Educational and cultural challenges of bicultural adult ...for recently arrived immigrants in a...

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 52, Number 1, April 2012

Educational and cultural challenges of bicultural adult immigrant and refugee students in Australia

Abi Brooker and Jeanette A. LawrenceUniversity of Melbourne, Australia

We report the relationship between the cultural and educational challenges of immigrant adult students. Thirty-five recently arrived adults in a bridging course completed a self-administered, online computer interview to rate their exploration and commitment to their heritage and Australian cultures, and express their experiences with their own challenges (size and effect of challenges, people who helped them deal with their challenges). Students’ biggest challenges differed in relation to their bicultural identities (their cultural identities for both heritage and Australian cultures): money and school tasks for the more bi-culturally committed; English and personal skills for the less. Students who were more bi-culturally committed appeared to experience some advantages in their experiences with their challenges. How newly arrived immigrants develop their bicultural identities can have implications for how they address their challenges, and find a place for themselves within the new culture and their heritage culture.

Educational and cultural challenges 67

Introduction

AdultimmigrantandrefugeestudentsencountermanychallengesastheystarttheireducationinAustralia.Somenewlyarrivedadultsfindtheirchallengesoverwhelminganddropoutofclasses.Othershandlethesamechallengeswithresilienceandsuccess(CentreforMulticulturalYouth2008).Thechallengesofimmigrantnewcomersincludedifficultiesassociatedwithentryintoanewcultureanddifficultiesdirectlyassociatedwiththeireducationalexperiences.Inamulticulturalenvironment,culturalchallengesoftenrevolvearoundfindingaplaceandapersonalidentityinbothheritageandAustraliancultures(Lawrence,Brooker&Goodnow,inpress).EducationalchallengesforimmigrantsoftenrevolvearounddevelopingtheEnglishandlearningskillsneededinadulteducation.Thesedifficultiesarefacedbymigrants(Townsend2008),refugees(VictorianFoundationforSurvivorsofTorture2007),andinternationalstudents(Ang&Liamputtong2008).Littleisknown,however,abouthowthesenewlyarrivedadultstudentsactuallyhandletheirchallenges,andlessisknownabouthowtheirculturalandeducationalchallengesmayberelatedtoeachother.

OuraimsweretodocumentthechallengesencounteredbyimmigrantandrefugeeadultsearlyintheirAustralianeducation.Wefocusedontheprevalenceandsizeofchallengesthesestudentsexperiencedwhenstudyinginaspecialisedbridgingprogram,andonthestudents’approachestohandlingtheirchallenges.Students’approachesinvolvedtheirfeelingsandactivitiesatschool,andtheirperceptionofthesupporterswhocouldhelp.Wealsofocusedonthestudents’developmentof‘biculturalidentities’aspartoftheiracculturationintoAustraliansociety.Wecouldthenaskhowimmigrantstudents’developmentofabiculturalidentityrelatedtotheireducationally-orientedchallenges.

68 Abi Brooker and Jeanette A. Lawrence

Encountering challenges

Achallengeisaspecifictypeofdifficulty(e.g.asituation,anelusiveskill,asocialconflict)thatarisesinaperson’slife,sometimesuninvited.Thechallengedemandsthatthepersonengagewiththespecificdifficultytotrytogainmasteryoverit(Lazarus&Folkman1984).Severalresearchershavemadedistinctionsbetweendifficultiesthatareseenas‘challenges’inthissenseofinvitationtoengagement,andthosedifficultiesthatareseenas‘threats’(Lazarus&Folkman1984;Williams,Cumming&Balanos2010).Thekeytothedifferenceliesintheperson’sapproachineitherattemptingtomasterthedifficultyorinretreatingfromitsthreat.AccordingtoWilliamsandcolleagues,peoplewhoperceiveadifficultsituationasachallengeandworkonitactuallyfarebetterthanpeoplewhoseethesamedifficultyasthreatening.

Althoughchallengesaredifficulties,theyareassociatedwithactualorpotentialrewardsandgains.Thisisparticularlythecasewhenchallengesareseenassmallratherthanaslargeandoverwhelming.Smallchallengesareeasiertoovercome,involvelessrisk,andoffersaferopportunitiestopractisenewskillsortoaccessnewresources(Azmitia&Cooper2001;Fergus&Zimmerman2005;Lazarus&Folkman1984).

