Employment barriers of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with disabilities

ii iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my sincere thanks to all the participants in this study who took the time to share their narratives and photovoices so we may learn from their realities. I also would like to give my heartfelt gratitude to all the members of my dissertation committee who provided the guidance and expertise in completing this study. A special appreciation to Dr. Mary Jo Self, my dissertation adviser who provided the intelligent supervision, mentoring, and moral support throughout my doctoral studies and in the completion of this dissertation. In particular, a special thanks to Ottway, my husband and to Joseph, my son who both provided the inspiration and the motivation during the pursuit of my doctorate degree and their support in the completion of this achievement. Finally, I would like to give God praise and glory for He made everythin

Faculty and Staff Experiences of the Support Services Provided to Students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Status at a Community College: A Phenomenological Investigation

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand community college faculty and staff members’ experiences of providing support services to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. The theory that guided this study was Rendon’s validation theory - as students are validated and made to feel valuable, they will foster personal and social development. This study explored three of the six elements of validation theory through the following research questions: 1. In what ways are faculty and staff at the institution acting as validation agents for DACA students? 2. What initiatives or steps do validating agents take to engage with DACA students on campus? 3. How does validation from out-of-class agents influence DACA students’ academic and social success? Respondents included ten staff participants and six student participants with DACA status from a community college in South Carolina. Data from participants were obtained through interviews, photovoice, and a focus group. Data analysis resulted in six themes and one subtheme - sympathy and empathy, communication with the subtheme, lack of communication, disclosure of DACA status, knowledge of policies, DACA hardships, and equal treatment. Staff recognized ways they validate and engage students. Staff participants and DACA students discussed financial issues. Furthermore, staff participants stated that to support DACA students, they need to be made aware of a student’s DACA status, which is not available. A conclusion is that there is a disconnect between the services staff believe they are providing and what DACA students feel they are receiving

Experiencing Community through the Asian American Lens: A Qualitative Study of Photovoice Participants

The purpose of this study was to understand why there is such lack of citizen participation among Asian Americans, despite the exponential growth of Asian American population in the state. Based on the literature on sense of community, citizen participation, and psychological empowerment, it was speculated that how individuals experience community may influence their motivation to participate. With the goal to understand and document how Asian Americans define community and experience sense of community, a sample of Asian Americans were interviewed. These individuals were participants of the Photovoice project conducted by a local community-based organization. The second aim of the study was to explore if and how a project like Photovoice enhanced the sense of community among participants. The findings suggested that Asian Americans defined various types and multiple communities. Also, it was suggested that because Asian American community is an imposed community of people of diverse Asian background, Asian Americans may not necessarily define it as a community or experience sense of community within the community. Based on the experiences of the participants, Photovoice seem to have great potential in bringing such diverse group as Asian Americans together as a community. Limitations of the study and future directions are discussed

Intersectional Exposures: Exploring the Health Effect of Employment with KAAJAL Immigrant/Refugee Women in Grand Erie through Photovoice

The purpose of this community-based participatory research was to understand the employment-health association for immigrant/refugee women from Korea, Asia, Africa, Japan, Arab world and Latin America (KAAJAL) in Grand Erie –a mid-sized urban/rural region in Ontario, Canada. The study utilized photovoice –a visual qualitative research methodology in which participants were given cameras to record their experiences. Intersectionality analysis of 525 participant-generated photographs, diaries, and in-depth interviews of twenty women revealed that various markers of difference such as nationality (i.e. native or foreign-born), immigrant status (i.e. family class sponsorship), geography (i.e. rural or urban residence), socio-economic status, sexuality, age, ability and race intersected to influence women’s health and employment experiences. The results have several policy and practice implications including highlighting individual, organizational, and family factors that lead to health related absenteeism, stress and health problems such as backaches, muscular problems and depression. The study builds on scant literature on work stress and women’s health for this population in Canada’s rural and mid-sized cities

Covering health: healthworlds of first-generation Chinese immigrants in Boston Chinatown

This study examines the healthworlds of first-generation Chinese immigrants in Boston's Chinatown. Through participant observation and interviews conducted within a local church and a local park community, three key issues emerged: how the space of Chinatown influences people's post-immigration healthworlds; the dynamics of community health supports and health challenges; and the daily health lives of these immigrant individuals within their respective families. Likewise, complex understandings of health coverage emerge that include not only health insurance, but also social forms of insurance. Community integration becomes not only a cultural tradition, but also how health resources and health support are linked and provided. This social form of insurance makes it possible for community members to reach out cultural and religious health resources and support in the context of everyday life

The everyday lives of Latina immigrants in North Carolina: a photovoice perspective

The purpose of this research was to allow Latina immigrants living in the southern United States to document and critique their family and community conditions through photographs and stories of their everyday lives. This research informed by feminist and critical science theory, used photovoice, a participatory action research method, with eight participants. Using interpretive inquiry, key themes were identified and illustrated the participants' experiences. "Improvements with sacrifices" was identified as the overarching theme, with additional key themes of "centrality of family," "hopes for children," and "need for community." This research was empowering for the participants, as it affirmed their community strengths, described their challenges, and provided them with an avenue to share their stories with others

Images of DREAMers: Using Photovoice to Explore the Experiences of Undocumented Latinxs in a Washington State Community College

