Hope for the “Tago ng Tago”: Resilience of Undocumented Filipino Students

• In Event: Supporting Asian Americans in Higher Education: Diversity, Resilience, and Achievement

Abstract

Research on undocumented has focused on barriers to college and career opportunities and on identifying additional challenges and the accompanying emotional, academic, and financial hardships of students (Abrego, 2006; Huber & Malagon, 2007; Gonzales, 2009). The literature on undocumented students has also primarily focused on Latino students, since they represent the largest population of undocumented youth in the United States. However, data from the Migration Policy Institute (2007) show that one in six Filipino immigrants is undocumented.

This paper is based on the framework that undocumented students need to have internal and external protective factors in place (Perez et al., 2009) in order to be resilient. Using Masten & Powell’s (2003) framework of resilience, this paper seeks to examine the internal and external factors that contribute to the academic resilience of high-achieving undocumented Filipino students.

The study used purposive sampling to recruit at least 10 Filipino participants who had been or are currently undocumented, maintained above a 3.0 unweighted G.P.A. in high school while taking a combination of Honors and/or AP classes, and were on track to graduate from college or have graduated from college. The measurement tool was developed by proposing general questions about key aspects of a student’s life and cross-checking with specific categories that measure internal and external factors under the theoretical framework. Participants were interviewed via phone for 45-50 minutes. Phone calls were recorded with permission and then transcribed verbatim. Data was then analyzed using an analytic induction process (Robinson, 1951) in order to identify the "number of instances in which the phenomenon occurs [...] and finding a set of conditions which always accompany that phenomenon and without which it does not occur" (815).

Data revealed that important internal factors were the student’s and family’s value of education, their attitude towards their undocumented status, and their academic identity. External factors that were prevalent among interviewees were: financial assistance from family or school personnel, legislation that facilitated financial assistance, and participating in various types of civic engagement. The implications of this study for policy and practice include strengthening the capacity of colleges and universities to serve a diverse undocumented population, educating students and assisting them to be beneficiaries of policies in place to facilitate their college attendance, and expanding the research to include diverse groups.

Author

• Gloria Montiel, Claremont Graduate University