Social Capital in Rural Southwest Kansas

Presentation made at Latinos in the Heartland (11th : 2013 : Columbia, Mo.) and published in the annual conference proceedings.This study addresses a social capital literature that has targeted a White majority in the United States. Hispanic/Latino audiences, especially new immigrant populations, have not been primary subjects in most studies. Information about the social connectedness of minorities has come from secondary sources. The goal of this study was to understandhow Hispanics/Latinos compare to Anglo, families in rural Kansas, to different levels of social capital. This comparison also looked into the differences of social connectedness and community involvement. The study was done in English and Spanish in order to reach the under-represented population. According to political scientist Robert Putnam (2000), it is through experiences of face-to-face interaction with those from different backgrounds, that people learn to trust each other. Connections create networks that allow social trust to spread throughout society. At the individual level, there has been strong, consistent evidence that social connectedness has positive effects. Individuals have the capacity and the choice to build their social connectedness and community engagement. Those assets can be shared with the collective family, organization, community, state, or country. When individuals have access to networks of supportive and accepting associates, it can generate an array of personal and societal benefits that include preventing or overcoming illness, improving health, supporting child development, mitigating poverty, addressing racial inequalities, preventing crime, and addressing other social concerns. When one builds a stock of personal relationships and other social connections from which he or she can call upon in times of need, it is called social capital. This study, in part, assessed social connectedness and community engagement of people in Kearny County, a rural location in Southwest Kansas that has a 30% Hispanic/Latino population. Surveys were sent to selected households in English and Spanish, and two small focus groups were conducted in the two languages. Statistical analyses indicated support for the hypothesis that Spanish-speaking populations build and maintain social connections and are engaged in community. The independent variables including gender, age, race/ethnicity, education, income, and community durability, were analyzed with dependent variables made of scaled items to measure social connectedness and community engagement. Race/ethnicity, education, and income appeared to be the strongest predictors of social connectedness and community engagement. Implications of the results are discussed

Health, Wellbeing, and Social Connectedness of Rural Hispanic Populations

Presentation made at Latinos in the Heartland (12th : 2014 : St. Louis, Mo.) and published in the annual conference proceedingStudies explored two rural Kansas communities with Hispanic populations that ranged from 30 percent to 51 percent. This research addresses a social capital literature that traditionally targeted a White majority population in the United States. Hispanic and other merging populations have not been primary survey respondents in most studies. The goal of these studies was to understand how growing, foreign-born populations in rural Kansas, as compared to Euro/Anglo populations, experienced different levels of health, well-being, and social connectedness. In addition, one of the studies addressed health needs of its widely diverse communities. Using mixed methods approaches, surveys were sent to selected households in English and Spanish, focus groups were conducted in four languages (English, Spanish, Burmese, and Somali), and online surveys were offered. The findings had some surprises in terms of health conditions, general needs, and social connectedness. The studies did not always reflect the mainstream opinions of how minority populations connect in their communities or how they fare in terms of health outcomes. Implications of the results will be discussed along with culturally appropriate recommendations for reaching these populations with Extension and other educational programs

Improving Relationships and Communication through Understanding One Another

Presentation made at Latinos in the Heartland (13th : 2015 : Columbia, Mo.) and published in the annual conference proceedings.Have you ever heard these statements? "They're not like us." "They don't have our values." "We invited them, but they're not interested, so they don't come." "They just don't care about doing better." You may recognize these comparisons as judgment statements. Why are such statements made? Is there a lack of understanding? Do you recognize fear in any of the statements? Perhaps we fear what we do not understand. Do we interact with those we fear or do not understand? How do we break down barriers of fear and misunderstanding? First of all, a genuine desire to learn has to be come from within each individual. No one can demand, require, or force you to be interested in interacting with someone from different origins than your own. What if you wanted to reach out to someone from a different culture with educational materials or in a business prospect? With rapid population changes in the United States, as well as around the world, we have seen the importance of breaking down cultural barriers that impede interpersonal communication and trusting relationships. Yes, it seems easy enough to simply avoid anyone whom you think to be different, but it is not practical in education, service, business arenas, or in any cohesive community setting. Humans do not function in isolation. Isolation is rarely beneficial to healthful or peaceful outcomes. Since countries grow daily in ethnic and cultural diversity, now may be the time to learn some steps towards 'cultural pluralism'. Often called integration or multi-culturalism, cultural pluralism reflects individuals who are highly acculturated (adaptive) to more than one culture. Research and best practice suggest some preliminary actions for reaching families and individuals not living in mainstream cultures. Primarily, there must be an understanding of one's own cultural patterns and personal bias. This begins the steps toward the comprehension of other cultural customs and paves the way for cross-cultural communication. The purpose of this workshop is to bring participants closer to clearly defining and understanding cultural patterns, learning how cultural patterns can impede the communication process, and introducing ways to improve comfort levels in building cross-cultural relationships. Keywords: cross-cultural communication, cultural patterns, pluralism, integration, acculturatio