Peopledonotalwayshandletheirchallengessolo.Teachersandcolleaguescanfillmotivatingandsupportiverolesforstudents.Cooper(1999),forinstance,describedhowsomeethnicminoritystudentsusedsocialsupporttohelpthemsucceed.Educationallysuccessfulstudentsreportedfeelingdriventoeitherprovegatekeeperswrong(e.g.teachersorcommunitymemberswhobelievedtheywouldfail),ortosucceedonbehalfoftheirsupporters(e.g.teachersandsupportivefamilymembers).Socialnetworks,whetherprovocativeorsupportive,aidedthemintheirsuccessfulactivities.


Achieving bicultural identity

Abiculturalidentity(asopposedtoamonoculturalidentity;Lawrenceetal.,inpress)isaperson’ssenseofselfinrelationtomorethanoneculture,inanenvironmentwheremultipleculturesco-exist.Immigrantsandrefugees,forinstance,livetheirdailylivesininteractionwiththeirethnic,heritagecultureandininteractionwiththemainstreamAustralianculture.

Findingaplace(a‘culturalhome’;Lawrence,Benedikt&Valsiner1992)withinbothculturesallowsnewcomerstoadapttotheirnewsurroundings,whilemaintainingtheirpreviousculturalvaluesandresourcesaspartoftheiracculturationprocess(Laosa1999;Schwartz,Unger,Zamboanga&Szapocznik2010).Todate,researchershavetendedtofocusonpeople’sidentificationwiththeirethnicculture.Schwartzetal.(2010),however,recentlypointedtotheimportanceofalsodevelopinganidentitywiththemainstreamnationalculture.

Achievingastrongidentityinone’sheritageculturecanhelppeopletodevelopgreaterinter-culturalawareness,proactivecopingwithdiscrimination,andimprovedpsychologicalwell-being(Phinney,Jacoby&Silva2007;Rivas-Drake&Hughes2008;Umaña-Taylor,Vagas-Chanes,Garcia&Gonzales-Backen2008).Todescribehowpeopledevelopthatculturalidentity,Phinney(1989)drewonErikson’s(1968)conceptofego-identityandMarcia’s(1993)processesofexplorationandcommitment.PhinneydevelopedandrevisedaMulti-groupEthnicIdentityMeasure(MEIM-R;Phinney1989;Phinney&Ong2007)toassesspeople’sculturalidentitiesintermsoftheirexplorationandcommitmentactivities.Theseactivitiescanbeexperiencedindifferentways.Apersonmayhave,forexample,noexperienceofeitherexploringorcommittingtoaculture,ors/hemayexplorewhatthecultureinvolveswithoutmakinganycommitment,ors/hemaybothexploreandcommittothatculture.


Phinney(1989)sawtheseexploringandcommittingactivitiesasappearingandprogressinginaparticularorder.Shearguedthatethnicminorityadolescentswhohadachievedtheirethnicidentityhadfirstexploredtheirethnicityandthencommittedtotheirethnicculture.Syed(2010),however,foundthatprogressionpatternswerefarmorecomplex,especiallyincollegestudents.

Thestudyofbiculturalidentitydevelopmentisalsomorecomplexthanaskingonlyaboutaperson’sethnicidentity.Inamulticulturalenvironment,mostpeopledonothavetheluxuryofexcludingoneortheotherculturefromtheirconsciousness.WetookthemorerealisticapproachofaskingimmigrantadultshowtheywereexploringandcommittingtoboththeirheritageandAustraliancultures.Developingsomeformofidentificationwiththemainstreamcultureaswellastheirheritageculturecaneasethestrainsandconflictsofimmigrants’transitions(Fuligni,Witgow&Garcia2005;Ogbu2004).

Challenges for immigrant and refugee adults in Australian education

LikealladultsinAustralia,immigrantstudentsmustachieveacertainlevelofeducationiftheyaretomoveontosustainableandrewardingemployment.Unlikeotheradultstudents,however,immigrantsarenottypicallycontinuingtheireducationor‘returningtoschool’.Manyarestartingtheiradulteducation,orrestartingitafterdisruption.MostrefugeesandsomeimmigrantsarrivewithlimitedEnglish.SomehaveformalqualificationsthatarenotrecognisedbyAustralianauthorities,butothershavenoexperienceofformaleducation(CMY2008).