Undocumented students attend school under the provisions of the 1982 Plyler v. Doe Supreme Court decision that determined states must provide free K-12 education for all students regardless of their immigration status. Despite this legally enforced access to free schooling, 52% of undocumented Latinx adults ages 20-29 in the U.S. are high school dropouts (Fry, 2010) compared with 14% of Latinx born in the U.S. (Krogstad, 2015). Although an estimated 65,000 undocumented students graduate high school each year in the United States, many do not have the practical opportunity to attend college, thereby eliminating one of the few opportunities for economic and intellectual advancement. This study captured the experiences of undocumented Latinx students attending a community college in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, to illustrate contemporary barriers and current policy needs. Through the use of photovoice, undocumented college students, often excluded from both policy and practical conversation about shaping public higher education shed a critical light on continued racism as higher education practice. Participant counterstories challenged dominant assumptions about undocumented Latinx, expressed their own critical, creative voices, and ultimately contested dominant, oppressive public opinion. This research thus extended critical undocumented Latinx voices to clarify the local, state, and national need to reengage in conversations about access to higher education for undocumented students

Community Stakeholder Perspectives Around the Strengths and Needs of Unaccompanied Immigrant Minors

Unaccompanied immigrant minors (UIM) are youth who lack lawful immigration status and who are without a parent or guardian in the U.S. who can provide custody and care. By all accounts, UIM experience stressful and traumatic circumstances before, during and postmigration. Most UIM left their home countries due to economic stagnation, poverty, crime and gang-related violence (Kandel et al., 2014); almost half described fleeing societal violence and one in five described experiencing domestic abuse (UNHCR, 2014). During migration, UIM are vulnerable to human trafficking, kidnapping, and other abuses (Kandel et al., 2014). Upon resettlement, UIM sometimes experience extended stays in detention centers, community violence exposure in resettlement areas, and an uncertain future in the U.S., all without family support to buffer these stressors (Alvarez & Alegria, 2016). Not surprisingly, UIM are at increased risk for mental health problems compared to accompanied immigrant youth (Derluyn & Broekaert, 2008; Huemer et al., 2009). Research on protective factors is emerging, but scarce.This presentation describes community stakeholder perspectives around the strengths and needs of UIM. Stakeholders include academic researchers with experience working with UIM; key decision makers in agencies serving UIM; professionals with insider knowledge (e.g., immigration attorneys, psychologists with expertise in asylum evaluations); and community members participating in immigrant-focused coalitions. Stakeholder interviews identified significant need for support for UIM. They noted that UIM need emotional support before, during and after legal interviews when youth must recount traumatic events. Families need support during periods of separations and reunions, which can lead to uncertainty and unanticipated conflict, and foster families sponsoring UIM need parenting support for raising children facing difficult circumstances. Stakeholders also noted role conflicts that arise when simultaneously addressing the legal and mental health needs of UIM and the emotional toll that this work takes on professionals serving UIM

Is a Theory of the Problem Sufficient for a Theory of the Solution? Negotiating Tensions among Research, Practice, Advocacy and Activism in Serving Immigrant Communities

The lives of members of immigrant communities are inevitably shaped by U.S. laws, rapidly-shifting immigration policy, institutional policies and practices (e.g., in schools), and how immigrants are welcomed (or not) by members of host communities (Portes & Rumbaut, 2001). These and other aspects of the context of reception have important implications for immigrant integration, education and employment, and mental health. Accordingly, there have been significant calls for psychologists to take active roles in advocacy and activism, which resonates deeply with many of us. Roundtable organizers are community psychologists working with immigrant communities and seeking to negotiate the tensions that can arise at the intersections of research, practice, advocacy and activism. For example: • APA’s Toolkit for Local Advocacy defines advocacy as sharing information within a system with the assumption that the information will help the system respond effectively; activism, on the other hand, is more likely to indict systems perceived as unjust, perhaps from the outside. How does one choose between--or balance--advocacy and activism? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each for trying to solve specific problems in different contexts? • How does one balance social science and research goals that presumably could provide valuable information in working with immigrant communities with advocacy and activism goals? Can we have one without the other, and if so, should we? • If we integrate these roles, do we run the risk of being perceived as less objective on one hand and less invested in communities (or complicit in injustice) on the other? • Is a theory of the problem sufficient for a theory of the solution? Is it possible to move from problems to solutions without the insight and influence that insiders can provide? Participants will share the (imperfect) ways they have balanced research, practice, advocacy and activism in their work

An Understanding of Religious Doing: A Photovoice Study

The ability to participate in everyday activities that hold meaning and value is a determinant of health and wellbeing. Occupational therapists work with people when health and social barriers limit this valued participation. However a challenge persists in including religious practice or ‘doing’ within therapy, with many occupational therapists feeling ill-equipped and reluctant to address religious doing. The study reported here examines religious doing within the lives of participants from a number of faith traditions. A photovoice method is used, with participants discussing photographs that they have taken to describe their religious doing. Data are analyzed using a phenomenological reflective lifeworld approach. Findings are grouped into six themes and are explored using both verbatim quotes from transcripts and some of the photographs taken by participants. A reflective description of the core aspects of participants’ practical religious doing is constructed from the data, with the intention of providing occupational therapists with a basis from which to begin to consider practical religious doing within the lives of their clients. It is proposed that occupational therapists do not need an in-depth knowledge of theology and doctrine but rather an understanding of key and familiar occupational principles such as person-centred habits and routines, and community connectedness