The challenges of the Hmong culture: A study of teacher, counselor and administrator training in a time of changing demographics
Author(s):
Walker, Wendy Dianne
Format:
Thesis
Degree granted:
Ed.D.
Publisher:
Ann Arbor : Harvard University, 1989.
Pages:
259
Language:
English
Abstract:
Culture influences the skill development, behavior and learning styles of Hmong students. The pre-literate, pre-technical background of the Hmong provides some advantages, including the early development of memory and fine motor skills. But, because of their tribal identity, Hmong students are best suited to cooperative learning situations. And because Hmong students come from an oral tradition and lack familiarity with the written word, they may lag behind other students in decontextualizing and conceptualizing. Standardized tests are biased against students whose learning style does not prepare them for individualized competition or whose culture does not prepare them for the test format. As a result, Hmong and other Southeast Asian refugee students are often placed in low-level ESL classes in which they receive an inferior education. ESL classes are often too easy for them, neglect subject material and cause them to be segregated from primary English speakers. ESL students do not receive the counseling necessary to put them on the college track. Because of this, and because of political and administrative barriers, there are few fully credentialed Hmong or other Southeast Asian educators who could help United States school districts bridge the cultural gap. Schools have responded in isolation, especially to the unusual needs of students whose parents come from rural and preliterate backgrounds. Even though they are aware of the inferior quality of education their children are receiving, refugee communities, such as the Hmong, are failing to effectively interact with administrators, counselors and teachers because their spokesmen are not recognized without formal credentials and a full command of English. One solution is para-professional counselors, who could act as resources rather than as interpreters or case workers for school personnel and who could help both students and parents by easing the tension between home and school. Qualitative interviews with Hmong students, parents, refugee community leaders, and school personnel are the basis of a comparison of the Providence, Rhode Island and Merced, California schools. The research also includes experiential data from three years the author spent working in refugee camps in Thailand.