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Exploring ethnic identity on a university campus: Filipino American students' perspectives

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Content EXPLORING ETHNIC IDENTITY ON A UNIVERSITY CAMPUS:
FILIPINO AMERICAN STUDENTS ’ PERSPECTIVES
Copyright 2003
by
Maria Dela Cruz Besnard
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(EDUCATION)
August 2003
Maria Dela Cruz Besnard
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UMI Number: 3116667
Copyright 2003 by
Besnard, Maria Dela Cruz
All rights reserved.
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY PARK
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90089-1695
This dissertation, written by
M a r i a D e l a C r u z B e s n a r d
under the direction o f h e r dissertation committee, and
approved by all its members, has been presented to and
accepted by the D irector o f G raduate and Professional
Program s, in pa rtia l fulfillm ent o f the requirements fo r the
degree o f
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
1 irector
Date August 1 2 , 2003
D issertation Committee
i£ / v tdJ
Chair
T > . QdUL
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DEDICATION
I dedicate this dissertation to my girls, Juliette and Angelique -
The next generation of Filipino Americans
And
To my husband, Eric, for his belief in me and his support.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This has been quite a journey. I really can’t believe I am at the stage of truly
completing my Ph.D. program. But there were so many people who did believe in
me and helped in this journey whom I want to thank.
First off, I have to thank my supervisors and colleagues at California State
University, Long Beach for supporting my academic endeavor especially the late Dr.
Jim Jensen, who started me in this journey and the late Dr. Glenn Nagel, who helped
me complete this journey.
I need to also thank my “dissertation buddies,” Maya and Julie, for
understanding my need to take a break but were very encouraging when I returned.
I am indebted to my dissertation committee. Dr. Melora Sundt was the
catalyst in helping me find new committee members and her guidance was
invaluable. I appreciated Dr. Alison Renteln for her positive attitude and her belief in
me to finish. I wish to give a special thank you to Dr. Linda Hagedom, my chair. She
was always timely and insightful in her feedback. I can’t thank her enough!
I want also to thank all the students and faculty, at CSU Long Beach and UH
Manoa, who participated in my study. Thank you for sharing your stories with me.
Last but not least, my family. My parents, Rosario and Bonifacio, were
always encouraging me. Thank you mom and dad! To my girls, Juliette and
Angelique, thank you for understanding that mama couldn’t always come out and
play and had to work. And to my dear husband, Eric, you are truly the reason I am
finishing this dissertation. You would not let me quit. Merci beaucoup, mon amour.
iii
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii
LIST OF TABLES vii
ABSTRACT viii
CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 1
Educational Background on Filipino Americans 3
Barriers to Access Higher Education 5
Needs for “Tailored” Student Services 9
Selection of the Universities 12
University of Hawaii at Manoa 13
California State University, Long Beach 15
Problem Statement 16
Purpose and Significance of the Study 18
Research Questions 19
Limitations 19
Definition of Terms 20
CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW 22
Theoretical Framework 22
Defining Ethnicity 22
Student Development 26
Ethnic Identity Development 29
Ethnic Identity Exploration 32
Student Clubs 33
Fraternities and Sororities 35
Ethnic Studies Courses 37
Political Climate 39
Other Benefits in Student Club Participation 40
Leadership and Interpersonal skills 41
Academic Skills 42
Summary 45
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CHAPTER 3 - BACKGROUND INFORMATION 46
The Philippines 46
Historical and Cultural Background 46
Filipino People in the United States 48
Immigration to the United States 48
Filipinos in California 50
Filipinos in Hawaii 51
The Universities 52
University of Hawaii at Manoa 52
Department of Hawaii & Indo-Pacific Languages &
Literatures 52
Background on Timpuyog 53
California State University, Long Beach 54
Asian American Studies Department 54
Background on Pilipino American Coalition 55
Summary 57
CHAPTER 4 -METHODOLOGY 58
Introduction 58
Research Questions 60
Research Population and Design 60
Instrumentation 62
Questionnaires 62
Observations 64
Interviews 66
Data Analysis 67
Research Considerations 68
Validity 68
Reliability 69
Triangulation 70
Summary 70
CHAPTER 5 - DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS 71
Introduction 71
The Respondents: Filipino American University Students 72
Questionnaires 72
Interviews 74
Participation in the Student Organization 76
Reasons for joining 76
Length of Participation 79
Attendance at meetings 80
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Perspectives on their Ethnic Identity 82
Pride and Participation in the Filipino Culture 82
Actively Learning and Participating
in the Filipino Culture 82
Pride in the Filipino Culture 83
Understanding the Filipino Culture 84
Socializing with other Filipinos and Ethnic Groups 85
Identifying as a Filipino American 90
Local Identity and Stereotypes 92
Passing on Cultural Traits 94
Exploring their Ethnic Identity 97
CSU Long Beach Responses 98
UH Manoa Responses 99
Comparisons 102
Other Benefits in Participation 103
Leadership skills 104
Social/Networking skills 106
Gaining Confidence 106
Community awareness 107
Summary 108
CHAPTER 6 - DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 110
Introduction 110
Theoretical Analysis 110
Student Development Theories 110
Ethnic Identity Theories 115
Comparisons of the Organizations 118
Institutional 118
Environmental 120
Recommendations for Future Practices 121
Recommendations for Further Research 126
Conclusion 128
BIBLIOGRAPHY 130
APPENDICES 138
Appendix A - Questionnaire 138
Appendix B - Interview Guide (Student) 142