Somechallengesfornewlyarrivingstudentsrelatedirectlytotheirculturalexperiences,forexample,dealingwithracismanddiscrimination(Ang&Liamputtong2008;Mestheneos&Ionnidi2002).Otherchallengesrelateindirectlytotheirculturalexperiences,forexample,poorhousinginlowsocio-economicareas,limitedtransportandcrowdedmedicalfacilities(Earnest,Housen,&Gillieat


2007).Immigrantandrefugeeadultsoftenfeel‘shut-out’fromeithertheirethnicorthewidercommunityastheystruggletobuildsocialnetworksandsupportsystemsthatwillhelpthemintheirnewenvironments(McMaster2007;Townsend2008).

Thechallengesthatnewlyarrivedadultsfacecanhaveaseriousimpactontheireducationalexperiences.Studentslivinginpovertyoftencannotaffordfeesormaterials,andthusmissoutonservicesthatcouldotherwisesupporttheirstudyefforts(e.g.accesstocomputers,libraries,publictransport).ThosewithapoorgraspofEnglish,orwithseriousgapsintheirschooling,mayfindbarrierstodevelopnewandsupportivefriendships,missimportantsocialnuancesinclass,andexperiencedifficultyincompletingassignmentstothestandardsoftheirclasspeers(Sidhu&Taylor2007;Suarez-Orozco,Gaytanetal.2010).

Studentswhofindwaysofdealingwiththeirchallengesproductivelyarebetterplacedtoprogressthroughtheirearlyeducationalexperiencesintocollegeoruniversity.Theyarealsobetterpositionedtofindmeaningfulplacesforthemselveswithinthenewculture.Toprovideadequateservicesandsupport,educatorsandcounsellorsneedtoknowthechallengesfacedbyadultimmigrantstudentsearlyinAustralianeducation,andhowtheirculturalandeducationalchallengesmayrelatetoeachother.

The present study

WeaskedstudentsabouttheirexplorationsandcommitmentsinrelationtoboththeirheritageandAustraliancultures,aboutthetypeandsizeofanychallengestheyencounteredearlyintheirAustralianeducation,andabouttheirapproachestothesechallenges(intheirfeelingsandactivitiesatschoolandtheirsocialsupport).Ourapproachinvolvedusingaself-administered,onlinecomputerinterviewthatgavestudentscontrolandprivacytoreflectandreport


ontheirchallengingexperienceswithinasupportive,well-informedresearchenvironment(Lawrence,Dodds,&Brooker,2010).

Methodology

Participants

Participantswere35students(19women,16men)attendingacollegeforrecentlyarrivedimmigrantsinasuburbofAdelaide.ThecollegecatersforthespecificneedsofadultimmigrantstudentswhoarebeginningtheireducationinAustralia.

Themeanageforthe35studentswas23.5years(SD =6.9).Onlythreewereolderthan30years.Theyrepresented60%of58studentsinvitedtoparticipateatclasssessions.Non-participantsincludedstudentsabsentontheinterviewdayordecliningtoparticipate(19),andfourwhodidnotcompletetheonlineinterviews.Theycamefromregionswithrecenthistoriesofsubstantialconflictandwar:CentralandEastAfrica(14),SouthAsia(11)andtheMiddleEast(10).Most(32)hadlivedinAustraliaforlessthanfiveyears.ThreeolderstudentshadbeeninAustraliaformorethannineyears,andtheirpresenceintheclassesindicatedthattheyhadnotyetbeenabletomoveonintheireducationoremployment.Most(31)hadbeentohighschool,twohadcompleteduniversitydegreesand14hadnevercompletedhighschoolstudies.Ofthefourwhohadonlyexperiencedprimaryschool,threehadnotcompletedit.

Procedures and materials

Studentsworkedthroughtheonlinecomputerinterviewinclasssessionsatthecollege.Theinterviewwasprogrammedtoaskinitialandfollow-upquestions,andtogiveparticipantsavarietyofactivities(ratings,mapconstruction,typedinopen-endedcomments).Twotrainedresearchersandoneormoreteacherswerepresenttoassistanddebriefstudents.Assistanceincludedexplainingquestionsandtypinganswersifstudentsrequestedhelp.


