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##  Bridging Identities among Ethnic Minority Youth in Schools. ERIC                Digest.                                                                      

Learning to bridge and negotiate contrasting cultural identities is             a fundamental concern for ethnic minority youth, especially since               they often hold very different cultural values, communication                   styles, and interpersonal relationship norms (Carter, 1991) from                those of the dominant white culture (native born Americans). For                students of mixed race, developing this competency may be even more             difficult because they are likely to embody cultural and social                 norms of more than one ethnic group. But, regardless of whether an              individual claims a single or multiple ethnic heritage, many factors            determine identity and sense of self: race, ethnicity, gender,                  social class, religion, generation, etc. It is essential for school             professionals to recognize students who have problems with                      conflicting identities and to provide appropriate interventions,                because unaddressed difficulties may evolve into significant mental             health problems, such as psychopathology, depression, anxiety, and              low self-esteem; social and relational concerns; academic failure;              and gang involvement (Inose & Yeh, 2001). 
This digest examines the            nature of multiple identities among ethnic minority youth and the               ways they bridge competing and conflicting messages about cultural              ways of being. It also discusses how the school environment                     contributes to student internalization of various identities and how            practitioners may assist youth in developing positive multifaceted              self-concepts that contribute to their social-emotional development             and self-esteem in school. THE ROLE OF THE DOMINANT CULTURE IN                SCHOOLSYouth from culturally diverse backgrounds often face                 contrasting notions of self because they must function in schools               and educational systems that are organized around the values and                goals of the "dominant culture." The dominant culture refers to that            of the people who are either the greatest in number or who have the             most political and economic power. In the United States, the                    dominant culture has been defined by white European Americans,                  specifically those very few who have a great amount of power and                wealth (Helms, 1990). Students who are not from the dominant culture            may be victim to unspoken yet powerful stereotypes and messages                 about their development and personal identity. Hence, they must                 learn to negotiate and bridge multiple, and often competing,                    identities in the schools. 
Racial and ethnic minority students                must learn to operate successfully in the dominant--white--system               since they are evaluated based on its norms. This means that                    children are expected to develop a sense of autonomy and                        self-reliance and to accept that the individual is seen as the                  fundamental, or most important, unit of society (Markus & Kitayama,             1991). Such understanding of the self as unique has clear                       implications for how children are treated in school. Generally                  speaking, students from collectivistic cultures (see Markus &                   Kitayama, 1991, for examples) must learn to be assertive,                       independent, and confident to succeed in schools, but must also be              able to shift back to being relational, modest, passive, and                    family-oriented in at home. Moreover, home and school contexts are              only two of the multiple settings in which students learn to operate            across cultures. They must also learn to shift and adapt to                     culture-based role expectation of peers, elders, significant others,            etc. (Markus, Mullally, & Kitayama, 1997). Those who are unable to              adapt to such competing and fluid role demands are often alienated              from society. 
Students from diverse cultural backgrounds learn to             adapt to Western cultural norms in the school context in many ways.             For example, teachers help them identify internal, personal                     attributes that make each student different and independent from the            another. They emphasize positive attributes in                                  students (intelligence, control, maturity, success) in order to                 build self-esteem. Teachers also help orient children to the future             by asking them to consider the questions of what will be, or what               they could become (future self). This developed sense of                        individuality, uniqueness, and freedom of choice can be seen in                 children as early as preschool (Tobin, Wu, & Davidson,                          1989). 
Minority group children have more difficulty internalizing             these aspects of the dominant culture. They show poorer school                  achievement and have substantially higher dropout rates than                    majority children, at least in part because of the incongruent                  expectations, motives, social behaviors, language, and cognitive                patterns that teachers and majority students may have. IDENTITY               FROM A NON-DOMINANT CULTUREStudent Attitudes Toward                         Achievement.  Non-Western cultures may be characterized by a strong             orientation to family and community (Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Yeh &             Hwang, 2000). Motivation for achievement may come from a desire to              gain access to others and to maintain affiliative ties with peers               rather than from a desire to attain personal or individual                      goals. 
To negotiate competing cultural norms and values, students             must learn to be biculturally competent (LaFromboise, Coleman, &                Gerton, 1993), that is, they must integrate two cultures without                feeling the tension between the two. According to the alternation               model of bicultural competence (LaFromboise et al., 1993),                      individuals can adapt their behavior to a given social or cultural              context without having to commit to a specific cultural identity.               The ability to adjust across contexts and situations may include                using different languages, as well as different problem-solving,                coping, interpersonal, communication, and motivational styles of                interaction. 
A way for this orientation to be integrated into the             curriculum would be for teachers to introduce more team approaches              in the classroom so that children can work together and receive                 group rewards. Children might be given rewards that enable them to              socialize with their peers, or an individualized activity can be                paired with a group reward. 
Counseling Concerns. Minority cultural            values and beliefs, differences in behaviors, language, and                     worldview, and past power experiences with the dominant culture all             influence the success or failure in negotiating identities. For                 example, how discrepancies in one's sense of self are understood by             minority individuals and what is seen as "normal" by the dominant               culture may be quite different. The implications of this narrow view            of "normality" are that minority individuals are often dismissed or             pathologized in comparison to white school children, who are given              more long-term support and guidance in schools. Further, the way                that students' "adjustment"--how they bridge competing identities               across settings and contexts--is evaluated in the schools may                   predetermine an erroneous negative assessment. For example, children            may have identity conflicts and question the essence of who they are            at school, but function appropriately and effectively at home or                vice versa. 
