Minority status and schooling of the Hmong in Vietnam.
Author(s):
Minh Phuong Luong; Nieke, Wolfgang
Format:
Journal article
Citation:
Hmong Studies Journal, Volume 14, (2013-12). pp. Jan-37.
Language:
English
Abstract:
This study examines the disproportionately poor academic performance of the Hmong among the minorities in Vietnam by using Ogbu's cultural ecological theory (Ogbu, 2003). Societal and school factors have been assumed by many policy makers and scholars to affect minorities' equally, but the paper argues that may not be the case when minority status is taken into account. "Community forces" are pointed to as the putative cause of the Hmong's differential academic performance. "Community forces" of each ethnic group are related to their status as a minority group, which orients their interpretations and responses to schooling. In this paper, the minority status of the Hmong is explained through their group development history, settlement patterns, livelihoods and economic adaptive strategies and political participation through a review of the scholarly literature on the Hmong. Additionally, field research was conducted in Vietnam using a grounded theory approach to ethnography to understand how minority status influences community forces, and in turn, how these community forces affect the schooling of Hmong students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]