Cultural identities. Afterenteringdemographicdetails,studentsratedhowmuchtheyagreedwithMEIM-Ritems(0=‘stronglydisagree’,to4=‘stronglyagree’;PhinneyandOng2007).TheMEIM-Rcontainsthreeitemsaboutaperson’sculturalexploration(e.g.‘Ihavespenttimetryingtofindoutmoreaboutmyculturalgroup’)andthreeitemsaboutaperson’sculturalcommitment(e.g.‘Ifeelastrongsenseofattachmenttomyculturalgroup’).MEIM-RitemsforAustralianandheritageculturesarelistedinTable1.

Challenges. Studentsnextconstructedconceptmapsshowingindiagrammaticformthetypeandsizeofchallengestheyexperienced,withtheiremphases(Novak&Cañas2006).Weprovided11potentialchallengesandallowedstudentstogenerateothers.The11challengesweredevelopedinpilotstudieswithimmigrantandlocalstudents.Theywere:Englishlanguage,money,family,health,skills,timemanagement,discrimination,otherpeoples’expectations,culture,schooltasksandschoolrules.Studentslocatedanyofthesechallengesinoneoftwolabelledspaces:aninnercentralspacewheretheycouldplacetheirbigchallenges,andanoutside,peripheralspacewherestudentscouldplacetheirsmallchallenges.

Approaches to challenges. Studentsthentypedtheiropen-endedresponsestotwoquestionsabouttheirapproachestotheirbiggestchallenges:‘Howdoyourchallengesmakeyoufeelaboutschool?’and‘Howdoyourchallengesaffectwhatyoudoatschool?’Tworesearchersindependentlycodedeachopen-endedresponseaseither‘positive’,‘negative’or‘neutral’.Inter-rateragreementwashigh,withcompleteagreementon83%of35commentsaboutfeelings(Kappa=.68),and91%of35commentsaboutactivities(Kappa=.86).Wealsoaskedstudents‘Doesanyonehelpyouwithyourchallenges?’andprovidedchecklistsoffamily(e.g.parents)andnon-familypeople(e.g.teachers)forthemtotickastheirhelpers.


Findings

Students’ bicultural identities

ThestudentsweredevelopingbiculturalidentitiesintheirexplorationsoftheirheritageandAustraliancultures.Theyalsoweremakingcommitmentstooneorbothcultures,butthesecommitmentsinvolvedgreatervariability.Thegrouphadahighermeanratingofculturalidentityfortheirheritage(3.04,SD=0.54)thanfortheAustralianculture(2.74,SD=0.60),t (33)=2.82,p =.01.Thetwoculturalidentities,however,correlatedreasonably,r=.40,p=.02.

Two subgroups with different patterns of cultural identity

TwosubgroupsemergedfromouranalyseswithdifferentpatternsofbiculturalidentityintheirratingsofMEIM-Ritems.Subgroupdifferenceswereparticularlyrelatedtotheircommitmentstooneorbothcultures.Thesubgroups,however,differedonlyintheirratingsoftheirbiculturalidentities.Theydidnotdifferinage,gender,culturalgroup,lengthoftimespentinAustralia,totaleducationpriortoAustralia,orcollegecourse.

Onesubgroupof22studentswecalledBiculturallyExploringandCommitting,andtheothergroupof12,BiculturallyExploringwithoutCommitting.Table1showsthemeanratingsofthesixitemsthatthesesubgroupsgavetoeachitemforeachculture,togetherwiththesubgroupoverallmeanratings.


Table 1: Mean ethnic and Australian cultural identity scores for two subgroups of 22 Exploring and Committing and 12 Exploring without Committing students

MEIM items

Group mean rating (standard deviation)

BiculturallyExploringandCommitting

BiculturallyExploringwithoutCommitting

Commitment items:Iunderstandwhatmembershipof…meanstomezz myethnicculture 3.41(0.50) 2.58(0.79)zz theAustralianculture 3.05(0.72) 2.17(0.94)Ifeelastrongsenseofattachmentto:zz myethnicculture 3.32(0.65) 2.42(0.90)zz theAustralianculture 3.18(0.40) 2.00(0.85)Ihaveastrongsenseofbelongingto:zz myethnicculture 3.23(0.75) 2.67(0.78)zz theAustralianculture 3.00(0.87) 1.50(0.80)Overallcommitmentscore:zz myethnicculture 3.32(0.51) 2.56(0.43)zz theAustralianculture 3.08(0.46) 1.89(0.61)

