Preparing Preservice Teachers to Meet the Needs of Hmong Refugee Students
Author(s):
Mccall, Ava L.; Vang, Bee
Format:
Journal article
Citation:
Multicultural Perspectives, Volume 14, Issue 1 (2012). pp. 32-37.
Language:
English
Abstract:
The United States is home to more than two million refugees since 1975, with over half arriving as children. Refugees are semi-voluntary immigrants fleeing persecution in their home countries and seeking a country willing to resettle them. They may have experienced war, separation from or loss of family, and loss of home and basic needs. One example is the Hmong who fled their home country of Laos beginning in the 1970s due to their alliance with the United States in the Vietnam War. They continued to enter the United States through 2004 when the last Hmong refugee camp in Thailand closed; currently over 200,000 Hmong live in the United States. How can one prepare preservice teachers to meet the needs of Hmong refugee students they may face in their future classrooms? In this article, the authors draw on their experiences as a European American woman teacher educator and Hmong woman classroom teacher who regularly teach about Hmong refugee culture in a social studies methods course for preservice teachers. They also summarize Sleeter and Grant's (2009) recommendations for a multicultural social justice approach to teaching about refugee cultures and their application of these guidelines in their teaching. In addition, they offer specific ideas for teaching authentically about Hmong refugee culture.