Hmong Male Youth and School Choice in a Neoliberal Era.
Author(s):
Smalkoski, Kari
Format:
Journal article
Publisher:
2018.
Language:
English
Abstract:
This article critically examines the peer violence and social isolation that Hmong male youth encounter in a predominately white and affluent suburban middle school. It addresses the ways racialization impacts Hmong boys' experiences with peers and how bullying narratives mask these conflicts. The research draws on a different set of questions about Hmong youths' educational achievement to analyze, disrupting the belief that first generation Hmong male youths' primary challenges in schools are learning English, assimilation, and shyness. I analyze the ways male youth respond to these narratives by creating their own forms of capital through the cultural practice of soccer where they create protective spaces that involve alternative masculinities and built-in peer support networks that create pathways to higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]