Finding a Civic Voice: Latino Immigrant Youths' Experiences in High School Social Studies

• Published in: The High School journal Vol. 96; no. 1; pp. 20 - 32
• Main Authors: Callahan, Rebecca, Obenchain, Kathryn
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States School of Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 01.10.2012; The University of North Carolina Press; University of North Carolina Press
• Subjects: Acculturation; Adolescents; Citizen Participation; Citizenship; Citizenship education; Civic education; Civics; Constructivism (Learning); Core curriculum; Critical Thinking; Education; Educational Benefits; Educational Practices; Expectation; Grounded Theory; High School Students; High Schools; Hispanic American Students; Hispanics; Immigrants; Interviews; Latin Americans; Migrant Children; Migrant Education; Migrant Problems; Political discourse; Qualitative research; Secondary school social studies; Skill Development; Social aspects; Social science education; Social Studies; Social studies education; Socialization; Student Attitudes; Student Empowerment; Student Experience; Teachers; Teenagers; Young Adults; Youth; Youth Opportunities; United States; United States > US
• ISSN: 0018-1498; 1534-5157; 1534-5157
• DOI: 10.1353/hsj.2012.0013

Socialization into the dominant civic and political discourse lies at the heart of social studies. As they become proficient in the discourse of home and school, Latino immigrant youth demonstrate the potential to uniquely benefit from this socialization. This qualitative study explores ten Latino immigrant young adults' perceptions of how their social studies experiences shaped their young adult civic selves. Participants internalized not only their parents' high expectations for them, but also those of their teachers, highlighting the potentially instrumental role of schools in the civic fabric of the nation. In addition, the Latino young adults felt empowered by their social studies teachers via civic expectations and academic encouragement and perceived this empowerment to have facilitated the skill development necessary for later civic leadership. In closing, we reflect on immigrant students' incorporation of the discourse of the dominant culture with that of the home to develop their own civic voices.