Understanding Culture and Youth within Educational Institutions: Beyond Cultural Definitions to Cultural Change Contexts

1
Understanding Culture and Youth within
Educational Institutions Beyond Cultural
Definitions to Cultural Change Contexts

• Martha Montero-Sieburth, Ed. D.
• Research Fellow
• Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies
• University of Amsterdam
• m.montero_at_uva.nl
• European Conference on Educational Research
• A Global Society Implications for Education and
  Educational Research Invited Symposium - in
  cooperation with WERA, World Education Research
  Association
• Helsinki, Finland, August 26, 2010

2
Intent of Presentation

• Intent is to discuss the role of culture as it
  relates to youth within educational institutions
  and what this means in terms of changes taking
  place in different contexts
• Tendency to overemphasize formal schooling over
  the significance of informal learning which takes
  place in community settings and among peers
• Essentializing of the concept of culture rather
  than contextualizing concept

3
Intent

• Discuss ways in which cultural change has been
  thought of in the education of immigrant children
  to explain their academic achievement in schools
  and how such achievement and culture relates to
  their ethnic or indigenous group
• Based on a review of secondary literature
  research
• Own research in the analysis of explanatory
  models used for the academic achievement of
  Latinos in the U. S., which has been researched
  extensively for close to 80 years
• Research conducted in Latin American classrooms
  where the indigenous is compared to the normative
  schooling culture

4
Intent

• Identify the explanations currently being used in
  Europe for academic achievement which focus on
• Culture versus structure in the social mobility
  and school attainment of immigrants
• Structural analysis of second generation research
  
• Using own ethnographic research of Dutch second
  generation high school youth of Turkish descent
  in the Netherlands undertaken over a 3 year
  period.
• Using research of Latin American immigrants in
  the Canary Islands, Spain where intercultural
  education is used as a mediating variable

5
Intent

• Conclude by identifying implications of such
  explanatory models for youth within educational
  institutions
• In terms of local cultures and identities
• Ignoring of youth
• Suppression of youth
• Need to examine the reinvention and extension
  taking place for youth through the creation of
  multiple identities in their negotiation of
  cultural change contexts

6
Reviews of Secondary Literature

• Initial Review
• Montero-Sieburth, M. and M. C. Batt (2001). An
  Overview of the Educational Models used to
  Explain the Academic Achievement of Latino
  Students Implications for Research and Policies
  into the New Millennium. In Robert Slavin and
  Margarita Calderón (Eds.). Effective Programs
  for Latino Students. Mahwah, N. J. Lawrence
  Erlbaum Associates, pp. 331-368.
• Second Review focused on Reform Efforts
• Montero-Sieburth, M. (2005). Explanatory Models
  of Latino/a Education During the Reform Movement
  of the 1980s. In Pedro Pedraza and Melissa
  Rivera (Eds.). Latino Education An Agenda for
  Community Action Research, Mahwah, New Jersey,
  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 99-153.
• Third review was on an overview of Latino
  academic achievement explanations and a critique
  of these
• Montero-Sieburth, M. (2007). Academic Models
  Explaining Achievement. In Lourdes Díaz Soto
  (Ed.). Praeger Handbook of Latino Education in
  the United States, Vol. 1, Praeger Publishers,
  pp. 8-23.
• Present review of research of a comparative
  nature of explanatory models used n the U. S. and
  Europe, particularly the Netherlands and Spain.

7
Educational Explanatory Models

• Explanations based on social science research
  which has been conducted to identify and find
  solutions to deal with the attendant problem of
  why some students fail while others succeed in
  schools.
• Educational institutions are held to be the
  producers of opportunities for success, yet their
  underlying assumptions have implicit meanings
• About what success is and who decides what it
  should look like.
• About how such success is tied to culture, with
  the notion of what culture and whose culture?

8
Educational Explanatory Models

• Such assumptions operate from the stance of
  normative cultures (dominant/subordinate,
  majority/minority)
• In U. S., explanations abound about
• Why Latino students fail in comparison to their
  White European counterparts or in relation to
  other ethnic groups
• Failure is a code word and antithesis of success.
• Academic achievement in attaining specific scores
  in testing and completion of grades.

