are often able to make up for any resources that their schools lack through
donations. They have the financial means to do this, and often make it happen. Families
14
in high poverty areas, on the other hand, do not have the luxury of donating to their
children’s schools and the schools therefore must go without any resources that are
needed but cannot be afforded.
Noguera’s analysis supports the notion that without a bridge between the home
and school, overcoming outside obstacles becomes an even greater challenge for students
from poverty. Teachers may not be able to completely help students overcome outside
factors like poverty, but they can certainly aid in their achievement by working to build a
strong relationship with students and their families.
Gassama (2012) uses a case study to further explore the effects that poverty has
on learning. The researcher uses a case study to bring to light the struggles that children
living in poverty are faced with and how this impacts their learning. Gassama focuses on
a student in a teacher credential program and details his experiences in the classroom that
he is student teaching in. It is observed that the student teacher’s mentor teacher is
prepared and eager to teach each day, but only teaches the students who are willing to
learn. A number of students come in late each day and listen to music during class
instead of paying attention and learning. The teacher attempts to get the students to
focus, and even reaches out to the administrator and the students’ parents, but no one
gives him the support he needs to get the students back on track. These particular
students were at-risk students who were living in poor economic conditions. Gassama
explains that for students from low SES conditions, it is especially important for teachers
to be culturally sensitive. She states, “Teachers should do all they can to bridge school
values, and students’ cultural values” (p. 6). She goes on to explain that teachers need to
15
develop lessons that make a connection between the material being taught and the real
world. In addition, students’ existing knowledge should be brought in so as to help build
these connections.
Again, Gassama (2012) supports the assumption that teachers need to take the
time to get to know their students, understand the circumstances that they live in, and
utilize the rich cultural knowledge that they bring with them. Students have a plethora of
knowledge that they gain from their culture, family, and home, and all of these things
need to be brought into the classroom.
Immigrant Achievement
Research seems to be mixed with regards to the academic achievement of
immigrant students. While census data shows that there is an achievement gap between
immigrant students and native-born students overall (Grieco et al, 2010), some studies
have found that certain immigrant groups actually perform better than native-born
students.
Fuligni (1997) found that although immigrant achievement is lower overall when
compared to the achievement of native-born students, there are many immigrants who
achieve at high levels in spite of any economic hardships they face. In addition, he points
out that immigrant achievement varies depending on the specific ethnic background of
the students. Fuligni looked at the academic performance of sixth, eighth, and tenth
graders in order to track their achievement. He looked at their grades in math and
English, and gave them questionnaires on parental attitudes toward academic success,
peer support, and their own academic attitudes and study time. Fuligni found that
16
immigrant students earned higher grades. He attributed this to two factors, one being that
some of these students had highly educated parents. However, he noted that the fact that
immigrant students’ families and the students themselves placed a heavy emphasis on
achievement was a much stronger indicator of why they did so well in school.
Crosnoe and Turley (2011) raise the issue of an “immigrant paradox” (p. 129),
which refers to the fact that some immigrant students do better than their native-born
peers regardless of the fact that they are often more socioeconomically disadvantaged.
The authors note that when compared to students with native-born parents, the immigrant
population has a higher percentage of socioeconomically disadvantaged families, as well
as a higher percentage of parents with no high school degree. Despite these trends, they
argue that certain immigrant subgroups still outperform others as well as students with
native-born parents. East Asian immigrants, for example, are more likely to have college
educated parents.
Crosnoe and Turley (2011) attempt to explain this immigrant paradox by offering
a number of reasons for it. They argue that the immigrants’ previous schooling in their
native countries plays a role in the academic achievement of immigrant students in the
U.S. For example, Asian and African immigrants tend to fair better in regards to
academics, which may be due to the fact that those Asians and Africans who do
immigrate are more educated than those who do not. In comparison, Hispanics who
immigrate to this country are often less educated.
Baum and Flores (2011) examined trends in higher education among immigrant
families. After looking at census data from 2009, they found the following:
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TABLE 1
Share of Immigrants Aged Twenty-Five to Thirty-Four with a Bachelor’s Degree or
Higher by Generation and by Race and Ethnicity,2009, by Percent.
Generation
Hispanic
Black
Asian
White
First
9
30
63
54
Second
19
42
57
48
Third or higher
16
18
33
37
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. Current Population Survey. March
Supplement, 2009 (cps.ipum.org).
This data shows that overall, Asians are more likely than other groups to hold a
Bachelor’s degree or higher. For Hispanics and Blacks, second generation immigrants
are more likely than first generation immigrants to hold a college degree. For all
subgroups, the percentage of immigrants holding a college degree dropped from the
second generation to the third.
When looking at immigrant education trends based on region of origin, the
following was observed:
TABLE 2
Bachelor’s Degree Attainment of First- and Second-Generation Immigrant Aged TwentyFive to Thirty-Four by Region of Origin, 2009, by Percent.
Region of Origin
Mexico
Other Latin America
Africa and Caribbean*
Southeast Asia
(excluding India and Pakistan)**
Southeast Asia
(Including India and Pakistan)
East Asia***
Europe
First Generation
Second Generation
6
17
32
15
31
45
43
45
64
66
59
51
72
49
18
Source: Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. Current Population Survey. March
Supplement, 2009 (cps.ipum.org).
*Caribbean nations included with Africa: Antigua, Barbuda, Bahamas, Dominca,
Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.
**Southeast Asia includes: Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Nepal, Phillippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
***East Asia includes: China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.
As mentioned earlier, it is important not to lump all immigrants into one category,
because every group has their own unique circumstances. This table makes it clear that
not all Asians achieve at the same levels, and likewise, not all Hispanics achieve at the
same levels. Feliciano (2006) explores why this may be the case. She explains that the
education level and socioeconomic status of families pre-migration may influence how
well their children do after immigrating to a new country. She found that almost all
immigrants are more educated than those who stay behind in their home countries.
Parents from these types of immigrant households, therefore, have expectations for their
children that are more consistent with their circumstances in their home country. For
example, immigrants who were highly educated and from higher SES backgrounds in
their home country expect their children to complete college, despite the fact that they are
from a lower SES background in the United States. For these families, current
circumstances do not define their status; they still view themselves as highly educated
and from a higher socioeconomic background, because this is what their life was like premigration.
To further explain the high achievement of some immigrant groups, Feliciano
(2006) uses the example of Vietnamese immigrants and Mexican immigrants. She states
19
that immigrants from Vietnam achieve at high levels in the U.S. despite their poor
economic circumstances because they were more highly educated and more economically
well off in their home country. Mexican immigrants, by contrast, tend to come from
lower SES backgrounds even in their home country, thus explaining why their
achievement in the U.S. is not as high as other immigrant groups.
Fuligni and Witkow (2004) looked at the postsecondary progress of immigrant
students. They found that students from immigrant families were more likely to value
educational achievement and tended to study more than native-born students. They
explained that immigrants from Latin America tended to have higher dropout rates and
struggled more in high school than Asian immigrants. However, even within Asian
immigrants, there were differences based on country of origin. To illustrate this better,
they gave the example of Chinese immigrants earning higher grades than Filipino
immigrants.
The researchers explain the difference in achievement between immigrants from
Latin America and immigrants from Asia by pointing out the differences in
socioeconomic status between the two groups. Because Asian immigrants have higher
education levels in their home countries, they tend to get better paying jobs in the United
States. Latin American immigrant students, on the other hand, are more likely to have to
work during school in order to support their family, thus decreasing their likelihood to
attend and/or complete college.
20
Deficit Views and Culturally Responsive Teaching
Students from low-income backgrounds have often been viewed from a deficit
lens (Franquiz, Salazar, & DeNicolo, 2011). Rather than working to find out what
background knowledge they possess, these students are automatically deemed by many,
if not most, teachers as having no exposure to academic content outside of the classroom.
Dray and Wisneski (2011) state,
In the deficit thinking model, teachers believe that students fail in school because
of the student’s own deficiencies, not because of unfair school policies or
differential treatment from teachers. A deficit perspective situates school failure
within the student and suggests that deficiencies exist within the student or his or
her home life and that these deficiencies are the cause of academic failure.
Another common deficit perspective attributes student failure to parents and
families who do not value education. As a result, teachers’ attributions that are
rooted in a deficit perspective guide an often ill-informed understanding that a
student’s failures are attributable to the student’s perceived lack of ability,
linguistic inferiority, or family dysfunction (p. 30).
The authors also address the fact that students of color are often misunderstood by
teachers as a result of their diverse backgrounds. Teachers are not able to connect to their
students and often confuse these cultural differences with learning disabilities or an
inability to learn. Dray and Wisneski (2011) point out that students of color experience
lower academic achievement, and this lack of connection between teachers and students
of color may be one of the reasons why.
21
Lind (1997) explores this topic further by looking at what the research says about
culture in the classroom. He found that minorities do not benefit as much as Whites from
our education system and that students of color are more likely to drop out of school at
both the high school and college level. He looks at three areas where differences affect
students in the classroom: intercultural communication differences, learning differences
across cultures, and cultural-deficit perspectives of minority students.
Because different cultures communicate in different ways, this often becomes a
problem for minority students in particular. Since we have a Eurocentric education
system, and because a majority of public school teachers are White, communication can
become a point of contention in the classroom. Differences in communication can lead to
misunderstandings, and can possibly even cause teachers to perceive their students as
lacking in communication skills because they are not using “standard” forms of
communication.
Lind (1997) also points out that learning styles are often influenced by culture.
For example, different cultures differ in the way they process information and the way
they receive information. Lind uses the example of Japanese students to illustrate how
different learning styles can cause problems in the classroom. Japanese students are more
likely to engage in reflective thinking. As a result, they rarely want to guess an answer,
for fear of being wrong. Instead, they need to take their time and think about a problem
before giving an answer. A teacher who is unaware of this may feel that the student is
not making any effort because they are not answering the question quickly, thus feeding
into their deficit perspective of the student.
22
Teachers’ deficit views of their students are further perpetuated by the fact that