Appendix C - Interview Guide (Faculty) 143
Appendix D - Consent Form (Questionnaire) 146
Appendix E - Consent Form (Interview) 149
Appendix F - Interview Respondents 150
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Ethnic Makeup of the University of Hawaii at Manoa 13
Table 2 Ethnic Makeup of the California State University, Long Beach 14
Table 3 Data Collection Summary 71
Table 4 Demographic Information from the Questionnaires 73
Table 5 Demographic Information from Interview Respondents 75
Table 6 Reasons for Joining the Club 78
Table 7 Length of Membership in the Filipino American student club 80
Table 8 Attendance at Club Meetings 81
Table 9 Interviews Responses related to Friendships in College 86
Table 10 CSU Long Beach - Responses from Questionnaires 88
Table 11 UH Manoa - Responses from Questionnaires 89
Table 12 Responses from the Interviews -
Passing on Cultural Traits 96
Table 13 Responses from the Interviews -
Exploring Ethnic Identity 97
Table 14 Benefits in Participation 104
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ABSTRACT
As campus populations have become diverse, a need to develop a campus
environment that responds to diversity has grown. The findings from this study will
help educators in better serving the Filipino American student population since the
needs of various Asian American ethnic subgroups tend to be masked.
This qualitative study examined how participating in an ethnic-specific
student club provided Filipino American students an opportunity to explore their
ethnic identity. In addition, it investigated other ways students benefited by
participating in a Filipino American student organization. The data collected at
California State University, Long Beach (CSU Long Beach) and University of
Hawaii at Manoa (UH Manoa) included 22 interviews (twenty student members and
two faculty advisors) and 106 questionnaires. In addition, observations were made at
one general meeting and one cultural event at each respective institution.
The findings revealed differences between the two institutions. The majority
of the students at CSU Long Beach did utilize the ethnic-specific student
organization to explore their ethnic identity. This was done specifically through the
cultural lessons presented at the general meetings. While at UH Manoa, the majority
of respondents identified events or experiences outside the student organization
in providing insights to their Filipino American identity. Therefore, participation in
an ethnic-specific organization for the UH Manoa students was not a salient avenue
for ethnic identity exploration.
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There were other notable ways the student members benefited by participation in the
student organizations. The students believed they obtained leadership, social/network
and confidence skills. In addition, a few club participants became more aware of the
Filipino community, outside of academia, as a result of their involvement in an
ethnic-specific organization.
Based on these findings, the following practices were recommended: 1)
encourage ethnic-specific student organizations to provide students more avenues for
ethnic identity exploration, 2) support the development of leadership and
interpersonal skills among the club membership, 3) coordinate more interaction with
other ethnic groups, and 4) develop Filipino American student organizations in
appropriate institutions.
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Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
“I think that organizations like PAC are very important outlets for Filipinos
and Filipino Americans to learn about their culture, meet new people, and
feel proud of who they are. While it may be time consuming, I would just like
to add that joining is a great experience and I encourage anyone interested to
become involved.” Female student, CSU Long Beach.
A 1988 report by the American Council on Education indicated that by the
year 2010, one-third of the U.S. population will be considered as minorities (Jones,
1992). The rapid growth and emergence of ethnic groups has challenged
administrators and student affairs professionals to effectively serve this growing
population of higher education.
In the United States, the Filipino American population is growing rapidly. In
the next few years, Filipinos are expected to surpass Chinese Americans as the
largest Asian American subgroup. In California, Filipino Americans are the second
largest Asian American subgroup (US Census Bureau 2000). The Filipino American
student population is growing as well on university campuses.
College campuses have historically served traditional students. Most of the
campus services are standardized on the basis of a homogenous population that has
essentially diminished (Shang and Moore, 1992). The traditional college population
of 18 to 22 year old, middle class, largely White males is increasingly being replaced
by a more culturally and ethnically diverse student body. This new student
population requires educators to view students and the learning environment from
different perspectives.
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According to Arthur Chickering’s “Seven Vectors of Student Development”
theory, establishing identity is an important process for one’s college experience.
The awareness of ethnic differences may often increase during the identity
development process as a result of an individual’s participation in higher education
(Espiritu, 1994). Research has shown a strong relationship between the development
of ethnic identity and self-esteem (Porter, 1993, Phinney & Alipuria, 1990; Ethier &
Deaux, 1990). There also have been studies that show a correlation between having a
sense of ethnic identity and academic achievement (Gay, 1985). Therefore, the
development of one’s ethnic identity is a relevant interest to student affairs personnel
and administrators on college campuses. The purpose of this study is to examine how
participation in a student club provides Filipino American students an opportunity to
explore their ethnic identity.