9
Explanatory Models

• In the case of youth in Latin America,
  comparisons are often made in terms of social
  class differences
• Indigenous youth from rural areas are compared to
  those in urbanized centers thus failure refers to
  not measuring up to urban, civilized status
• Indigenous youth from low socio economic class
  are often differentiated from middle class
  through schooling
• Indigenous youth are compared on the basis of
  their social capital, while they often experience
  discrimination in schooling
• A culture of exclusion rather than inclusion
  prevails.

10
Research Focus

• Research focus for explanations about achievement
  arise from cross group and within group
  comparisons
• Analysis of Latinos vis a vis White European
  counterparts
• Latinos in relation to African Americans, Asians,
  Native Americans
• Indigenous youth compared to middle class youth
  in Mexico, Guatemala, etc.
• Latin American immigrant youth compared to native
  Spaniards and other immigrants
• Such studies tend to be large scale and
  longitudinal
• They also tend to generalize disavowing for
  unique characteristics that are prevalent,
  differences from urban marginal experiences,
  gender, education of parents, etc.

11
Culture Concept

• Culture is often defined in terms of the
  normative cultures value of wealth, knowledge,
  cultural and social capital.
• Eric Wolf points out that the culture concept is
  a product of the age of nationalism.
• Thus cultural incorporation is about becoming
  like the majority culture/society and in some
  countries is about
• Assimilation
• Integration

12
Power of Explanatory Models of Academic
Achievement

• Such explanations take on not only
  epistemological power, of being truths
  identified by social scientists, educators,
  policy makers
• Assume the power of paradigms that represent
• Eurocentric perspectives
• a) Native Dutch interests over non-natives
  (allochtone versus autoctone)
• b) Majority Spanish cultural norms over
  foreigners
• Majority Culture power dynamics based on
• c) Social Class differences as seen throughout
  Latin America
• d) Dominant WASP culture in relation to newcomers
  and immigrants

13
Culture Concept

• Hans Vermeulen (2000) alludes to the ways of
  speaking about culture as culturalistic and
  uses the idea of culturalistic fallacy to refer
  to
• those ways of speaking and writing about
  culture which depict cultures as sharply
  bounded, homogenous and relatively unchanging
  entities, transmitted on from generation to
  generation (p.2).
• Culture is often used to explain behavior for
  which there is no explanation and alludes this to
  certain groups.
• In research, we refer to this use of culture as
  essentializing

14
Attributes within Educational Explanatory Models

• Measured in the U. S., Latin America, and Europe
  by competences achieved in
• Language Learning
• Standard versus non-standard
• Passing of language examinations that are often
  part of national testing programs
• Achieving Language communication for the job
  market
• Adaptation of social and cultural behaviors and
  attitudes
• Un American to speak Spanish in certain
  contexts
• Enjoying privileges in the Netherlands requires
  learning the Dutch way of life
• If they want to enjoy their livelihoods in
  Spain, they have to act as Spaniards
• Love it or leave it
• Civic responsibilities
• Induced by strong coercive policies, you must be
  a responsible citizen
• Characterized by using economic gains for process
  of democratization

15
Culture Linked to Explanatory Models

• Explanatory models are historically and socially
  embedded and are linked to the social and
  cultural integration and normative cultural
  reproduction often spurned by policies. In the U.
  S., identified during these time periods
• 1920s Great wave of immigration (melting pot
  ideology)
• 1930s Nationalistic trends (cultural pluralism)
• 1940s War time
• 1950s Suburban expansion, white flight
• 1960s War on Poverty, the Great Society
  (cultural deprivation)
• 1970s New immigration (cultural differences)
• 1980s Reform waves (NCLB)
• 1990s Neo-liberalistic trends (cultural
  adaptation to economic structures)
• 2000s Globalization and transnational
  influences (cultural resilience, multiple
  identities)

16
Culture Linked to Explanatory Models in Latin
America

• Historically embedded in pre-Colombian, Conquest,
  and Post-conquest ideologies of social, cultural,
  and racial class differences for Latin America
• Mignolo (2008) attributes much of the
  post-colonialist thought to capitalism and which
  serves to devalue the humanity of competitors and
  those who offer low cost labor.

17
Culture Linked to Explanatory Models

• He argues that social class differences were set
  up during the colonization process of Latin
  America and persist to the present.