the school system is “geared toward the abilities and styles of mainstream culture” (p.
12). Therefore, when minority students are not able to fit this mold of mainstream
learning styles and mainstream culture, they are perceived as being deficient. Many
teachers perceive this mainstream education system as one that works for all. Therefore,
when a student does not learn this way, they see the problem as being the student, not the
system.
Low-income students are not in fact deficient, but rather need teachers who can
build bridges between their background and the curriculum. Schaderman (2011) explores
this by looking at how the card game Spades (a game they are already familiar with)
allows young African American men to develop skills that can directly be applied to the
field of science. For example, the high school boys made observations and used
inference to figure out what their next move would be, both of which are skills that are
needed in science. In this case, it is easy to see how Spades could be brought into the
classroom as a way to engage the students in science. These students are far from
deficient, and in fact already have a foundation for learning about how to make
observations and hypotheses and how to draw inferences.
To combat these deficit perspectives, teachers need to take on a culturally
responsive approach to teaching. Coghlan (2011) cites Gay (2000) and defines culturally
responsive teaching as “a pedagogy designed to present the curriculum and build
relationships with students, while validating the individual culture of each student” (p.
15). Culturally responsive teaching requires teachers to set aside their own biases and
23
create a classroom environment that connects the curriculum with students’ backgrounds
and communities. Such a method of teaching better enables students to be engaged and
active participants (Kozleski, 2010). Rather than viewing students from ethnically and
linguistically diverse backgrounds as deficient, Shevalier and McKenzie (2012) argue
that such diversity serves as a “valuable resource (p. 1087)” for urban students.
Esposito and Swain (2009) conducted interviews and focus group sessions with
urban educators who were interested in culturally relevant pedagogy and social justice
issues. Many of the teachers explained that they use the standard curriculum, but make it
more culturally relevant by pointing out biases and making their students aware of these
biases. One teacher stated that if the curriculum mentioned something about going to
church on Sunday, she would make her students think critically about that and they
would have a discussion about this specific culturally insensitive topic in their
curriculum. She pointed out that this was necessary because there may be students of
different faiths in the classroom, so to make the curriculum more culturally relevant for
them, she brings these things up so that they do not feel alienated.
A few of the other teachers they interviewed stated that they made it a point to
bring up issues that affected the students and their community so as to produce a sense of
agency in them. By relating topics in the classroom to real world circumstances for the
students, the teachers were able to build connections that the students could learn from.
A number of the teachers also explained that they brought culturally relevant
pedagogy into their classroom by utilizing culturally relevant materials that related to the
students’ backgrounds and fostered a sense of positive identity. One teacher, for
24
example, made sure to bring in positive images of African Americans to the classroom so
that students could feel more empowered. He found that over time, the students really
did begin to feel this way.
Overall, the teachers who brought in culturally relevant pedagogy were able to
reach their students better than if they had not. The students were engaged and felt a lot
more cultural pride. This goes to show how important it is for teachers to make
connections between students’ backgrounds and the school curriculum.
Cultural Capital and Funds of Knowledge
For immigrant families and families from low socioeconomic backgrounds,
cultural capital is a resource that can enable them to achieve academic success. Jaeger
(2011) explains that Pierre Bourdieu defined cultural capital as a resource that is passed
down among families from generation to generation and that aids in educational success.
He describes it as a set of skills and knowledge on the “rules of the game” of the
education system. Jaeger cites Pierre Bourdieu’s work and notes his argument that the
cultural resources that families possess are a type of capital, regardless of the fact that it
is not capital in an economic sense. He cites a number of studies that show that cultural
capital is positively related to academic success.
The author explains that cultural capital is passed down to children from their
parents and that this transfer becomes a part of the child’s “knowledge, language, and
mannerisms” (p. 283). He argues that our educational system rewards cultural capital.
As such, teachers tend to perceive students with cultural capital in a positive way. This in
25
turn positively impacts the student in that he may receive preferential treatment from the
teacher, allowing him even more academic success.
Moll et al. (1992) explain that students who come from backgrounds that are
viewed as lacking in terms of both economics and the “quality of experiences” available
at home, are often cast aside by teachers. They argue that if teachers were aware of and
tapped into these students’ knowledge base, they could provide them with a much more
engaging and productive learning experience. The main research questions in their study
involved looking at the types of funds of knowledge that existed in households and how
these funds of knowledge were utilized, as well as the role that social connections played
in exchanging this knowledge. Ten teachers were trained on qualitative research methods
and each of these teachers (except for two) then conducted research on three of their
students’ households. The teachers then made observations and conducted interviews
with each of these households. The households came from either a Mexican or Yaqui
background. The information that the teachers gathered was then used to develop and
implement a curriculum that utilized the students’ funds of knowledge.
During their interviews with members of the students’ households, they witnessed
some students selling Mexican candy to neighbors. They then decided to use candy as an
overarching theme for a unit of study. The class developed a KWL chart together, where
they noted what they already knew about candy and what they wanted to learn about it.
The teacher then extended this into math by having the students take a survey on their
favorite candies, which they were then responsible for graphing. A parent who actually
26
made Mexican candy was asked to come in one day to answer students’ questions and
teach them how to make the candy.
In the end, the researchers found that it is both possible and beneficial for teachers
to conduct their own research on their students’ households and then use that information
to design a curriculum that students can relate to and that draws from their lived
experiences. The teachers who designed the new curriculum after visiting students’
homes found that the students were much more engaged and actively participated in the
lessons. Rather than following traditional banking methods, the teachers were able to act
as facilitators while the students took responsibility for their own learning. In addition,
the fact that they included a parent in a teaching role helped to build an even stronger
bridge between the school and home.
Immigrant families pass on funds of knowledge to their children in unique ways.
Although their experiences at home are not directly modeled after a formal school
curriculum, parents are still able to provide their children with valuable teaching
opportunities. A study done by Sugarman (2010) directly addresses this. She points out
the importance of making connections between the school curriculum and these students’
funds of knowledge. She explains that in order for her students to have access to the
curriculum, it needs to be relatable to them. Sugarman discusses the importance of
building bridges between school and home and making learning reciprocal. Rather than
having a deficit view of students and their families and using a banking method of
teaching, teachers need to reach out to families so that teachers, students, and their
families can all learn from each other. Sugarman’s statement of the problem is framed
27
around her own experience. Faced with a particularly difficult second grade class, she
realized that she was constantly measuring her students by what they couldn’t do, rather
than making an effort to learn about the strengths that they had. Teachers do this all too
often, and whether consciously or subconsciously, they are setting their students up to
fail. Sugarman states that educators need to go out of their way to build relationships
with students’ families and learn about their strengths and the set of knowledge and skills
they possess.
Sugarman designed a qualitative study and used a number of different research
methods to gather her data. She did a case study on one of her students and spent time
with his family in order to conduct her research. The first thing she did was take a walk
with the student through his neighborhood. She had him point out things that were
important to him and then took pictures of these things. Later, she used the pictures to
write down everything she could remember in a narrative form. Next, she conducted a 35
minute interview with the student’s mom. A few weeks after the interview, she visited
the student’s home and had a casual meeting with his parents. She made observations
and engaged in informal dialogue.
Through her research, Sugarman discovered that her student’s family did have
something to offer. Although they were not able to provide their son with a lot, they did
their best to give him as much support as they could. His mother went out of her way to
buy him books and read to him in both Spanish and English. She also encouraged him to
do well in school and to work hard. Even though his family was barely scraping by, they
made it a point to keep some money saved for his college fund. Sugarman also
28
discovered the funds of knowledge that her student’s family possesses. For example, his
step-father is a carpenter and redid the family’s front porch. He also has an interest in car
maintenance, which he passed on to his step-son who now knows a lot about cars. She
also found that the student himself possessed funds of knowledge that she had not
appreciated before. For example, during her home visit the student was able to fluently
translate a cartoon he was watching from Spanish to English. Again, it is clear that this
immigrant family is providing their child with a unique set of funds of knowledge that, if
recognized by teachers, will enable him to succeed in school.
Andrews and Yee (2006) also show how parents pass on valuable information to
their students through funds of knowledge. They did a case study on two nine-year-old
children from economically disadvantaged families in an attempt to learn about the funds
of knowledge that they possessed in relation to mathematics. They describe Nadia,
whose family was from Bangladesh, as participating in a number of enriching activities at
home. Coming from a Muslim family, Nadia spent time after school studying the Koran.
Her mother had difficulty with Arabic numbers, so it was Nadia’s job to check receipts
after each trip to the store to ensure that the proper amount of change was returned. Her
father explained to the researchers that they often had a number of relatives over, so
Nadia had to utilize her math skills to calculate how many cups were left and how many
would need to be washed for the guests. When the researchers spoke to Nadia’s teacher,
they found that he was aware of some of the activities that she engaged in at home and
the learning that took place there. For example, he recalled that she created a magazine at
home and brought it to class to share. The researchers noted that although her teacher did
29
have some idea of the learning and activities that were taking place outside of the school
day, he did not realize the full depth of her engagement in academically rich activities at
home. His knowledge of what went on in Nadia’s home was based on a few snapshots
that he gathered from observing her in class.
The second student in their case study, Saqib, came from a Pakistani family. Like
Nadia, Saqib’s family was Muslim. He spent time after school attending his local
Mosque where he attended lessons to learn to read the Koran in Arabic. His mother
explained to the researchers that because of the significance of giving to charity in Islam,
Saqib often collected change to donate. The researchers noted that this particular activity
was significant in that it not only utilized his math skills, but was a much more
meaningful activity for him because of the religious implications of it. In a video
submitted to the researchers by his family to show his engagement in mathematical
activities at home, Saqib was seen lying on the floor in his living room attempting to
tackle the activities as a number of distractions surrounded him. Loud music was