Exploration items:Ihaveoftendonethingsthatwillhelpmeunderstand:zz myethnicculture 3.27(0.63) 2.75(0.75)zz theAustralianculture 3.18(0.59) 2.33(0.78)Ihavespenttimetryingtofindoutmoreabout:zz myethnicculture 3.14(0.83) 2.92(0.79)zz theAustralianculture 2.82(1.01) 2.75(0.62)Ihaveoftentalkedtootherpeopletolearnmoreabout:zz myethnicculture 3.09(0.75) 2.75(0.87)zz theAustralianculture 2.82(1.01) 2.75(0.97)Overallexplorationscore:zz myethnicculture 3.17(0.62) 2.81(0.44)zz theAustralianculture 2.94(0.61) 2.61(0.68)Overallculturalidentityscore:zz myethnicculture 3.24(0.53) 2.68(0.36)zz theAustralianculture 3.01(0.47) 2.25(0.49)


Asagroup,BiculturallyExploringandCommittingstudentswereexploringandcommittingtoboththeirheritageandAustraliancultures.Theygavehighratings(3=‘agree’or4=‘stronglyagree’)toallexplorationandcommitmentitemsforeachculture.StudentsintheBiculturallyExploringwithoutCommittinggroupwereexploringbothcultures,withratingsgenerallylowerthanthoseoftheBiculturallyExploringandCommittinggroup.Theyalsogaveparticularlylowratingstocommitmentitems.Asagroup,theydidnothaveasenseofbelongingtotheAustralianculture,anddidnotunderstandwhat‘beingAustralian’meantforthem.

Students’ experiences of their challenges

Thestudentsidentifiedbetweenoneand13challengesbyplacingtheminthecentralorperipheralspacesoftheirconceptmaps.Therewasameanof7.46challengesforthesample(SD =3.23),withsimilarmeannumbersforbigchallenges(3.88,SD =2.73)andsmallchallenges(3.65,SD =2.16).Table2showsthenumberofstudentswholocatedeachof11challengesasbig(inthecentralarea)andsmall(intheperipheralarea)intheirconceptmaps.


Table 2: Number of students placing 11 challenges as ‘big’, ‘small’ or not challenges

Challenges Students’ location of challenges in concept maps

‘Big’challenges(centralarea)

‘Small’challenges(peripheral

area)

Challengesnotincludedinmap

English 23 11 1

Money 19 11 5

Personalskills 15 15 5

Schooltasks 12 8 15

Family 11 12 12

Health 10 10 15

Timemanagement 9 14 12

Discrimination 8 12 15

Schoolrules 8 6 21

Culture 7 16 12

Otherpeople’sexpectations 7 12 16

Englishwasthemostcommonlyidentifiedchallenge,with97%ofthesampleputtingitintotheirconceptsmaps,and68%(23)identifyingitasabigchallenge.Schoolruleswastheleastcommonlyidentifiedchallenge(for40%),butitwasabigchallengeforeight.Culturewasachallengefor66%,butabigchallengeforsevenofthestudents.

Subgroups’ different patterns of challenges

WeusedaCorrespondenceAnalysistoshowhowthetwogroupsdescribedthesizeofthe11challenges(‘big’,‘small’or‘notachallenge’),χ²(50,374)=76.25,p =.01.Thisformofanalysis


yieldsatwo-dimensionaldiagram(showninFigure1)oftherelativeassociationofthetwogroupswithdifferentsizechallenges.

Figure 1: Location of 11 challenges as ‘big’, ‘small’ and ‘not’ challenges, by Exploring and Committing students (BEC) and Exploring without Committing students (BEnotC)

TheBiculturallyExploringandCommittinggroupwasmorecloselyassociatedwithbigchallengesofmoneyandschooltasks,andsmallchallengesoftimemanagementandtoalessextent,culture.Schoolrules,discrimination,health,andfamilywerenotchallengesforthisgroup.

Incontrast,theBiculturallyExploringwithoutCommittinggroupwasmorecloselyassociatedwithbigchallengesofEnglishlanguageandtheirownskills,andsmallchallengesofdiscrimination,healthandfamily.Cultureandotherpeople’sexpectationswerenotchallengesforthisgroup.