Christians/Spaniards
Christians
Moriscos
Mestizos/as
Mulatos/as
Conversos
Jews
Moors
Indians
Blacks
Zambos
18
Analysis of Dutch Explanatory Models for Turkish
Youth in Schooling

• Analysis of secondary data Research studies
  conducted by social scientists in the Netherlands
  over the past twenty years on immigrant youth of
  second generation and their academic achievement
  have focused on
• motivation, attitudes towards learning
  (psychological adaptation)
• ethnic identity, (cultural identity)
• acculturation patterns, (cultural identity)
• engagement and tracking trajectories from
  elementary to secondary and higher education.
• Culture has been treated in terms of specific
  ethnic groups but also psychological, and
  adaptation factors

19
Dutch Analysis

• Growing numbers of qualitative studies in the
  Netherlands (Bowen Paulle, Yvonne Leeman)
• Research regarding attitudes of native Dutch
  towards Turkish and Moroccan students
• Meykel Verkuyten (2005) during the past 20 years
  as well as with his colleagues, Peary Brug
  (2001), Thijs (2001) has yielded some
  understanding of the enormity of this issue. They
  indicate the need to find alternative ways to
  study history, culture, ideology, power and
  contexts as well as discourse analyses and social
  representation theory.

20
Dutch Analysis

• Research of the second generation in Europe and
  particularly the Netherlands
• One of the most prolific researchers has been
  Maurice Crul and his associates, TIES Project,
  comparative analysis of second generation
  schooling
• Focus has identified 1) Access to pre-school, 2)
  opportunities for Dutch language development, and
  3) limited available opportunities for learning
  within schools, especially segregated schools.

21
Dutch Analysis

• Own research during past three years in a
  zwarte (Black) high school due to concentration
  of Turkish and Moroccan students but which is an
  elite school because of its high academic
  programs and student outcomes in science and
  mathematics (ecological programs, Roboticus,
  science fairs, math fairs).
• Findings issues of cultural dissonance between
  cultures of youth and expected academic schooling
  expectations

22
Dutch Policies towards Educating Working Class
and Minorities

• Policies aimed at reducing educational
  disadvantage of working class students (Driessen,
  2002 Rijkschroeff, R. G. ten Dam, J. W.
  Duyvendak, M. De Gruijeter and T. Pels, 2005).
• 1960s as part of democratic and tolerance
  process, focus is on working class children
• 1970s arrival of guest workers and changes in
  reunification laws for families
• 1980s growth of children of 1.5 or 2nd
  generation in schools, however no official policy
  towards immigrants was warranted (Driessen,
  forthcoming). Bilingual and intercultural
  education were promoted.

23
Dutch Policies

• 1985 Weight factors applied to ethnic and
  minority children and used by schools to provide
  homework assistance, reading, tutoring, etc.
• 1990s Focus on minority children and less so on
  Dutch working class, support programs (Driessen,
  forthcoming).
• 1994 minorities policy replaced by integration
  policy towards active citizenship with
  mandatory laws for newcomers to learn Dutch
• 2000s Evaluation of effectiveness of
  disadvantage policies and movement towards
  decentralization, reduction of funding except for
  parental education
• Paul Scheffers Multicultural Drama critique
• Aim is towards more restrictive practices
  including stricter separation of church and state
  and more restrictions on religious freedom

24
Dutch Policies

• Present Focus on what Driessen refers to as
  shared citizenship, replacing active citizenship,
  and this requires moving away from focus on
  differences towards focus on common core values
• Onus is on the immigrant taking charge of
  integrating.
• Shift in responsibility of the state towards
  greater decentralization and decision making at
  the local level
• Closing of multiculturalism as a failed
  experiment towards greater accountability

25
Comparison of Educational Explanatory Models

• Analysis of Latinos
• Cultural deprivation and culture deficit
  explanations
• Cultural differences
• Voluntary versus involuntary immigrants
• Bilingual education model
• Economic explanatory models (social/cultural
  capital)

• Analysis of Dutch-Turkish Students
• Cultural disadvantage
• Compensatory focus in schooling, remediation
• Bilingual education (pillarization idea)
• Intercultural education in schools
• Additive resources

26
Comparisons

• Analysis for Latinos
• Co-Ethnic Peer Communities Explanation
• Dual Reference Model
• Academic At Risk Model
• Success Factor
• Transnational Adaptation
• Comparative Analysis factors (structural,
  institutional, etc.)

