Lives in Transition: Stories of Three Foreign Elementary Students from India

Authors

Beloo Mehra, Antioch University-McGregorFollow

Abstract

This qualitative study tells the stories of three Asian Indian children dealing with the initial phases of adjustment and acculturation at a multicultural elementary school in USA. Constructed using data collected through classroom observations and in-depth interviews with children, parents, and school personnel, these stories reveal important linkages between families and schools, and their respective roles in foreign-born children’s acculturation into the host culture. The pressures to maintain Indian identity, language, food habits, and traditions are all important aspects of these children’s experiences. The school context shapes their educational experiences and adjustment. This study also touches upon some important policy issues for schools in relation to multicultural programs, ESL instruction, native language instruction, and support services for their increasingly diverse student and parent communities. One such issue pertains to the recognition of student’s ethnic and cultural identity in a public school.

Keywords

Asian Indian, Foreign Students, Voluntary Minority, Immigrant Education, Multiculturalism In Education

Publication Date

9-1-2003

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2003.1877

Recommended APA Citation

Mehra, B. (2003). Lives in Transition: Stories of Three Foreign Elementary Students from India. The Qualitative Report, 8(3), 377-407. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2003.1877