playing, his family was constantly in and out of the room stepping over him, and his
brothers teased him. When speaking to his teacher, the researchers found that her
perception of Saqib contrasted with what they observed of him at home. She described
him as lazy and uncooperative, and believed that his lack of concentration in class was
due to ADHD.
The researchers concluded that both Nadia and Saqib would most likely benefit
more at school if their funds of knowledge were utilized in the classroom. They felt that
30
the students had more knowledge and rich experiences than the school acknowledged
them as having.
Monzo and Rueda (2003) did a case study on a Latina paraeducator to see
whether or not her experiences as an immigrant caused her to utilize her students’ funds
of knowledge in the classroom. Gloria, the paraeducator, immigrated to the U.S. at the
age of nine and recalled the shock of being thrown into an English-only class where the
White students and Spanish speaking students were sat on opposite sides of the room. At
the time that the study was conducted, she worked in a school serving a large population
of low-income Latino students. The researchers noted that Gloria was aware of the
inequalities that her students faced and also realized that some of the White teachers held
deficient views of students and families based on their limited proficiency in English.
They also found that at times, Gloria herself portrayed this type of attitude towards
students and families. Overall, the researchers found that Gloria did utilize her
experiences as an immigrant student with regards to the way she interacted with students.
For example, she was always gentle, gave them plenty of wait time, allowed them to have
class discussions in informal ways rather than calling on students, and used Spanish to
scaffold their learning in English.
Gloria was not able to fully implement a funds of knowledge based approach to
teaching because she was limited in her role as a paraeducator. The teacher gave her
tasks and she had to follow through on those instructions. However, with all of the above
mentioned research, it is evident that she would have been able to make a bigger
31
difference in the achievement of her students had she been allowed to relate the learning
to their lives.
32
Chapter 3
METHODOLOGY
All students possess funds of knowledge (Moll et al., 1992) which are often
overlooked by educators. Instead of bringing these funds of knowledge into the
classroom, many teachers consider immigrant students, and students from low
socioeconomic backgrounds, as lacking and think that they do not possess knowledge, in
the traditional sense of the term. If these funds of knowledge were utilized, immigrant
students and students from low SES backgrounds would have a better chance of
academic success. To explore this problem of whether or not, and to what extent,
teachers utilize students’ funds of knowledge (Moll et al, 1992) or look at them from a
deficit view (Franquiz, Salazar, & DeNicolo, 2011), the researcher will use qualitative
research methods. The initial part of the study will consist of an autoethnographic
account, detailing the researcher’s own experiences.
An autoethnography is a detailed account, or narrative, of one’s own experiences.
In autoethnography, the researcher recounts his own experiences and analyzes them.
According to Angrosino (2007), some of the characteristics of autoethnography are
“dramatic recall” and “the holding back of interpretation so as to invite the reader to
relive the emotions experienced by the author” (p. 80).
The second part of the study will consist of interviewing three other participants.
Rubin and Rubin (2005) explain that qualitative interviews are used to understand
experiences that you have not participated in. They also describe qualitative interviews
as conversations that are guided by the researcher. More details are obtained throughout
33
the conversation by asking follow up questions to gain more depth into the interviewee’s
answers. In this study, the participants took part in semi-structured interviews, where the
researcher began with a designated set of interview questions, but followed up with
additional questions depending on the interviewee’s answers. The interviews were more
specifically narrative interviews, where the focus was placed on the subjects’ personal
experiences and stories (Kvale, 2007). The interview questions used for this study were
adapted from Patricia Gandara’s study in her book, Over the Ivy Walls (1995).
The data collected for this study was done so in both an interpretive and reflexive
manner. Mason (2002) states that “If you wished to derive data in an interpretive
manner, then you would be wanting to ‘read’ the interviews for what you think they
mean, or possibly for what you think you can infer about something outside of the
interview interaction itself” (p. 78). The researcher interpreted data based on what she
felt it meant and also based on inferences that she felt she could make from the subjects’
responses that related to the overarching theme of the study and interviews. The data was
also collected in a reflexive manner, in that the researcher was aware of her own
background and experiences and how they related to those of the subjects. The
researcher realizes that many interpretations of the data are based on this reflexivity.
Because the concept of funds of knowledge (Moll et al., 1992) is not one that the
subjects would be familiar with, it was necessary for the researcher to begin the interview
with general questions to get an idea of the subjects’ backgrounds, and then follow up
with appropriate questions that would allow for the subjects to contemplate on any types
of activities at home that could have been transferred to their learning in the classroom.
34
The subjects were never asked outright what funds of knowledge they possessed, but
through their answers, the researcher was able to interpret and infer what types of funds
of knowledge were used in these subjects’ homes. After initial interviews, the researcher
conducted follow up interviews to see whether these funds of knowledge were ever
utilized in the classroom.
Background
Growing up, underprivileged was something with which I commonly identified.
My father was the sole bread winner in our household, working odd jobs such as selling
items at the flea market, working at a car dealership, and fixing cars. We lived below the
poverty line and the income that he brought in was not always enough to make ends
meet. Taking these experiences into consideration as an adult, I still often referred to
myself as coming from an underprivileged background and could relate to others who
also grew up in similar, unfortunate circumstances. However, I now find myself asking,
what constitutes being underprivileged? Should one be labeled as underprivileged simply
because of a lack of economic resources? I can attest to the fact that although my
family’s economic situation was substandard, I was certainly not “underprivileged.”
Immigrant families deal with a multitude of issues: adjusting to a new country,
learning a new language, assimilating with a different culture, etc. (Levels, Dronkers, &
Kraaykamp, 2008). While most immigrant families come to the United States in search
of a better life, there are some who come to this country because they simply have no
other choice. War and political instability are just a few of the reasons why people feel
the necessity to immigrate. For many of these families, immigration does not mean
35
seeking a better future; rather, it means leaving behind a comfortable and established life
for a future of uncertainty and poverty. Levels et al. (2008) state, “Politically motivated
immigrants are not so much attracted by the expected better economic conditions in their
destination countries, but are more or less pushed out by threats experienced in their
origin countries” (p. 839). They go on to state that individuals who are forced to leave
their countries in this way often experience “downward mobility” (p. 840).
My parents’ experience was similar to those described by Levels et al (2008).
Both my mother and father were medical doctors in Afghanistan. Political instability
within the country, as well as the communist invasion, forced them to leave their
homeland and seek refuge in the U.S., but because their licenses were not recognized
here, they could not continue to practice medicine without going back to school. Starting
over from scratch was not a viable option for them now that they had a family to provide
for. As a result, our family suffered a huge financial blow. My brother and I grew up
attending low-income schools, where the education we received was often less than
satisfactory. The label of being “underprivileged” was damaging, to say the least.
Because my teachers were not aware of my parents’ background, I was probably viewed
only as being “poor”, both economically and in terms of what my parents had to offer me
at home. What my teachers did not realize is that I had resources at home that, in my
opinion, far exceeded the instruction I was receiving at the Title I schools I attended from
kindergarten through 12th grade. Therefore, even though my economic situation was the
same as those I went to school with, I had a wealth of resources at home that enabled me
to succeed, i.e. parents who understood the system and who could help me with any
36
difficulties I had in school. I have always felt that had my teachers realized what my
home environment was like, I may have received a better education in school.
Although my situation differed from my peers who also attended Title I schools,
in that I had the unique privilege of having doctors for parents, one can argue that even
those classmates of mine who did not have formally educated parents were not
“underprivileged.” These students also possess resources at home that schools need to be
aware of and utilize. In my case, my parents created an environment in which they
encouraged my brother and me to learn and to excel in school, they surrounded us with
books, and they did their best to supplement the school curriculum at home so that we
would not miss out on any learning opportunities that were not provided by the school.
Other families have different ways of educating their children outside of the formal
curriculum. For examples, families take part in activities such as cooking, farming, and
building, to name a few. These activities allow parents the opportunity to teach their
children the basics in a number of disciplines: math, agriculture, physics, etc. It is clear
that all families provide an educational foundation, yet many teachers still view lowincome students as though they are a lost cause. While it is true that they may be
underprivileged in an economic sense, it cannot be generalized that they are also
underprivileged in terms of opportunities for learning.
Population/Sample
The population sample for this study was a purposeful sample. In addition to
sharing her own background, the researcher will also interview two other individuals who
meet the following criteria. They are: first or second generation immigrant who attended
37
public schools in the United States, has at least one parent who completed a college
education in his/her home country, grew up classified as low income in the United States,
and obtained a bachelor’s degree in the United States. These two individuals are from
different countries. A third individual was interviewed who meets the following criteria:
first or second generation immigrant who attended public school in the United States, has
two parents without any college experience, grew up classified as low income in the
United States, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in the United States. These participants
were recruited through word of mouth and were then randomly selected from a pool of
recruited individuals.
Data Collection
To gather data for this study, interviews were conducted with each of the
participants. The interviews were recorded and then transcribed. Follow up interviews
were conducted where necessary. The initial interviews consisted of getting to know the
interviewees’ backgrounds, exposing the types of funds of knowledge that they possess,
gathering their thoughts on their own schooling experience and whether or not these
funds of knowledge were ever utilized in the classroom, and determining what role these
funds of knowledge played in their ability to make it through college. (See Appendix A
for the full list of interview questions). The interviews consisted of open ended questions
that would allow the participants to describe their experiences in detail, as well as allow
for follow up questions that would expand the researcher’s understanding of the
participants’ backgrounds.
38
Analysis
After the interviews were transcribed, the researcher organized the data and
looked for trends in the participants’ experiences. Rubin and Rubin (2005) explain that
the analysis of data obtained through interviews takes place over several stages. The
first, recognition, is where the researcher looks for any overall concepts or themes that
emerged from the interviews. Once these concepts and themes are analyzed and
clarified, the researcher codes them. When coding, concepts and themes are labeled to
make it easier to retrieve data relating to a particular theme. Analysis of the data in this
study followed these stages. The following themes were found and coded:

the level of academic achievement of each of the students

their (or their parents’) reasons for immigrating to the U.S.

way in which their parents were involved in their schooling

if and how their teachers attempted to build connections between the
home/culture and the school

what funds of knowledge they feel they possess

their motivation for pursuing a college degree
Once the emerging themes were defined, the researcher used these themes to interpret
the meaning of the data.
39
Chapter 4
DATA AND ANALYSIS
The Researcher
Looking back on my life, I have always found the circumstances under which I
was raised very ironic. Besides members of my family, I did not know anyone else who
was in a similar situation. Growing up with parents who were licensed medical doctors,
yet living in low-income housing and struggling to make ends meet, was a bizarre
juxtaposition.
Both of my parents graduated from medical school in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Shortly thereafter, they moved to Paris where my dad studied to obtain his specialty.
They intended on returning to Afghanistan upon his completion, but during their absence
the Soviet invasion made their country an unstable home to return to. The rest of their
extended family fled the country and settled in Europe and the U.S. Wanting to be close
to their loved ones, my parents decided to move to the U.S. with my brother, who was
born in Paris.
Once they arrived in the U.S., my parents’ struggles began. With a family to
support and look after, going back to school was not an option for them. After I was
born, my mom decided to be a stay at home mom, while my dad worked odd jobs to
support us and pay the bills. He would often scout garage sells to find things that he
could sell for a profit at the flea market or he would even sometimes fix cars. In addition
to this, he would volunteer in optometry clinics in hopes of making connections that
would aid him in working in the field that he practiced in Afghanistan. Despite his
40
efforts, we had to apply for and receive public assistance. This was an especially
humiliating ordeal for my parents, but they knew it was what they had to do to help get
our family on its feet.
Throughout my life, we lived in neighborhoods plagued with crime and violence.
The neighborhood consisted of an ethnically diverse blend whom were almost all lowincome. The irony of the situation, however, is that once you stepped into the door of our
house, it was a completely different world. We were surrounded with books,
encyclopedias, medical textbooks, and conversations about social issues, politics, and
international events.
The public schools that I attended all served low to low middle class students. I
always felt, however, that I was one of the most economically challenged ones in the
school. Regardless of this, I never felt that any teachers looked down on me because of
this fact. I always excelled in school and my teachers were aware of the fact that my
parents were involved in my school work. I was lucky enough to have teachers who
worked with culturally diverse students and who respected these differences and
supported them. I do not recall too many instances where the teachers made direct
connections between our backgrounds and what we were learning, but I do remember that
they nurtured an environment of tolerance and acceptance. It was not until I was older
that I realized the significance of one of my teacher’s actions. When I was in fourth
grade, my teacher asked that I do a presentation for the class on my religion. I did not
think anything of it and went ahead and did what I was asked to do. Looking back on the
situation now, I realize that this was her attempt to bring awareness and acceptance of
41
people’s differences into our classroom. She was making a point to validate me and my
beliefs.
Upon entering school, I had the unique advantage of already knowing English.
Although my parents always spoke to us in Farsi at home, and required us to speak to
them in Farsi, I was able to pick up English from my older brother. As a result, I was
never in ESL classes. Throughout my schooling career, I was always one of the top in
my class and was motivated to go above and beyond what was required. I was in the
GATE program from the second grade onwards and enrolled in AP courses in high
school. Upon graduating from high school, I enrolled in a public four year university and
had every intention of going on to medical school.
From a young age, my parents talked to my brother and me about college. These
discussions, however, were never discussions centered around whether or not we were
going to go college. Instead they were discussions about what we were going to do when
we went to college. My parents always encouraged us to be doctors or engineers, but at
the same time they left the choice of what career we pursued up to us. Their philosophy
was that as long as we always aimed to be the best and the top at what we did, they would
be happy. As a result of this, I decided in the end to pursue my true passion, which was
teaching.
Despite the lack of economic resources that my family had, we were always
surrounded with rich learning experiences. My mom would take us to the library every
week and required us to pick several books that we would have to finish within the week.
On Saturdays, she taught us how to read and write in Farsi, as well as how to read Arabic
42
so that we could read the Islamic holy book, the Koran. We had a book of science
experiments that we had picked up from a second hand store and my mom would often sit
down with us and go through the experiments. I believe that this is what sparked my
interest in science and what led me to want to pursue medicine for so long.
Looking back, there were several motivators that drove me to pursue a college
degree. For one, it was never really a choice of whether I wanted to go or not. But
despite this, my parents surrounded us with so many learning experiences and instilled
such a thirst for knowledge in us, that even if they had not pushed the idea of college, I
believe I still would have gone. In addition to this, I was motivated by the fact that I did
not ever want to struggle as my parents did. I always worked to make them proud
because I did not want them to ever feel as though their hard work went unnoticed. I
always admired their resilience and positive attitude throughout all of our hard times. I
can only imagine how bitter I would be if I went through and completed medical school,
only to never be able to practice it. I never got this feeling from my parents, though. They
always explained that even though they were not practicing as physicians and were not
making a lot of money, they had an abundance of knowledge that was priceless. For me,
the desire to show them that their effort to instill this love of learning in me was very
much appreciated was a main motivating factor for completing college.
Mariam
Like the researcher, Mariam’s family came to the U.S. from Afghanistan. Her
family’s reasons for leaving the country were also due to the Soviet invasion. Mariam,
now a registered nurse, was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. She described her lifestyle in
43
Afghanistan as a comfortable one. Her father was a college professor and her mother was
an elementary school teacher. The third of four children, Mariam was six-years-old when
her parents decided to leave the country. Fearing the war and the impending loss of
freedom, as well as her 14-year-old brother’s possible recruitment to the army, her
parents snuck through the border into Pakistan, where they stayed for two years.
Mariam’s family immigrated to the U.S. when she was eight-years-old and settled into
the San Francisco Bay Area where her mother stayed at home and her father worked as
an ESL teacher. Mariam Spoke Farsi and Pashto at home, and only learned English when
she came to the U.S. Her father did speak English, but since her mom spoke only Farsi,
they were not allowed to speak English at home. In fact, she stated that she would get in
trouble if she spoke English at home.
When Mariam first arrived in the U.S., she started school in the third grade.
Because of her limited English, Mariam had the option of attending an ESL immersion
program. However, her parents made the choice to have her go into an English only class
and attend one hour of ESL class a day. Their reasoning for this was that they felt that
she would fall behind if she was not motivated more and put into a class with only
English speaking students. They also felt the curriculum would not be the same in an
ESL program. Mariam noted that she believed that her parents’ education level played a
role in their making this choice.
Growing up in the U.S., Mariam described herself as “very, very poor. We were
bottom of the line poverty.” She stated that her family had public housing and were on
44
welfare. Her dad had a job working as an ESL teacher, but the family still struggled. She
said,
I remember being a little kid and, like, standing in line to go get our food stamps.
And my dad was there. We would go every month to turn in his paycheck and
they would deduct all of that from our assistance. (Um) I think watching that as
well kinda motivated all of us to say you know, school is the only way to go.
There’s no slacking off because I don’t want my dad to have to go through this for
the rest of his life. (Um), but he always taught us that there’s no shame in
working, there’s no shame in getting assistance. But to a certain extent.
Despite these struggles, she explained that her home was filled with love and compassion
and that everything they needed was provided for. Because of this, she did not realize
how poor they were until she grew up and started working. Mariam recalled that she got
her first job at 14 ½ to help ease the financial burden on her parents. She explained that
her parents never expected her or her siblings to bring money home, but that the children
felt it was their responsibility.
Mariam described the neighborhood she grew up in as a good blend of different
races: Hispanic, Black, White, Afghan, and Chinese were the races she recalled seeing
the most. Her neighborhood consisted of some middle class families, but the majority
were socioeconomically challenged. The schools she attended were similar to her
neighborhood, with a diverse population and a majority of low-income students.
When asked how she first found out about college, she stated that going to college
was not an option for her and her siblings. She recalled, “From the time we were little
