Re-Visioning the Kababayan Learning Community: Culturally Relevant Instruction for Filipina/o and Filipina/o American Students

• In Event: 31.077 - Addressing the Needs of Diverse Asian American and Pacific Islander Students and Parents

Abstract

U.S.-born Filipino Americans have had lower college completion rates than their immigrant parents, who often held bachelor’s degrees from the Philippines. The purpose of this study is to look at the impact that culturally relevant instruction and program design has on the success of Filipino American students in the Kababayan Learning Community (KLC), a transfer and community support program at Skyline College. Through the use of grounded theory, the findings revealed three major themes — community, identity, and student success. From these themes, three main implications emerged about why students in KLC succeed: their cultural capital is valued and celebrated, they learn how to negotiate their “hyphenated” identities, and they can create a sense of community in the classroom and beyond.

Author

• Liza Marie Suyat Erpelo, Skyline College