Toward Participatory Communal Citizenship: Rendering Visible the Civic Teaching, Learning, and Actions of African Immigrant Youth and Young Adults

• Published in: American educational research journal 2014-06, Vol.51 (3), p.539-566
• Main Authors: Knight, Michelle G., Watson, Vaughn W. M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: African Americans; African Culture; Black people; Case Studies; Citizen Participation; Citizenship; Citizenship Education; Civic education; Civics; Communities; Ethnic identity; Ethnicity; Family Influence; Grounded Theory; High Schools; Immigrants; Internship Programs; Internships; Learner engagement; Learning; Learning experiences; New York; Noncitizens; Qualitative Research; Racial Identification; Racial identity; Secondary Education; Semi Structured Interviews; Teacher Education; Teaching; Teaching, Learning, and Human Development; Young Adults
• ISSN: 0002-8312; 1935-1011
• DOI: 10.3102/0002831213512517

Rendering visible African immigrants' shared and differing experiences of civic learning and action, the authors present findings from in-depth semi-structured interviews with second- and 1.5-generation African immigrants in New York City. Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework of African immigrant identities constructions and civic engagement, we highlight a multilayered view of civic teaching, learning, and action within and across contexts of families, identities, and schooling in the United States, Africa, and globally. In so doing, the research affirms African immigrant youth's racial and ethnic identities toward broadened understandings of civic engagement such as participatory communal citizenship. The findings support the need for teacher educator preparation for immigrant youth and curriculum within secondary schools in a diverse U.S. society.