45
kids it was always drilled into our heads. Like, you have no choice. If you’re my kid,
you’re going to college.” Seeing her older sister go straight into a four-year university
out of high school was also a motivation for her to attend college. She stated, “It was
like, I can’t be anything less than her!”
Mariam recalled her schooling in the U.S. and described her experiences with her
teachers. She stated that her fifth grade teacher played a big role in her attitude towards
school and contrasted her with her fourth grade teacher, who she described as cranky and
“not nice.” Mariam felt that her fourth grade teacher had no patience for her because her
English was not good and because she asked a lot of questions. She also felt that because
the wave of Afghan immigrants was just beginning, her teacher was not ready for how to
handle students from that region, or their language difficulties. She stated,
And she just wasn’t prepared for it. She couldn’t understand why I had
challenges keeping up. (Um) She was more of an arts teacher and she would put
us in art contests. And I hated art…And even like leaving her class to go to the
remedial class, I think she looked at it like, ugh, you’re such a waste of time.
Mariam did not remember her fourth grade teacher having any interaction with her
parents. Even at the parent-teacher conference, the teacher did not attend. Instead, her
parents conferenced with the school counselor.
Her fifth grade teacher, however, was the complete opposite. She recalled that
being in her class was the first time she did not feel any different from the other kids,
because her teacher did not treat her any differently. She said,
46
Then I go to fifth grade and it was the first time I didn’t feel different, cause she
didn’t treat me differently. She was just as hard on me as she was on all of the
native English speakers and she had the same expectations. And not once did that
ever come into play…Just the belief she had in us kinda made you wanna do
better.”
Her fifth grade teacher also had many interactions with her parents. She would reach out
to her parents and give updates on Mariam’s progress, as well as send notes home.
Although school was a challenge at first because of her language difficulties,
Mariam soon excelled. By fifth grade, she was in the GATE program and in high school
she took AP courses and described herself as an A/B student in terms of grades. After
completing high school, she attended a state university for two years and then transferred
to a private university, where she earned a bachelor’s in nursing.
When asked about any resources at home that she felt enabled her to go on to, and
complete college, Mariam stated that at home, school was always number one. Her
parents always put an emphasis on working hard and doing well. They would take
weekly trips to the library and constantly do homework together. She described how her
dad was very involved in her schoolwork and explained that he would sit down with her
every day and answer any questions she had, work on projects with her, and even read
her history books, so that he would be prepared to help her with anything that she had
trouble with. Mariam felt that all of this help made a difference in the long run. By high
school, she was in honors and AP classes. Mariam felt that her teachers were aware of
47
these things. She stated that she shared a lot with her teachers, and that is why they
probably knew more about her home life.
Mariam explained that she was very motivated by the desire to not let her parents
down. She felt that this was what played the biggest role in her drive to achieve a college
degree. She knew how much her parents gave up to bring her family to the U.S., so she
did not want to disappoint them. She also wanted to be successful so that she could
provide for her parents. In addition, Mariam had a strong drive to never be on public
assistance again. She explained that she wanted to be able to treat herself and her family
to the better things in life without having to struggle. She said,
It was always in the back of our heads of like, okay, what’s the formula of how to
get to where you wanna be. (Um) Do I wanna stay on public assistance forever.
No, cause that was drilled into our heads from my parents of like you’re not
gonna be…we’re doing this only because we had to.
Nicolae
Like his parents, Nicolae was born in Bucharest, Romania. His mom held a
master’s degree in education and was the director of a school for children aged three to
six, which prepared them for entering the first grade, and his dad had an associate’s
degree in telecommunications. When describing his lifestyle in Romania, Nicolae
explained that because his country was under communist rule for so long, most people
were poor or did not have much. His family lived in small apartment and he recalled
having a small black and white television that only had two channels.
48
Nicolae’s parents decided to immigrate to the U.S. because they felt that Nicolae
and his younger sister would have more opportunities here. He explained that although
the school system in Romania was good, there were not many opportunities after
graduating from college. He stated that most people who would attend college and earn a
degree would end up having to go outside the country to find work, and if they stayed,
college educated people would end up doing blue collar work. Nicolae’s father entered
the visa lottery just for the sake of trying, and was lucky enough to win. The family
moved to the U.S. when Nicolae was in the sixth grade. Once they arrived here, they
were on welfare for a few years until they started learning English and were able to find
decent work. Despite their education, his parents had to start from the bottom again and
work their way up.
Nicolae described the racial and ethnic composition of his neighborhood as
mostly African American and Mexican. He stated that most of the people in his
neighborhood were low income. Nicolae attended public school and explained that his
school was just as diverse as his neighborhood and that the students were mostly low
income.
Nicolae explained that he had some difficulty when he first came to the U.S. in
the 6th grade. He did not speak any English, but he recalls the school getting him a
dictionary when he was in 7th grade to help him with his communication. He was in ESL
for both 6th and 7th grade, but despite the language barrier when he first arrived, Nicolae
did well in school. He took AP classes throughout high school, averaging an A/B GPA,
49
and went on to a four year university where he earned a degree in mechanical and
aeronautical engineering.
From the time he was very young, Nicolae’s knew that he was going to go to
college. He stated that his parents never really sat him down and told him that he had to
go to college, but it was assumed that that was the path his life was going to take.
Although his parents always expected him to go to college, Nicolae began to realistically
think about college in 10th grade, when he started taking AP classes. He decided to take
the courses to gain college credit and save money.
When asked who had the biggest influence in setting his educational goals,
Nicolae responded that it was his parents who motivated him the most. He stated,
So as soon as we came here, I mean I already knew. When we came here in ’95,
my parents always told us, hey, you know we left everyone back there. We left
our family, our relatives, you know everybody that we knew. We sold our
apartment, all the furniture. They basically left their life behind and they came
here for a reason. Like, they came here for us and they expected us to make the
most of that opportunity cause not a lot of people get that chance. So they told us
early on, like, you gotta go to college and get a good degree. And my dad would
always tell us, like, get a degree that actually counts, you know. Go into
something, something productive that you’re gonna make good use of that degree
later on when you actually get into the workplace. Which is why I went into
engineering.
50
Nicolae felt that his AP history teacher played a significant role in his attitude
towards school. He described him as a nice teacher who made him feel like he needed to
try as hard as he could. He encouraged his students to do better if they needed help and
even if they did poorly, he was always positive and optimistic.
As far as how he felt his teachers perceived him, Nicolae believed that they saw
him as “bright and smart, but a little lazy.” He felt that they perceived his parents well
also and that they always knew that his parents were educated because his parents would
tell them their background. Regardless of this knowledge, though, the teachers did not
have much interaction with his parents, besides the mandatory parent/teacher
conferences.
Nicolae had many resources at home that supported his formal education. When
he was very young, his mother would play counting games and other learning games with
him that helped him develop and prepare for school. He stated that when he got older,
his parents did not help as much, but he knew that they were always there if he needed
help.
There were many factors that motivated Nicolae to pursue a college education.
For one, he knew that he was given a huge opportunity to be successful, thanks to the risk
his parents took to bring their family to the U.S. He explained that because he saw his
parents struggle so much, he did not want his parents to ever regret their decision to leave
everything behind and bring their family here. He explained,
I’ve always told myself that there’s millions of kids that would want to be in my
spot, in other countries, that would love to be here, and would go very far. Maybe
51
even farther than I’ve gone. And so I’ve always told myself, don’t waste it,
because it will be a shame on you and your parents because of what they’ve left
behind and had to start a life all over so I can come here.
Another huge motivator for Nicolae was the economic security that came along with a
college education. Throughout the interview, he recalled not having much growing up.
He described how in Romania, his grandfather would take him to the store to look at the
toys. Because they could never afford to buy the toys, it was an experience in and of
itself for him to get to go to the store and just look at the toys. Nicolae described himself
as a bit materialistic, wanting to ensure that he could always buy himself what he wanted.
He concluded our interview by stating that because of his rough financial situation