Students’ approaches to their challenges

The35studentsvariedintheirapproachestotheirchallenges.Moremadepositivecommentsabouthowtheirchallengesaffectedtheirfeelingsaboutschool.Twentystudentsmadepositivecomments(e.g.‘IwanttogotoschoolandIamveryhappyatschool,IthinkIcandevelopmyskillshere’).Eightmadeneutralcomments(e.g.‘I’mnotfeelingbad…thischallengedon’taffectmystudy’),andsevenmadenegativecomments(e.g.‘TheymakemefeellikeIwanttodropout’).Similarly,whendescribinghowtheirchallengesaffectedtheiractivitiesatschool,more(17)madepositivecomments(e.g.‘IworkhardallworkandImanagemytime’)thanneutralcomments(5)(e.g.‘Itdoesn’taffecttoomuchmyschoolwork’).However,13madenegativecomments(e.g.‘It’shardtowriteEnglish…Ihavetroublewithmyhomework’;‘Theymakeithardtogettoclasssometimes’).

Subgroups’ different feelings about their challenges

MoreBiculturallyExploringandCommittingthanBiculturallyExploringwithoutCommittingstudentsmadepositivecommentsabouttheirfeelings(73%>33%),andfewermadenegativecomments(9%<42%),χ²(2,34)=6.23,p =.04.Therewasasimilartrendforstudents’commentsabouttheiractivities.MoreBiculturallyExploringandCommittingthanBiculturallyExploringwithoutCommittingstudentstendedtomakepositivecommentsabouttheiractivities(82%<18%),andfewernegativecomments(46%<54%),althoughthistrendwasnotstatisticallysignificant.

People who help students with their challenges

Whenaskedifanyonehelpedthemwiththeirchallenges,32studentsanswered‘Yes’,withthethree‘No’responsesaccompaniedbyexplanationsofpersonalmanagementstyles(e.g.‘Ihavetomanagetime.WhenIhaveanappointmentIhavetodoitafterschool’).The32studentsidentifiedupto10peoplewhohelpedthem(M =4.59,SD =1.68).Most(97%)identifiedteachers,followedbyfriendsand


classmates(81%),brothersandsisters(56%),schoolcounsellorsandothersupportworkers(53%),parents(41%),extendedfamily(41%),romanticpartners(31%)andchildren(6%).

Subgroups’ different helpers

MoreBiculturallyExploringandCommittingthanBiculturallyExploringwithoutCommittingstudentsidentifiedschoolcounsellorsashelpers(71%>18%),χ²(1,32)=8.22,p =.00,butmarginallyfewerBiculturallyExploringandCommittingstudentsidentifiedextendedfamilymembers(29%<64%),χ²(1,32)=3.68,p =.06.Thesedifferenceswererelatedonlytothestudents’biculturalidentities,andnottothenumber,typeorsizeoftheirchallenges.

Discussion

Ouraimsweretoexaminetheeducation-relatedchallengesexperiencedbynewlyarrivedadultstudentsandtheirapproachestothesechallenges,andtoanalysehowthesechallengesrelatedtotheirdevelopmentofbiculturalidentities.Wewereinterestedinthetypeofchallengesthesestudentsencountered,andtherelativeemphasesstudentsgavetothesechallenges.Developingabiculturalapproachtolifeinanewcountrycanhelpimmigrantstudentseducationally(Fuligni,etal.2005;Phinney2006).Thedevelopmentofabiculturalidentity,however,alsopresentsimmigrantsandrefugeeswithitsownparticularchallengesin,forexample,handlingdiscriminationandotherpeople’sexpectations(Ogbu2004;Oppedal,Roysamb&Sam2006).Asfaraswecantell,thespecificrelationshipbetweeneducationalandculturalattainmentsandchallengeshasnotbeenanalysedsystematically.

Ourfindingsshowthattheserecentlyarrivedadultstudentsweredealingwithchallengesrelatedtodevelopingbiculturalidentitiesindifferentways.Theiracculturationexperienceshadthedualfocusontheirculturalrootsandtheirnew,mainstreamculturethatSchwartzetal.(2010)sawasthenormalimmigrantexperience.Theywerein


theprocessoffindingplacesforthemselvesintwocultures,atleasttotheextentofexploringthem.SomestudentsalsowerealreadycommittingtoboththeAustralianandheritagecultures.Otherswereexploringwhatbothculturesmeanttothem,butwereunwillingorunabletocommitthemselvesasstronglytoeitheroneorboth.

