Ann Arbor : University of California, Davis, 2016.
Pages:
71
Language:
English
Abstract:
Previously, researchers have analyzed Hmong educational experiences through cultural (i.e., focusing on Hmong gender roles) and structural explanations (i.e., focusing on resources and mobility). This study takes a different approach by integrating Woodson (1933/1972) and Constantino’s (1982) concepts of mis-education to examine how the American education system impacts Hmong students and their community. These scholars focus on: controlled thinking/captured mind (i.e. using education as a tool for American imperialism), community division (i.e. an American education can create divisions within one’s community), and United State’s history (i.e. social studies distorts the true history of minorities). My study integrates this framework to create what I term, the mis-education of the Hmong. This entails studying the Hmong community while recognizing that: education is seen as a path to financial stability (i.e. the belief that education is critical for a successful future); divide the Hmong community (i.e. how education publically and privately creates spaces of division within the Hmong community); and Hmong missing in U.S. history (i.e. social science classes not including Hmong history into their curriculum). Data for this study were gathered through a case study of six Hmong families, California’s curriculum standards, critique of California’s social studies curriculum, and the researcher’s own personal experiences in education. This study challenges future researchers, educators, community members, and students to re-examine the American educational system and its curriculum in order to educate and empower Hmong students in America.