Multi-lingual Research in Rural Multi-cultural Communities

Multi-lingual research in rural multi-cultural communities can be a challenge (Perez, 2009, Kao, 2004, and Bolton and Dick, 2013). This paper will explore the processes for successful multi-lingual research in multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, rural communities. The implications of multi-lingual research for education and human services will be discussed

Garden City: Multicultural Issues in Adult Education

Kansas adult education is faced with the growing challenge to prepare its programs for serving the needs of a socioculturally diverse student population. It is imperative that Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs develop effective learning techniques for multicultural student populations. These issues continue to be important topics for educators, administrators, and politicians

Moving up : communities, institutions, and plural societies

The 2010 Census estimated that the United States will become a minority-majority country by 2043. Acting Census Director, Thomas L. Mesenbourg, noted that steady immigration, increased interracial marriages, and continued trends will move "the United States to become a plurality nation, where the non-Hispanic white population remains the largest single group, but no group is in the majority." While population diversification is reason for applause, the continued disparities in social and economic classes and educational attainment among minority groups are causes for concern. Pluralistic values can lessen the minoritization of any one group (Kruvant, 2015). Cultural capital shapes the intrinsic components of a values system. Unlike human capital, which is often correlated with the attainment of education, cultural capital largely corresponds to upbringing (Bourdieu, 1986). These dramatic increases in the US "minority" populations demand that this human ecosystem practice full integration of its components. The central force driving individual, community, and institutional roles and responsibilities is the interpretation of pluralistic values that shape and characterize participation in society. When looking at educational institutions as resources for increasing social connectedness and community engagement, the onus is shared by individuals and institutions to cooperate, adapt, participate, contribute, and have mutual trust within the ecological system for optimal outcomes (Ostrom, 2009). As U.S. society becomes more ethnically pluralistic, the ability of individuals, communities, and educational institutions to function within the social system will become more dependent on abilities to gain access to relevant education and adapt to a pluralistic society