• Analysis for Dutch-Turkish
• Awareness of Second Generation through dropout
  analysis
• Extensive research on failure of minorities
• Structural analysis of how system operates,
  analysis of tracking, analysis of counselors,
  etc.
• Models of polarization become evident
• Re-ignition of language focus, of bilingual
  education

27
Comparisons

• Focus on resilience of students
• Analysis of funds of community knowledge
• Use of H. Truebas theory of mestizaje towards
  multiple identities

• Strong emphasis on language skills, social
  participation membership in associations,
  political participation, voting, cultural
  participation, museum visits
• Focus on labor insertion as active basis of
  education
• Culture is minoritized

28
Research in Spain

• Research of high schools conducted in situ in the
  Canary Islands, Spain show
• Although well intended policies abound regarding
  the integration of immigrant children via
  intercultural education, gaps in the
  professionalization, training, and extension of
  intercultural experiences are evident
• Reception programs appear to work but tend to
  often be the product approach to culture and not
  the process approach
• Onus is on cultural mediator

29
Research in Spain

• Targeting of immigrant children as in need of
  change, deflects from the purpose of
  intercultural education to create collective
  experiences for co-existence of all children in
  Spanish schools.
• Geographic concentration of immigrants tends to
  create so called ghettos and an increase in
  ghetto schools.
• Intent of intercultural education is lost from
  its dialogical and interactive purpose and its
  internalization of the non-differentiation of
  foreigners from Spaniards.

30
Implications of Explanatory Models

• Parallels between explanations about failure as
  pathological, endemic
• Explanations focus heavily on youth and their
  community including parents as in need of being
  changed and compensated for
• The U.S. in terms of ethnic differences based on
  cultural deficits and race
• Culture is an issue to be remedied
• The Netherlands based on narrowing gap of
  economic differences
• Disadvantages can be surmonted through economic
  attainment

31
Implications

• Both cases, the issue of pathways towards
  academic achievement are varied
• In the U.S. segmented assimilation of upward and
  downward mobility and structural analysis
  persists, strong focus on peer culture and
  segregated schools, teacher normalization of
  failure
• In the Netherlandsschooling is defined through
  tracking and insertion into programs.
• Segmented assimilation is considered by Crul and
  others to be pessimistic.
• Research explanations are national country
  analysis based on age of entry in school, pre
  school, tracking system, decisions made through
  counselors and stagnation with a longer academic
  path

32
Implications

• Explanations currently are about polarization,
  with some succeeding within the current system,
  and with others trailing behind
• Variations between those in school and those who
  have left, bifurcated situation, segregated
  schools (zwarte schools)
• Strong structural focus and analysis situating
  the need for pre school, mentoring programs,
  coaching, tutoring, community schools, additive
  resources, etc.
• Understanding the length of movement through
  different tracks for Dutch Turkish students who
  are Dutch nationals, yet have Turkish
  backgrounds, speaking and using Dutch is one of
  the critical obstacles to be overcome

33
Local Culture Issues

• Identities may be ignored through
  misunderstanding of youth context
• Ignoring of youth
• Suppression of youth
• Cultural codes being applied to youth
• U.S. Spanish is a code word for differences that
  surmount to being a challenge-represents
  ethnicity and race often related to the us and
  them
• Netherlands Islam as religion has become a
  cultural code that is essentialized
• Aristide Zolberg and Long Litt Woon (1999).Islam
  is Like Spanish Cultural Incorporation in Europe
  and the United States. Politics and society, Vol.
  27, No. 1, pp. 5-38.

34
Need for Re-invention towards Cultural Change
Contexts

• Refocusing on what is meant by the success of
  youth in and out of schools and what is being
  labeled as failure, and whose failure it is
• Detracking of schooling and promoting the
  advantages of youth over the disadvantages
• Understanding language stands for much more than
  linguistic communication, and for the power
  dynamics it entails
• Identifying the ways that curriculum is organized
• Identifying the ways that academic engagement
  take place

35
Need for Re-invention

• Focusing on the education of parents and their
  pre migration standing and working
  collaboratively with them as partners in
  education
• Understanding educational contexts from which 1.5
  generation youth come from, and for 2nd
  generation, their access to pre-school
• Identifying social, cultural, and linguistic
  capital resources of these youth and their
  development

36
Implications

• Finding the resilience of Dutch Turkish students,
  immigrant youth in Spain or elsewhere despite the
  odds they face
• Acknowledging their adaptive, multiple identities
  as part of the changing contextual landscapes,
  they too are changing.