2019 Volume 23 Issue 2

Le Anne E. Silvey, Sandra J. Bailey, James J. Ponzetti, Jr.

ABSTRACT: Indigenous grandparents have significant roles in the lives of grandchildren. They are integrally engaged with grandchildren because traditional ways valye and support their involvement. Despite historical trauma and ongoing marginalization of Indigenous people, the power of their culture and resiliency are strength-based assets. Understanding Indigenous culture and history can help practioners provide services to these families. This paper reviews unique characteristics of Indigenous grandparenting and makes recommendations for service providers.

Bethany Willis Hepp & Neda Moinolmolki

ABSTRACT: The numbers of foreign-born undergraduates in the United States have increased in the 21st century, yet literature exploring their perceptions of and experiences with campus communities and sense of school belonging is limited. This cross-sectional study includes self-report data from 153 foreign born undergraduates. Data were collected during the first year of the Donald J. Trump Presidential administration, a sensitive socio-historical time period for this population. Correlations between students’ sense of school belonging were calculated using variables related to discrimination and rejection, concerns about deportation, access, importance of campus space, social capital, support, and civic engagement. Analysis of variance were calculated to ascertain group differences based on immigrant status. Results indicate that macro-level sociopolitical contexts impact this population negatively, but colleges and universities may support foreign-born undergraduates by creating and maintaining safe campus spaces for peer-to-peer and peer-to-faculty interactions. Civic engagement and preventive education could be critical for promoting success. Family Science and Family Life Education programming may be particularly useful; this is discussed as implications for practice.

Mirna E. Carranza

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper is to re-conceptualize acculturation as a family process. Latin Americans who have settled in North America will be used as a case sample because they share the common thread of colonization and oppression. The application will be relevant to diverse groups from colonized spaces. It examines three theoretical frameworks: family systems, social psychology, and economic sociology. This reconceptualization contributes to the existing literature in five ways: (a) accounting for how immigrant experiences are shaped by the global economy, (b) highlighting the family context of migration, (c) conceptualizing the immigrant family as a dynamic system moving across time and borders, (d) providing opportunities for resource-focused research initiatives that account for complexities of the family during immigration processes, and (e) emphasizing ongoing violence and marginalization experienced by families throughout their migration journey due to being constructed as the racialized “other.”

Jennifer Greiving

ABSTRACT:

Recent educational reforms tend to focus on reading and math, possibly to the detriment of history education. As university students enroll in family perspective courses, their lack of historical knowledge may result in diminished understanding of local and global events that have affected the course of global families and human development. This study examines the connection between students’ self-reported historical knowledge and cultural competence. Self-reported measures of historical literacy and cultural competency were collected from 123 students at a Mountain West urban university campus using a quantitative questionnaire. Results show that historical literacy may play a small but statistically significant role in cultural competence. Suggestions are made for future research and curriculum direction.

Sylvia Niehuis & Shera Thomas-Jackson

ABSTRACT: Many family-science courses are devoted entirely to, or include segments on, cultural diversity. Though some experts believe that a certain amount of tension in the classroom can spur student introspection and learning, discussions that create intensely unpleasant experiences are likely to be counterproductive. Students’ learning may be impaired. Much of the available literature focuses on practical advice for instructors teaching challenging classes, and on students’ emotional reactions to the subject matter. Instructors’ emotions, which set the tone for students’ emotions, have received less attention. This paper focuses on instructors’ emotional skills and experiences in handling uncomfortable cultural diversity class discussions, including the “emotional work” involved and equitability in assignments to teach such classes. We first review published recommendations of best practices for dealing with difficult classroom situations, then present several outstanding questions. We present the latter, in part, to generate greater discussion and research on the relevant issues.