Finding a Civic Voice: Latino Immigrant Youths' Experiences in High School Social Studies

Socialization into the dominant civic and political discourse lies at the heart of social studies. As they become proficient in the discourse of home and school, Latino immigrant youth demonstrate the potential to uniquely benefit from this socialization. This qualitative study explores ten Latino i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The High School journal 2012-10, Vol.96 (1), p.20-32
Main Authors: Callahan, Rebecca, Obenchain, Kathryn
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acculturation
Adolescents
Citizen Participation
Citizenship
Citizenship education
Civic education
Civics
Constructivism (Learning)
Core curriculum
Critical Thinking
Education
Educational Benefits
Educational Practices
Expectation
Grounded Theory
High School Students
High Schools
Hispanic American Students
Hispanics
Immigrants
Interviews
Latin Americans
Migrant Children
Migrant Education
Migrant Problems
Political discourse
Qualitative research
Secondary school social studies
Skill Development
Social aspects
Social science education
Social Studies
Social studies education
Socialization
Student Attitudes
Student Empowerment
Student Experience
Teachers
Teenagers
Young Adults
Youth
Youth Opportunities
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Summary:Socialization into the dominant civic and political discourse lies at the heart of social studies. As they become proficient in the discourse of home and school, Latino immigrant youth demonstrate the potential to uniquely benefit from this socialization. This qualitative study explores ten Latino immigrant young adults' perceptions of how their social studies experiences shaped their young adult civic selves. Participants internalized not only their parents' high expectations for them, but also those of their teachers, highlighting the potentially instrumental role of schools in the civic fabric of the nation. In addition, the Latino young adults felt empowered by their social studies teachers via civic expectations and academic encouragement and perceived this empowerment to have facilitated the skill development necessary for later civic leadership. In closing, we reflect on immigrant students' incorporation of the discourse of the dominant culture with that of the home to develop their own civic voices.
ISSN:0018-1498
1534-5157
1534-5157
DOI:10.1353/hsj.2012.0013