In the midst of two cultures: 1.5 generation Korean Americans' acculturation process and ethnic identity development

详细信息   

• 作者：Palmer ; John David
• 学历：Doctor
• 年：2001
• 关键词：Social sciences ; Education ; Acculturation ; Ethnic ide
• 导师：Young,Michelle D,Sanders,Katrina
• 毕业院校：The University of Iowa
• 专业：Bilingual education;Multicultural education;Minority & ethnic groups;Sociology
• ISBN：9780493300016,0493300015
• CBH：3018604
• Country：USA
• 语种：English
• FileSize：12566040
• Pages：283

文摘

My research project investigated the daily lives of 1.5 generation Korean Americans living in a predominantly White,medium sized,city in the Midwest. Specifically,I explored three main issues: (1) the characteristics of the 1.5s' ethnic identities;(2) the major factors that influenced each participants' acculturation process and ethnic identities;and (3) the relationship between the 1.5 generation's acculturation process and ethnic identities. Two important characteristics of the 1.5 population were taken into consideration: (1) 1.5 individuals lived in their ethnic country for a significant amount of time during their early formative years (pre-adolescent years);and (2) 1.5 individuals immigrated to the U.S. during their adolescent years. The methods used to investigate the research questions were participant observations,semi-structured interviews,and informal conversations and interactions with the participants,and unstructured dialogue with the participants' family members,high school peers,teachers,administrators,and staff,and Korean community members. There were six high school students who volunteered to participate in this study. I spent one year with these 1.5 generation Korean American students. I was inside their school for six months and spent six months with them outside of the school setting. Through this research project,I developed an understanding of how the 1.5 generation's acculturation process and ethnic identity development were unique from second generation and first generation immigrants,as well as other ethnic/racial minorities. Specifically,the project viewed the acculturation process in four phases,which were identified from the data analysis. They are the incorporation,contemplation,connection,and utilization phases. Initial findings indicated that while the participants' ethnic identities remained relatively intact,they incorporated cultural knowledge of their new environment,which ultimately affected their ethnic identities. As a result,these students were somewhere "in the midst"--between and amongst two cultures. In one sense,they were caught between two cultures,as they felt that they were not fully connected to either the Korean or U.S. cultures. In another sense,they were able to navigate their way through both cultures,because they acquired cultural negotiations and code switching skills as a part of the acculturation process.