Drawing Symbolic Boundaries in Navigating High School: A Case of Four African Immigrant Girls

• In Event: Politics and Praxis of Immigrant Education

Abstract

Findings for this paper were part of a larger study that investigated the educational experiences of one of the least researched groups – African immigrant girls. In-depth phenomenological interviewing was used to illuminate how a group of 4 girls positioned themselves and how they read how others positioned them. Their narratives revealed that the girls were engaged variously in boundary work in constructing their identity. The 4 girls were keen on drawing distinctions from their African-American peers, whom they described as “too loud” “disrespectful” and “don’t value education.” On the other hand, even though the American identity was important to all the 4 girls, becoming American was important for different reasons, reasons that were associated with future educational and career goals.

Author

• Betty Akinyi Okwako, Michigan State University