growing up, he would never deny himself something that was within his reach.
Fernando
Fernando was the only one of the participants interviewed who did not have
parents who were college educated. Therefore, his situation is different from the other
participants, but he was purposely included in this study by the researcher in order to get
a comparison of immigrant students with and without college educated parents.
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Fernando’s family consisted of
his mother, who was also born in the U.S.; his father, who was born and raised in
Morelia, Mexico; and his younger sister. Fernando’s mom’s lifestyle while growing up
was rough. She lived with her father, a single parent, and 10 other siblings. They moved
from house to house a lot and sometimes even spent time living in their car. Growing up,
his mom worked as a clerk at a grocery store. Fernando’s dad had a lower middle class
52
lifestyle while living in Mexico, but after immigrating to the U.S. as a teenager for better
economic opportunities, he struggled to make ends meet. Fernando recalled his dad
having several different jobs while he was growing up, such as a mechanical technician,
chef, and maintenance worker.
When asked to describe his family’s financial situation, Fernando responded with,
“We were extremely poor.” He stated that the racial and ethnic composition of the
neighborhood he grew up in was a mixture of Asians, Latinos, Blacks, and Whites, while
the socioeconomic composition was low to low middle class. The schools he attended
followed this same trend.
Fernando felt that his mom influenced him the most in setting educational goals.
He stated that from a very young age, she always drilled the idea of college into his head.
To his mom, however, attending any college was not enough. She made it a point to
encourage him to attend the best colleges with the highest reputations. He stated,
She just wanted me to succeed and not to work as hard and get little in return as
they do. She would constantly say how they would work themselves to the bone
for pennies.
Fernando stated that he did not feel that his teachers played a major role in his
decision to go to college. He said that they were always supportive, but he felt that
although they thought he was bright, they never really believed he could succeed and go
to college. He explained that the teachers were supportive of students with other cultural
backgrounds, like White students and Asian students, who Fernando felt as though he
was on the same level academically as, but he stated that he never got the same type of
53
support as the other students did. For example, he recalled that teachers would talk to
these students about college, but they did not have those same types of discussions with
him. He said,
But I felt that they didn’t see me as bright as I really was due to the fact that they
saw me as less important or less successful because of my race. They might have
saw my potential as being lower.
He recounted, quite resentfully, that rather than supporting and encouraging him, some
teachers actually hindered his abilities. Although Fernando spoke both Spanish and
English at home, he was in ESL for the first few years of elementary school.
Recognizing Fernando’s struggles with English, his kindergarten teacher advised his
mom to stop speaking Spanish to him at home because she felt that it was causing him to
mix up the two languages. As a result, he feels that his Spanish is not as strong now as it
could have been.
Like the other participants interviewed, Fernando was able to graduate from high
school successfully, despite the challenges that he faced. He was enrolled in AP courses
in high school and was always at the top of his class. Fernando went straight to a four
year university after high school and recently earned his master’s in nursing, as well as
his nurse practitioner license.
Fernando stated that he felt his parents made a good effort to provide him with
resources and opportunities that would benefit him academically. His mom read to him
as often as she could, took him to the library, and used as many free resources as she
could find, such as educational events at the park. She also enrolled him in, and drove
54
him around to, a number of different extracurricular activities and volunteer
opportunities. His dad also provided him with experiences by taking him along on many
of his jobs. Fernando recalls that these trips with his dad to work laid the foundation for
his interest in math and science. He stated that his dad tried to teach him about simple
engineering, like how certain machinery that he was using worked. He stated, “I didn’t
know it was physics, but we learned how to properly support structures. I learned how to
make a plan for what you’re going to build.” When asked if he thought teachers were
aware of these experiences that his family provided him with, Fernando stated that he did
not feel that they knew of any of these things. Instead, he thought the teachers viewed his
parents as uneducated and not bringing anything to the table, other than possibly
hindering his education by speaking to him in Spanish.
Fernando’s main motivation for pursuing a college degree was that he wanted to
break the barrier and be the first in his family to graduate from college. Like the other
participants who were interviewed, there was a monetary motivation as well. He wanted
to be able to live a comfortable lifestyle without having to do manual labor like his
parents did.
Data Analysis
After comparing and analyzing the participants’ responses, several themes
emerged. One common thread throughout the participants’ responses was the
circumstances under which they, or their parents, immigrated to the U.S. All of the
participants whose parents were college-educated came to the U.S., at least partially,
because they felt staying in their home country was not a viable option anymore due to
55
the political or economic situation there. Neither of the participants, nor their families,
came to the U.S. with the intention of returning to their home country one day; they all
knew that there would be no looking back.
A second theme that emerged was the downward mobility that the participants’
families who escaped as war refugees experienced. Both the researcher’s and Mariam’s
families left a comfortable lifestyle behind in their home countries. Despite being college
educated, they struggled for many years after they came to the U.S.
Another theme that emerged was the supportive nature of each of the participants’
families. They all had at least one parent who encouraged them very early on to go to
college. In fact, in most instances, the participants were not even given a choice. Going
to college was something that was expected of them, and they never second guessed
whether or not they really wanted to attend.
A related theme to the parents’ supportive nature is the resources that each of the
parents provided for their children and the engaged parenting that they participated in.
Although all of the families struggled financially, they did whatever was in their means to
provide learning opportunities for their children to ensure that they made it college.
Almost all of the participants recalled making weekly library visits. In addition, they
were surrounded with a rich home environment where they could always get support with
homework, where they were read to, and where the parents did everything in their power
to nurture their learning. Although these activities did not specifically create funds of
knowledge for the participants, this type of engaged parenting certainly aided in their
educational endeavors.
56
The students’ experiences with teachers were a bit varied. Half of the participants
did not recall any negative experiences with teachers, but the other half had a negative
experience with at least one teacher. The two participants who did have these negative
experiences both felt that the teacher had a negative perception of them based on their
language difficulties. In addition to this, one of the participants felt that his teachers’
negative perceptions of him were due not only to language, but to race.
Two other themes that emerged were both in relation to the participants’
motivation to attend college. They all felt that the primary reason for why they attended
college is that it was something that was always expected of them and that was
considered by their families to just be a natural progression of their life. Stopping with a
high school diploma was unfathomable in each of the participants’ situations.
Each of the participants had a strong inclination to attend college so that they
would not have to struggle as their parents did. For some, the motivator was getting off
public assistance, for others it was the fact that they did not want to do manual labor and
work themselves as hard as their parents did. They all had a strong desire to do better
than their parents so that they could afford nice things and live comfortably.
None of the participants seemed to realize or acknowledge the funds of
knowledge that they possessed. However, the researcher was able to identify some
common areas in which many of them did in fact possess funds of knowledge. For one,
the researcher, as well as Mariam and Nicolae, all received public assistance. All three of
these individuals would often accompany their parents when they would go to pick up
checks or food stamps. These interactions with public assistance agencies may have
57
taught the subjects business and math skills. Not only did they watch their parents
interact with individuals at these agencies, which may have taught them how to negotiate
and interact with people on a professional level, but they also may have learned how to
take this money and budget it for a family.
Both Mariam and the researcher took part in other activities with family members
outside of the home that equipped them with funds of knowledge. During a follow up
interview, Mariam recalled taking her mom to doctor’s appointments and having to
translate for them. This translation between the doctor and her mom taught her valuable
information that she could have extended into her science classes. It may be a stretch, but
it is the researcher’s interpretation that these experiences may have aided Mariam in her
trajectory to becoming a registered nurse. Like Mariam, the researcher recalls several
activities that she participated in with different family members outside of the home, that
can also be considered areas of funds of knowledge.
The researcher would often
