Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

8-2008

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph. D.

Department (Legacy)

Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology

Committee Chair

Stringfield, Sam

Author's Keywords

Bantu; Refugee; Bantu children; School adaptation; Acculturation; MANOVA; Somali; Children

Subject

Bantu-speaking peoples--United States--Social conditions; Somali Americans--United States; Somalis--United States; Somalis--Cultural assimilation; Immigrant children--Education--United States

Abstract

The number of refugees being uprooted from their homes to seek refuge and resettlement in countries like the United States continues to grow, with large numbers being children. While each refugee group has its own set of challenges when adjusting to a new country, a better understanding of their needs may help facilitate their transition more quickly with lesser challenges. This study investigated the adjustment of one such group--Somali Bantus in a Midwestern U.S. city. Specifically, acculturation and school adaptation of Somali Bantu refugee children was explored using the Differentiated Multidimensional Model of Acculturation. Somali Bantu refugee children in 5 elementary schools were asked to complete a questionnaire that assessed their level of acculturation to American culture and level of retention of Somali Bantu culture, at three levels i.e. language, identity, and behavior. The 5 ESL teachers were asked to complete a questionnaire that assessed total difficulties in behaviors for each of their Somali Bantu student. Correlations, MANOVAs, and hierarchical regression analyses were used to analyze the data. The findings of this study documented the significant role of school context in the acculturation and school adaptation of these Somali Bantu refugee children. The findings demonstrated that age was statistically, significantly, and negatively related to overall American Acculturation (AAI) and statistically, significantly, and positively related to Proficiency Level Composite scores. These students' AAI scores were statistically, significantly, and positively related to their Somali Acculturation Index (SAI) scores. Furthermore, SAI scores were statistically, significantly, and positively related to grades on Social Behavior and grades on Social Behavior and Work Study Habits were statistically, significantly, and positively related. Also, age and length of time in the country were statistically, significantly, and positively related. The hierarchical regression analyses for AAI and ABA suggested that the demographic variables age, length of time in the US and gender did not contribute to any significant variance and school contributed a moderate variance to the overall AAI and ABA scores. School contributed substantially more incremental variance to ALA and AIA than did the other variables (age, length of time in the US and gender). Overall, the theoretical model including age, length of time in the US, gender and school explained 18, 25, 17 and 13 percent of the variance in the AAI, ALA, AIA and ABA respectively. The hierarchical regression analyses for SAI, SLA, SIA and SBA suggested that the demographic variables age, length of time in the US and gender contributed marginally significant variance. School contributed substantially more incremental variance to SAI, SLA and SBA and a small incremental variance to SIA than did the other demographic variables. Overall, the theoretical model including age, length of time in the US, gender and school explained 36, 20, 15, and 41 percent of the variance in the SAI, SLA, SIA, and SBA respectively. The hierarchical regression analyses for the school outcomes suggested that the demographic variables age, length of time in the US and gender contributed marginally significant variance in Total Difficulties and Proficiency Level Composite scores but none for Grades on Social behavior and Work Study Habits. School contributed slightly more incremental variance to Total Difficulties and Proficiency Level Composite scores a. Acculturation did not contribute to any significant variance in any of the school outcomes. Overall, the theoretical model including age, length of time in the US, gender, school, and American acculturation explained 26, 18, 16, and 38 percent of the variance and age, length of time in the US, gender, school, and Somali acculturation explained 26, 22, 16, and 41 percent of the variance in the Total Difficulties, Grades on Social Behavior, Grades on Work Study Habits, and Proficiency Level Composite scores, respectively. The potential implications for theory and practice related to acculturation and school adaptation of Somali Bantu refugee children and teachers and school administrators working with them are provided.

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