AccordingtoPhinney(1989),commitmentrepresentsanadvanceoverexplorationinthedevelopmentofanachievedculturalidentity.Itwouldbetemptingtoarguethatthestudentswhowerebothexploringandcommitting(BEC)weremoreadvancedintheiracculturationexperiences,asPhinneyarguedforadolescents’ethnicidentities.Certainly,itisplausibletoseeexplorationaseasiertoachievethancommitment,althoughSyed’s(2010)datadonotsupportastraightforwardprogression.Itistooearlytomakestronginferencesabouttheprocessesofbiculturalidentitydevelopmentfortheseorotheradultstudents.

Ourfindingspointtothestudents’currentculturalexperiences,nottotheorderinwhichexplorationandcommitmentareachievedinrelationtotwoculturessimultaneously.Wecannotforexample,knowwhetherstudentswhoexploredandcommittedtobothcultureswerepreviouslyonlyexploring;orwhetherstudentswhowereonlyexploringwouldgoontocommittooneorbothcultures;orwhethertheonestudentwhosaidhebelongedonlytooneculture—theAustralianculture—willcontinuetoturnawayfromhisheritageculture.Wecansay,however,thatnewlyarrivedadults’biculturalexperiencesvary,withatleasttwoorientations:thosewhocommittobothAustralianandheritagecultures,andthosewhodonotcommittooneorboth.Ourfindingsaddtothestudyofacculturationandbiculturalismbypointingtothisvariabilityinadults’biculturaldevelopment,andalsobyshowinghowdifferentbiculturalorientationsarerelatedtoeducationalexperiences.

Askingstudentstorepresenttheireducationally-relatedchallengesinaconceptmapplacedminimalverbaldemandsonthemandwas


attractiveandeasytouse.Thetaskgavestudentsaprivate,engagingandnon-judgmentalresearchenvironmentinwhichtoreflectuponandexpresstheirexperiences(Lawrence,Dodds&Brooker2010).Itwasappropriateforelicitingsensitiveinformation(Bachman2003;vandeWijgert,Padian,Shiboski&Turner2000).Ityieldeddistinctivepatternsamongthechallengesofthetwobiculturally-orientedgroups.Thesegroupsalsoreporteddifferentwaysofrespondingtotheirchallenges.

ThefindingthatEnglishwasthemostconsistentandlargestchallengerealisticallyreflectstheimportanceoflanguagestudyasasignificantgatewaytoacademicandvocationalopportunities.Similarly,thelackofemphasisonschoolrulesreflectstheeffortsoftheteachingstafftoencouragetheirstudentstotakecontroloftheirowneducationalexperiencesandtoreducetheiradherencetotypicalschoolrules.Thesewereadultstudents,andtheschool’semphasisonself-managedlearningwasapartofthestudents’orientationtoAustralianadulteducation.

Aswellasrepresentingtherealitiesofthesestudents’experiences,theconceptmapallowedustorelatebroaderacculturationconceptstotheireverydayconcerns.Previousresearchpointedtoimmigrants’difficultieswithculturalconflict,isolationfromothergroupmembersandstrainsontimeandenergy(Ogbu2004;Oppedaletal.2006).Theseacculturationissueswererepresentedintheconceptmappingtaskbyindividualconceptsofculture,discriminationandtimemanagement.Theywereamongtheleastemphasisedchallengesforthestudents,typicallybeingidentifiedeitherassmallornochallenges.Theimmediatedifficultiesofeducationalandeverydayexperiencesseemedtoloomlargerthanthebroaderacculturationissues.Itappearsthattheseadultsthoughttheycouldhandletheiracculturation-relatedchallenges,oratleastdidnotfeeloverwhelmedbythem.


Thattheacculturationchallengesdifferedforthetwogroupspointstoaneedtoinvestigatesomeofthesubtledifferencesintheassociationofcultureanddiscriminationaschallengesforstudentswithdifferentbiculturalorientations.Itwouldbeusefultoexplore,forinstance,whyimmigrantswhoweremorebiculturallycommitteddidnotseediscriminationandwhyimmigrantswhowerelessbiculturallycommitteddidnotseecultureasmajordifficulties.

Thedistinctivepatternsforthetwobiculturally-orientedgroupsgiveafirstglimpseathoweducationalandculturaldifficultiesrelate.ThatmembersofthemorebiculturallycommittinggroupweremoreconcernedaboutmoneyandschooltaskssuggeststheymayhavedealtwiththeissuesrelatedtotheEnglishandstudyskillsthatwerethemajorconcernsofthelessbiculturallycommittedgroup.Theymayhavearrivedwiththoseskillsorwithbetterstrategiesforacquiringthem.Hereisalinkbetweenpersonaleducationalandbroaderculturalconcernsthatwarrantsfurtherinvestigation.