accompany her father on his trips to garage sales to find items to sell at the flea market.
During these experiences, the researcher learned how to haggle, how to stay within a
budget, and how to run a business to maximize profits. In addition to this, she would
frequently go with her grandmother, who did not speak any English, to the grocery store.
Her grandmother had not ever had any formal schooling, so it was the researcher’s job to
interpret for her grandmother. She would tell her what the total was, and then would help
her figure out which bills she would need to take out of her purse to pay. These instances
became opportunities for the researcher to learn how to handle money. These types of
experiences, where the subjects acted as brokers between adult family members and
58
societal institutions created funds of knowledge. Through these experiences, the subjects
learned how to communicate using adult-like academic language as well as how to
communicate with the culture of power. Understanding how to effectively use this
language in the real world, may in effect have helped them more easily navigate the
world as adults.
All of the subjects in the study participated in activities at home with at least one
of their parents which provided them with funds of knowledge. The researcher and
Mariam aided their mothers in the kitchen, which taught them about math and science.
Both Nicola and Fernando would help their fathers at home. Nicolae would help his
father fix old radios and computers, while Fernando helped his father build things. These
activities inadvertently taught them science.
The researcher, Mariam, and Nicolae all reported having an increased awareness
of politics and social issues because of their family’s circumstances with immigrating to
the United States. Each of these subjects’ households were often filled with talk of what
was going on in their home countries and how the international community was involved.
Although these conversations were not always directed towards the subjects, they gained
a great amount of knowledge about foreign policy from constantly overhearing these
conversations. However, none of the subjects could recall their teachers utilizing this
information in the classroom.
59
Chapter 5
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The intent of this study was to explore what funds of knowledge students from
immigrant families possess and if and how these funds of knowledge were ever utilized
in their classrooms by teachers. The following research questions guided this study:
1. What types of funds of knowledge did first and second generation immigrant
students (in K-12) from low SES backgrounds possess?
2. What types of funds of knowledge do subjects recall as being utilized in their K12 learning?
3. What types of funds of knowledge enable students to matriculate into, and
graduate from, four-year universities?
4. What funds of knowledge have helped low SES immigrant students pursue and
complete a bachelor’s degree?
After conducting interviews, it was found that all of the participants did in fact engage in
activities at home that provided them with funds of knowledge. However, only one of
the participants actually recalled these funds of knowledge being utilized in their
classrooms. This was in the case of the researcher herself when one of her teachers asked
her to do a presentation on her religion. Other than this, however, the participants did not
believe that their teachers were aware of the funds of knowledge that they possessed. As
a result, the subjects’ achievement may not have been shaped by any deliberate act on the
60
part of the teachers. Because of this, the study did not establish any direct relationship
between funds of knowledge and matriculation into and completion of college.
The interviews with these participants revealed that despite one’s financial
situation, it is possible to succeed academically with the help of a supportive and
encouraging family. Even in the face of teachers’ negative attitudes towards students,
and upbringings in families with parents with no college education, encouragement may
be able to override all obstacles that stand in the way of pursuing a college degree. All of
the participants that were interviewed came from low-income families, attended low
performing public schools, and faced challenges both at home and at school. Yet despite
all of this, they were able to defy the odds and graduate from college. It must be noted,
however, that encouragement alone is not enough for one to succeed academically. Poor
quality schooling and/or other circumstances may inhibit some students from reaching
their goal of attending a four-year university, despite an abundance of encouragement
from their families.
Each of the participants noted how the culture of their households was one in
which college was just a given. They were all told from a very young age that they were
going to go to college; there were no discussions or arguments about it. This seems to
have played a huge role in the students’ achievement in school. They were all motivated
to do well because of their parents’ expectations of them and as a result, they all knew
that they had to earn a college degree to be successful in their parents’ eyes.
From the participants’ responses it seems as though a desire for upward mobility
is one key factor in enabling one to obtain a college degree. All of the interviewees noted
61
a desire for material things as a driving force for pursuing college. They all witnessed
their parents’ struggle and knew that they had to make more of themselves because of
what their parents gave up to come to the U.S. It must be noted, however, that each of the
participants’ families viewed a college education as a means for upward mobility.
Although a college degree is a great tool for all to have, there are certain subgroups who
do not benefit as much from earning degree. For example, Whites who earn a BA earn
more income over their lifetime than Blacks who earn a BA (U.S. Department of Labor,
2012). Thus, although education was a driving force for the participants in this study, not
all groups may see a college degree as the best way to achieve upward mobility.
Recommendations
The findings in this study can be used to help teachers see the importance of
students’ funds of knowledge. Some of the participants who were interviewed spoke
about experiences where their teacher had no idea how much help and support they
received at home and simply thought that because their parents did not speak English
very well or because they were low income, that they did not have opportunities at home.
Teachers can benefit from getting to know their students’ families. Parents play a big
role in students’ lives, and enlisting their help and support in their child’s education will
help the teacher in the long run. All of the participants stated that the only interaction
that their parents had with their teachers was during parent/teacher conferences. To
really get to know a students’ background, however, these meetings are not enough.
There are a number of things that teachers can do to benefit their immigrant
students. A good start would be reaching out to families to get to know them better. This
62
can be done through surveys that are sent home, home visits, and invitations to parents to
share their knowledge in the classroom. Surveys are an easy way for teachers to reach
out to parents. They can be sent home and then can be used throughout the year to refer
to and see what types of things students engage in at home as well as information about
parents and the types of activities that they are well versed in.
Home visits can be a challenge for many teachers, but it is a great way to really
get to know a family and understand what a student’s home life is like. These visits can
be used to engage in informal conversations about the student and the types of things that
they help out with at home. This way, teachers can get a better idea of what types of
funds of knowledge students may possess.
Inviting parents into the classroom can also be difficult at times, because some
immigrant parents may not feel very comfortable with this because they may feel that
they are overstepping their boundaries. Many parents feel as though a classroom is not
their place, and that the teacher is the expert. This is where parent surveys may come in
handy. If teachers use these surveys to find out what parents are good at and what field
they work in, they can ask them to come in on days where the students are learning about
a topic that relates to this particular field. This way, the students are able to make a real
world connection to their learning and parents and teachers are able to work together to
help the students.
Like the above example, immigrant parents can do a number of things to help
their children. Teachers are often the ones who are reaching out to parents, but it is also
important for parents to make an effort to reach out to the school. Parents are their
63
children’s strongest advocate, so it is important for them to remember that they have a
right to be involved in their child’s education.
Immigrant parents can also help their children by making sure to include them in
household activities. Even if parents are not formally educated, they can still provide
their children with background knowledge that will assist them with their learning at
school. After all, funds of knowledge are often indirectly passed down to children.
Finally, it is important for administrators to get involved in bridging the
relationship between the home and school. Many parents are often reluctant to raise their
voice and ask for help, or even to make suggestions. Therefore, the administrator plays a
key role in ensuring that parents feel comfortable enough to come to the school and voice
their opinions. Administrators can set up weekly chats, where parents can show up and
have informal conversations with the principal about any concerns or suggestions that
they have. In addition, the school can set up night events like parent homework help
nights. This way, parents have an opportunity to come in and ask the teacher for help
with assisting their children with school work at home, without feeling like they are being
a burden to the teacher or embarrassed for needing help.
Helping to close the immigrant achievement gap will be a long and difficult
journey, but it is one that needs to happen. If teachers, parents, and administrators work
together, this task will be far easier than if they all tried to do it alone.
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Appendix A