The Finney County, Kansas Community Assessment Process: Fact Book

This multi-lingual/multi-cultural study was called, Community Assets Processt, by the groups that “commissioned” it: Finnup Foundation, Finney County K-State Research & Extension, Western Kansas Community Foundation, Finney County United Way, Finney County Health Department, United Methodist Community Health Center (UMMAM), Center for Children and Families, Garden City Recreation Commission, and the Garden City Cultural Relations Board, because we intend for this to be an ongoing discussion. An objective, for those promoting the study, was to connect foundation, state, and federal funding with activities or services that addressed the true needs of people living in Finney County. The group was looking for data that would offer insights on ways to address the needs of diverse audiences through human services agencies, County Extension, the schools, churches, and other entities working with community members of Finney County. Initially, an online survey was sent to directors of Finney County’s human service organization/agencies and schools. Directors were asked what sorts of data were required to help them quantify the needs of their client/customer bases. It was from those responses that the committee designed the survey instrument. The objective of the resulting survey instrument was to gather data that would: Identify resources available in Finney County (a Minority-majority county) Identify services needed in the community Capture information regarding well-being of people in Finney County Feature General Demographic (gender, age, race/ethnicity, education, household income) Length of years lived in Finney County Primary and secondary languages spoken at home (the survey was conducted in four (4) languages) Educational needs Health questions (insurance, health conditions, mental health, medical care, etc.) Social and health needs; and Questions to measure community engagement and social involvement Target individuals and groups of varying ages, socio-economic backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds, and religious affiliations. Target survey respondents 18 years or older Keep survey respondents’ identities confidential since the study was approved by Kansas State University’s Institutional Review Board for compliance in Research with Human Subjects. Data were gathered from about 1% of Finney County’s population through surveys and focus groups conducted in four languages better to understand the assets, needs, and social relationships of this cultural and ethnically diverse population. Researchers use caution when studying racially ethnic groups who may have different priorities. There can be a tendency of culturally-dominant groups to judge diverse groups with the dominants’ values (Perez, E. O., 2009, Hero, 2007; Kao, 2004). For this study, it became important to use research tools that reflected the language(s), sentence syntax, and vocabulary of the group(s) to be studied (Hero, 2007). The survey instrument was designed by members of an ad hoc committee organized to complete this project. The survey was written in four languages, English, Spanish, Karen (the language of one of Burma’s major clans - pronounced, Kaw-ren), and Somali. The translated surveys were taken from the original English questionnaire. Once the questions were translated, they were back-translated to English to make sure that the integrity of the original questions remained and meaning was not lost. We took steps to assure that there would be what we believe to be a representative sample of Finney County’s population. Most of the surveys were distributed in a focus group-type format in that groups were given surveys to complete. Focus group facilitators were trained prior to their proctoring the completion of surveys by any gathered groups of people. For example, surveys were completed at the local senior center, with various parent groups associated to different school programs or adult education classes. The survey was also made available on-line in English. Interviews: 25 interviews were completed in English and Spanish, and any open-ended questions from the surveys were translated from Karen, Somali, and Spanish and analyzed with other qualitative data. Data analyses proved to be most telling of how families living in communities high in ethnic minorities fare economically, educationally, healthfully, and socially. These data are important to anyone wanting to be part of the solution in improving lives for families living in rural communities.https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/1010/thumbnail.jp

Fragile States: Beyond International Borders and into U.S. Communities

“Fragile States Indicators”, used worldwide, were applied to U.S. communities with high poverty. Theories, literature and data gave rise to a model that could be applied to families and institutions with implications for adult education

Harper County 2013-2014 Community View Assessment

Introduction In 2012, Harper County Commissioners engaged K-State Research and Extension and Western Kansas Statistical Lab to survey county residents for data that would paint a clearer picture of attitudes and desires around life, work, and recreation. The resultant data, its analyses, and subsequent narratives were intended to illuminate reasons why people leave or choose to remain in this south central Kansas County bordering Oklahoma. Methodology The areas of focus were Anthony, Harper, Attica, and “other” locales within the county borders. Respondents were 18 years of age and older. The survey instrument was designed to gather quantitative and qualitative data on respondents’ perspectives of their lives in Harper County. 210 respondents completed the written survey instrument. Qualitative focus groups and interviews reached 45 people, so data were gathered from a total of 255 respondents (n=255). The survey instrument and focus group/interview questions probed for: General demographics Knowledge of and participation in the County’s activities or events Levels of satisfaction with Harper County and city of habitation Best things about living in Harper County and city of habitation Challenges in Harper County, and Reasons for shopping outside Harper County. Data Analyses The analyses are limited to: Frequencies Test of Independence Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Qualitative Interviews Ethnographic examples Qualitative interviews were analyzed by looking for patterns in answers and discussion, listing of details, and for stories that illuminated quantitative data. Transcripts of qualitative answers and focus groups are provided, verbatim, as reference points. Results of Data Analyses These data were gathered, analyzed, and reported to discover a viewpoint from the people of Harper County. The narratives, focus group transcripts, qualitative points, percentage tables, and charts are representations of perceptions of Harper County’s residents. The Report The survey is divided into10 parts: General demographics Your and your visitors’ activities Additional activities Satisfaction with Harper County Events – Known Events – Participate Three best things about Harper County Three biggest challenges for Harper County Shopping outside of Harper County? Reasons for shopping outside Harper County (qualitative) Focus group and interview transcripts are provided verbatim.https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/1011/thumbnail.jp