| Popis: |
Globalization in the 21st century has dramatically transformed the sociocultural and economic ethos of the world. In particular, transnational migration has been greatly impacted by this transformation, such that the last few decades have witnessed an unprecedented acceleration of human movement across the globe. These migratory flows have posed many new challenges to education systems all over the world, as over half of these migrants are children. Nepalese-Bhutanese (N-B) refugees are one such group that were forcibly displaced from their homes in Bhutan due to religious and ethnic persecution in the early 1990s. After living in refugee camps in Nepal for over 20 years, they were finally resettled in 2008 by the UNHCR to third-party countries, including the United States, with Northeast Ohio having one of the largest number of N-B refugees. Since then, there has been no empirical research on how N-B youth have adapted to the Public school systems in Ohio or elsewhere in the United States.This dissertation study explores the acculturation and sociocultural adaptation of N-B youth in Northeast Ohio public schools using multiple theoretical frameworks, such as acculturation theory, ecological systems theory, and the theory of segmented assimilation. Qualitative interviews were conducted with six intergenerational families that include recent high school graduates. The study found that N-B students face multiple challenges at school, such as language insecurity, cultural and pedagogical differences, teasing and bullying, and an unwelcoming environment. However, all the participants in this dissertation study overcame the obstacles and created their own pathways to higher education and diverse careers. Findings from the study indicate that proximal processes in their ecological system were conducive to N-B sociocultural adaptation at school. Even though there is evidence of dissonant acculturation, the participants in this study had positive outcomes as N-B youth facilitated the acculturation process of their parents. The preferred strategy of acculturation of participants at school was initially separation, followed by integration. Participants and informants in the study have reported truancy, significant dropout rates and use of alcohol, drugs and gambling among N-B youth. There is a need to conduct further research to confirm these reports of sociocultural maladaptation. |