To help students make a positive social and cultural              adjustment, school professionals need an understanding of the                   students' cultural influences and of the many ways that social and              emotional problems which emerge in school are perceived, evaluated,             and treated around the world (Lutz, 1985). Further, counselors                  should know the various ways that help is sought out when a problem             arises within the family. While children may need help in                       negotiating their identity or in dealing with other problems, it is             not usual for them to seek support services independently; they are             referred by teachers and parents, if at all. 
School personnel must            recognize the level of ethnocentrism that influences their                      evaluation of children, and facilitate positive change in a child               that does not involve stereotyping, overgeneralizing, or                        pathologizing behavior that is inconsistent with sanctioned dominant            culture. They also need to realize that because ethnic minority                 youth must negotiate multiple identities, their youth selves are                shifting and fluid, rather than static across home and school                   settings (Yeh, 2000). Finally, all school personnel must recognize              that culture may impact learning style, and consider the social                 context in which the child is observed, rather than trying to                   understand behaviors as unequivocal indicators of a child's                     individual personality or character. MULTICULTURAL EDUCATIONA             comprehensive multicultural education curriculum can provide                    students with rich and broad-based knowledge of the subjects                    covered, foster their understanding and appreciation of ethnic                  diversity, and promote positive interethnic relations. Multicultural            educators need to tailor their curriculum to the developmental level            and interests of children and to understand the different needs of              majority and minority children. For example, in early childhood                 young children have concrete thinking and require experiential                  learning. Therefore, teachers can help them have personal                       experiences with other groups, share foods, and learn about                     different customs and holidays. Adolescents, with abstract thinking             skills, can understand diversity through film, literature, and                  television, and assess how these media contribute to stereotyping,              prejudice, and discrimination. 
Majority children are more likely              to be ethnocentric and less aware of ethnic differences. Thus they              need more accurate information about other groups and an                        understanding of the value of diversity in enriching a society.                 Minority children are typically already familiar with the majority              culture, while their own culture has been ignored or disparaged by              the curriculum. A better understanding of the strengths and                     achievements of their own culture will increase their                           self-esteem. CONCLUSIONNegotiating multiple, often                        contradictory, identities is a complex process for culturally                   diverse school age children. Social, cultural, and political factors            unique to their backgrounds influence the process of identity                   development and the extent to which youth relate to values of the               dominant and family cultures. Since identities are not solely                   dichotomous--home versus school--students may choose to embrace                 multiple ethnicities (identities) or may find safety in forming a               cohesive self. Educators, therefore, should not normalize and                   pressure children to find a single identity. Rather, they need to               acknowledge and accept multiple identities in students without                  prioritizing one over the other, and encourage students to                      appreciate their own cultural heritage and                                      norms. REFERENCESCarter, R.T. (1991, September-October).                  Cultural values: A review of empirical research and implications for            counseling. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70(1),                       164-173. (EJ 437 287) 
Helms, J.E. (Ed.). (1990). Black and white              racial identity: Theory, research, and practice. New York:                      Greenwood. 
Inose, M., & Yeh, C.J. (2001, August). Cultural                    adjustment difficulties and coping strategies of Asian immigrants.              Poster presented at the American Psychological Association Annual               Convention, San Francisco. 
LaFromboise, T., Coleman, H.L.K., &                Gerton, J. (1993, November). Psychological impact of biculturalism:             Evidence and theory. Psychological Bulletin, 114(3),                            395-412. 
Lutz, C. (1985). Depression and the translation of                   emotional worlds. In A. Kleinman & B. Good (Eds.), Culture and                  depression: Studies in the anthropology and cross-cultural                      psychiatry of affect and disorder (pp. 63-100). Berkeley: University            of California Press. 
Markus, H.R., & Kitayama, S. (1991, April).              Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and                  motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2), 224-253. 
Markus, H.R.,               Mullally, P.R., & Kitayama, S. (1997). Selfways: Diversity in modes             of cultural participation. In U. Neisser & D.A. Jopling (Eds.), The             conceptual self in context: Culture, experience, and                            self-understanding (pp. 13-61). New York: Cambridge University                  Press. 
Tobin, J.J., Wu, D.Y.H., & Davidson, D.H. (Eds.). (1989).              Preschool in three cultures: Japan, China, and the United States.               New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. 
Yeh, C.J. (2000, February).             Cultural selves: Complex, multidimensional, dynamic ways of being.              Presentation at the Winter Roundtable on Cross-Cultural Psychology              and Education, Teachers College, New York, NY. 
Yeh, C.J., & Hwang,            M.Y. (2000, Fall). Interdependence in ethnic identity and self:                 Implications for theory and practice. Journal of Counseling and                 Development, 78(4), 420-429. 
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This Digest was developed by             the ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, with funding from the                Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of              Education, under contract no. ED-99-CO-0035. The opinions in this               Digest do not necessarily reflect the position or policies of OERI              or the Department of Education.                                              **Title:** Bridging Identities among Ethnic Minority Youth in Schools. ERIC                Digest.                                                                      **Note:** Digest number 173.                                                           **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, Institute for Urban and                  Minority Education, Box 40, Teachers College, Columbia University,              New York, NY 10027. Tel: 800-601-4868 (Toll Free); Web site:                    http://www.eric-web.tc.columbia.edu.                                         **Descriptors:** Academic Achievement,  Adjustment (to Environment), Counseling,                 Cultural Differences, Diversity (Student), Elementary Secondary                 Education,  Ethnicity, Minority Group Children, Multicultural                   Education,  Racial Identification, Student Attitudes                         **Identifiers:**  Dominant Culture, ERIC Digests                                              
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