Where were you born?

Where were your parents born?

What were the highest grades your mother and father completed?

What were your parents’ occupations while you were growing up (until you
finished high school)?

Describe their lifestyle in their home country.

What was their reason for immigrating to the U.S.?

What languages were spoken in the home growing up?

What college(s) and graduate school(s) did you attend and what degrees were you
awarded?

How did you find out about colleges?

What is your current occupation?

Describe your financial situation growing up in the U.S.

Describe the racial/ethnic composition of the neighborhoods you grew up in.

Describe the socio-economic composition of the neighborhoods you grew up in.

What was the racial/ethnic composition of the schools you attended?

What was the socio-economic composition of the schools you attended?

Who influenced you the most in setting educational goals?

Are there any teachers who you feel played a significant role in your attitude
towards school, either positive or negative?
65

Were you ever placed in special classes in school (GATE, AP courses, remedial
courses, college prep courses, bilingual, etc.)?

How were your grades throughout school?

When do you remember first deciding to go to college?

How do you feel teachers perceived you in school?

How did they perceive your family?

Did teachers ever reach out to your parents/family to learn more about them and
their strengths?

Was there a relationship between the school/teacher and your home/parents?

What opportunities did your parents provide you at home?

Were teachers aware of these?

What do you feel most helped you achieve a college degree, your parents or
teachers?

What other factors do you feel played a role in your academic achievement and
ability to graduate from college?
66
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