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Values in the Negotiation of Educational Barriers: Somali College Students' Achievement as Investments in Community Success

Hardt, Hillary Anne

Abstract Details

2005, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, EDU Teaching and Learning.
Somali refugee families in the United States enter their new communities with a multitude of stressors to cope with, including past experiences of conflict and the need to negotiate conflicting values between their cultural and religious heritage and those of their host environment. When attending public schools, Somali children must mediate the pressures of satisfying their roles and obligations in the home with those in the schools that they attend. The nature of the child's gendered obligations to their families and community also may affect the way in which the child in and perceives of and participates in of the educational process. With regard to the academic performance of Somali students, Columbus Public Schools have witnessed a trend of failure of state proficiency tests, high rates of absenteeism, drop-out and non-graduation rates, and low rates of matriculation into higher education. Concerns over how cultural and linguistic barriers have affected Somalis students' academic performance have evoked an ongoing discourse at the local district and university level. In addressing this issue, this study juxtaposes the experiences and sentiments of high achieving Somali students at the Ohio State University against available literature on the educational barriers that Somali students face at the K-12 Level. By relating to common themes located within the college students' educational autobiographies, the study will also examine how these students have transplanted a cultural logic of reciprocity and community investment to their values of academic achievement and their time spent at the university. The adaptive responses of Somali young adults in the Somali community geared towards preserving this cultural logic among the next generation of Somalis will also be discussed.
Peter Demerath (Advisor)
Antoinette Errante (Committee Member)
59 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hardt, H. A. (2005). Values in the Negotiation of Educational Barriers: Somali College Students' Achievement as Investments in Community Success [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1394723242

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hardt, Hillary. Values in the Negotiation of Educational Barriers: Somali College Students' Achievement as Investments in Community Success. 2005. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1394723242.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hardt, Hillary. "Values in the Negotiation of Educational Barriers: Somali College Students' Achievement as Investments in Community Success." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1394723242

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)