Envisioning a Transnational Participatory Action Research (PAR) Project to Connect Immigrant College Students for Advocacy in the United States and Japan

• In Event: Identity, Advocacy, and Transnational Experiences for International Students

Proposal

This presentation will examine the strengths and challenges of conducting a transnational participatory action research (PAR) project with immigrant college students in the United States and Japan through a digital platform. In collaboration with a group of immigrant students across the US and Japan, this project attempted to explore how colleges and universities do, could, and should support and better center immigrant college students to ensure equity, access, and persistence in higher education.

Immigrant college students are a growing population in the United States and Japan, yet are often invisible in research, policies, and practices (Suárez-Orozco, 2023; Silver & McCarron, 2024). In the US, more than 5.6 million students in colleges and universities had immigrant backgrounds, including 1.9 million foreign-born immigrant students (Batalova & Feldblum, 2023). While these students might have complex immigration stories, navigate liminal statuses (e.g., undocumented students), and face racism and xenophobia, their experiences and needs are often neglected. Scholars have criticized that research and policies using categories such as first-generation students, racial and ethnic minorities, undocumented students, and international students only capture a partial reality of their struggles and experiences (Suárez-Orozco, 2023). The situation is similar in Japan. While research, policies and practices on immigrant students at the compulsory level have been accumulated in the last few decades, immigrant college students are invisible, and the support system is inadequate (Higuchi & Inaba, 2018). According to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s 2023 survey, only 46.6% of “high school students who needed Japanese language instruction” enrolled in higher education institutions, compared to 75% for all high school students, which implies a significant gap between immigrants and Japanese students. More research is needed that centres on the experiences of immigrant students and examines the challenges and hopes of developing inclusive universities and colleges.

This project is based on PAR’s philosophy which acknowledges youth as co-researchers with expert knowledge derived from their everyday experiences (Cammarota & Fine, 2008; Rodriguez & Brown, 2009) and values democratic knowledge production (Nygreen, 2006). While PAR projects often occur in a single field or country (Fletcher et al., 2015), this project is conducted transnationally across the US and Japan, which we believe strengthens the research, practice, and advocacy. We are also aware of the differences between the two countries—social, historical, and cultural contexts surrounding immigration, including the history and policies of immigration, social identities or race/ethnicity, as well as the history and institutional policies and practices of higher education, differ significantly. However, by connecting these two immigrant student populations through digital platforms and collaboratively exploring differences and similarities, taking contexts into consideration, this project could reveal the impact of immigration in the lives of college students, exclusive and inclusive features of universities in accommodating immigrant students, and more.

Based on PAR’s philosophy, we collaborated with a group of immigrant college students in the US and Japan to consider ways to create inclusive college support systems that would foster belonging and success for immigrant students. The PAR team consisted of two faculty members based in Japan and the US, respectively, and ten immigrant college students (those born in a foreign country and later immigrated to either Japan or the US), seven from Japan and four from the US. From January to June 2024, we engaged in monthly virtual sessions utilizing digital technology, each lasting approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. These meetings were conducted via Zoom. We discussed various topics, including border crossing experiences, college access, college experiences and belonging, and barriers and strengths in college. Since we met virtually across nations, creativity in methods was critical—we used various methods, including photo voice, group interviews, and digital whiteboards. While the faculty members mainly led the sessions, the college students also developed questions for each other and facilitated some pair and small group discussions. During the last session, we invited some university faculty members, administrators and students, and NPO staff who regularly support immigrant students both in Japan and the US and conducted an advocacy session. The students in the team suggested how higher education could better support immigrant students, such as centering the needs of immigrants and providing resources and spaces of belonging.

Through a comparative lens generated through the project, we discussed many similarities between immigrant college students in the US and Japan. They experienced exclusion, felt invisible in schools and society, and faced multiple barriers, including financial, academic, and a lack of support. However, they cultivated strengths, overcame the barriers, and navigated exclusive and alienating systems. While US higher education institutions seem to accommodate minoritized students better, their experiences revealed how universities in both countries rarely acknowledged and responded to their specific needs. We also came across differences, specifically as they related to social and cultural contexts. While immigrant students in the US emphasized the importance of the university providing resources to immigrants, some students in Japan mentioned the necessity of creating a multicultural environment and building positive communities on campus. Given the collectivist and relationship-oriented values in Japanese society and culture, these contextual factors perhaps influenced their perception of an ideal university. In addition, one of the objectives of this project was to engage in advocacy efforts with higher education professionals. While the majority of students in the US were familiar with the concept of advocacy, most of the students in Japan struggled to envision what advocacy meant in higher education and contemplated the potential risks and responsibilities associated with it.

By means of “interactive co-constitution" (Sorensen, 2008, p. 336), one of the strengths of transnational PAR, this work-in-progress project continues to develop more robust ways of understanding the diverse experiences of immigrant college students and creating an inclusive university where these students can thrive.

Authors

• Tomoko Tokunaga, University of Tsukuba

• Beth Douthirt-Cohen, University of Maryland - College Park