Whilemoststudentsmadepositivecommentsabouttheirfeelingsand/orabouttheiractivitiesatschool,thebiculturallycommittedgroupexpressedmorepositivefeelings.AccordingtoLazarusandFolkman(1984),apositiveapproachcanleadtoaneasiertimeovercomingachallenge,becausethepersonseesitaslessthreateningandmoreofanopportunitytoexcel.Itwouldbeusefultoknowifthemorebiculturallycommittedwereabletohandletheirsubsequenteducationalexperiencesaschallengesandnotasthreats.Inafollow-upstudy,wearetrackingrefugeestudentsthroughtheirfirstyearofhighschool(Brooker2012).Weknowofnosimilartrackingdataforadultrefugeeorimmigrantstudents.

Thatthetwobiculturalgroupsdidnotdifferinthenumberofteachersorsiblingshelpingthemsuggeststhat,regardlessofculturalexperience,thesestudentshadsimilaraccesstothemajorsocialresourcesineachpartoftheirlives.ThisfindingagreeswiththereportofFulignietal.(2005)andPhinney’s(2006)suggestionthat


biculturalstudentsarewellsupportedwhentheycanaccessresourcesfrombothculturalarenas.

Thetwogroupsdiddiffer,however,inaccessingsecondarysupports.Moreofthebiculturallycommittedstudentsreliedonschoolcounsellors,andmoreofthelessbiculturallycommittedstudentsreliedontheirextendedfamily.Althoughfamiliescanbeusefulresourcesforethnicminoritystudents(e.g.Cooper,1999;Grotevant&Cooper1998),recentlyarrivedimmigrantfamiliesoftenhavelimitedornounderstandingoftheeducationsystem(VFST2007).Theirsupportcanbelimited.Bynotaccessingoutsidehelp,thelessbiculturallycommittedstudentsmaybeatadisadvantagewhendealingwithinstitutions.Schoolsupportservicessuchascounsellorscanprovideaccesstofunds,training,informationandsocialnetworks.AngandLiamputtong(2008),however,foundthatChineseinternationalstudentsdidnotuseuniversitycounsellingservices,becausetheymistakenlysawthemassupportsformentalhealth,ratherthanforhelpwithaccessingtask-orientedservices.

Weaddtothestudyofacculturationandbiculturalismbydemonstratingthat,evenintheseearlystagesofimmigrants’acculturation,thereare(atleast)twodistinctpatternsofbiculturalidentitydevelopment:thosewhoexploreandcommittobothheritageandAustralianculture,andthosewhoexplorebutdonotcommittooneorbothcultures.Thesepatternsofbiculturaldevelopmentarealsousefulforeducators,becausetheyrelatetostudents’differentexperienceswithpersonalandeducationalchallenges,andwithhowstudentsdealwiththosechallenges.StudentswhowerecommittingtobothheritageandAustralianculturesseemtohavedistinctadvantagesinhowtheydealwiththeirchallenges.Therelationshipbetweenbroaderculturalchallengesandimmediateeducationalchallengeswarrantsfurtherresearchandattentionbyeducators.Helpingstudentstodeveloptheirbiculturalidentitiesmayverywell


helpthemtodealwiththeireducationalandpersonalchallengesmorepositivelyandproductively.

Acknowledgement

WewishtothanktheVictorianFoundationforSurvivorsofTorturefortheirsupportandfundinginthedevelopmentofthisstudy.

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About the authors

Abi Brooker is completing her PhD in Developmental Psychology at the University of Melbourne. She is researching the pathways through education for immigrants and refugees. She has worked with refugee communities and other vulnerable communities in Melbourne for six years.

Jeanette Lawrence is an Associate Professor in Developmental Psychology at the University of Melbourne. Her research projects include studies with children and families from refugee backgrounds, and procedural justice for young people. She has been innovative in developing computer assisted methods of data collection.

Contact details

PsychologicalSciences,UniversityofMelbourne,Melbourne,Victoria,3010,AustraliaTel:+61398344453 Fax:+61393476618Email:[email protected]

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