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The Educational Experience of Afro-Caribbean Student Immigrants

  • Keiana Desmore EMAIL logo , Elia Vazquez-Montilla and Jackie Greene

Abstract

The following article summarizes a research study which involved an investigation of the educational experiences of Afro-Caribbean student immigrants who were academically successful in the United States (U.S.). Although immigrants of African descent experience barriers such as immigrant status and racial minority status which leads to a double disadvantage in educational institutions, this group is more likely to persist and achieve academic excellence. This narrative ethnographical case study’s aim was to understand the influences for Afro-Caribbean immigrant students motivating them to pursue the attainment of a higher education degree. The data for this study was collected through in-person interviews of Afro-Caribbean immigrants who were graduates of a mid-sized state university located in Southwest Florida. The subjects were selected through purposeful sampling. There were similar cultural impacts identified which may have influenced the study participants to perform with high academic achievement. A cross-case analysis was used as a qualitative data analysis technique to discover themes such as familial support, values learned from private school attendance, and language barriers which emerged through the interview responses.

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Published Online: 2016-6-14
Published in Print: 2016-9-1

©2016 by De Gruyter

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