Ethnic identity, often used synonymously with race, is commonly defined as
a construct pertaining to an individual’s group membership. Helms (1990)
distinguishes race from ethnicity by defining race as biological and genetic,
specifically subgroups of people who have common physical characteristics different
from other subgroups. Helms discusses ethnicity in the terms of group classification
based on a shared social and cultural heritage. The emphasis in defining ethnic
identity is on knowledge about one’s own ethnic group and on the sense of self as a
member (Bernal et al., 1993). Actually, many researchers have stated the crux of
ethnic identity has to do with the feeling of belonging and commitment with a sense
of shared values and attitudes to one’s group (Phinney, 1990). For many college
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students, the need to belong to a group is a driving force in developing a
commitment to one’s ethnic identity.
Educational Background on the Filipino Americans
According to the 1990 Census, the Asian American population has doubled
in the past two decades, and now comprises nearly 3 percent of the U.S. population.
In the same period, their numbers in higher education have doubled to 4 percent of
total enrollment. Census data also show that 39 percent of Asian Americans aged 25
years or older have completed at least four years of college, compared with 22
percent of Whites and 12 percent of African Americans.
The demographic diversity within the nation’s rising Asian American
population has raised complex questions for institutions of higher learning. Colleges
are challenged with the needs of a population that includes recent immigrants,
refugees and native-born Americans. This same group also encompasses more than
two dozen ethnic subgroups originating from Japan, Vietnam, India and the
Philippines. The considerable success of some Asian Americans in gaining access to
college and in graduating masks the academic difficulties of others. Such is the case
with the Filipino American population.
At first glance, Filipino Americans appear to have a relatively high level of
educational achievement. The 1990 U. S. Census data indicated that Filipino
American women, 25 years and older, are over represented among bachelor degree
or higher recipients (42 percent) and ranked 2n d in the rate of college completion
among women in the U.S. (behind Asian Indian women at 49 percent). Filipino
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American men also have an above average proportion (36 percent) of recipients of
bachelor’s degrees or higher.
However, it appears that these high levels of education attainment are due
primarily to the arrival of college-educated, post-1965 immigrants. A sample survey
of almost 2,100 adult Filipinos who had been issued immigrant visas to the United
States in 1986 found that more than half (57 percent) had attended or graduated from
college prior to their arrival in the United States (Okamura and Agbayani, 1997). In
contrast, second- and third- generation Filipino Americans continue to be
underrepresented in colleges and universities and are not achieving the same high
educational status as their Philippine-educated counterparts. Thus the apparent gains
that have been made in higher education can be attributed primarily to post-1965
immigration rather than to progressive advancement over the generations, as with
Chinese and Japanese Americans (Okamura and Agbayani, 1997).
A report by Cheng and Yang (1996) of Asian Americans living in Los
Angeles confirmed the pattern of high levels of education achievement of native-
born Asian Americans. In addition, they found that not all groups of native-born
Asians were equally educated. They indicated that Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and
Asian Indians ranked ahead of native-born whites, while Filipinos, Vietnamese and
other Asians fell behind the White population. The study also discussed that as for
college attendance, every Asian ethnic group, with the exception of Filipino
immigrants, surpasses whites in this category. Chinese Americans attend college at
twice the white rate, and native-born Asian Indians and Koreans are not far behind.
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The educational needs of Filipino Americans challenge the notion of the
“model minority” myth bestowed on the collective group of Asian Americans.
Various studies demonstrate that Filipino Americans encounter barriers to access to
higher education (Manger, 1995; Mau, 1995; and Rebamontan, 1989). These barriers
come in the form of lack of academic preparation and guidance, as well as the early
dismantling of affirmative action specifically for Filipino Americans. Other research
conducted supports the notion that Filipino Americans are in need of more student
services addressing their specific academic and personal needs (Almirol, 1995; Sue
& Sue 1990; and APAE Advisory Report Committee, 1990).
Barriers to Access Higher Education
According to Escueta and O’Brien (1995), most research on Asian Americans
in higher education has focused on the achievement and status of the entire group,
yet the population known as “Asian and Pacific Islander American” is quite diverse.
When they analyzed the entering 1984 University of California freshman class by
differences in SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) scores and high school grade point
average (GPA), they discovered that of the six Asian American ethnic subgroups
(Chinese, Filipino, Indian/Pakistani, Japanese and Korean), Filipino American
students had the lowest GPA. The Filipino American group also had a lower GPA
than the White students who entered that same year while the other five Asian
American groups had a higher GPA than the white students.
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These studies demonstrate that not all Asian American groups are
academically prepared to enter college nor do they fit the “model minority” mold. In
particular, this lack of academic preparation could be a barrier for postsecondary
access for Filipino American students. Another study conducted by Azores (1986-
87) found a lack of academic preparation among Filipino American high school
seniors in the Los Angeles Unified School district. Specifically, Azores discovered
that twenty percent of the ninety students in her study aspired to attend post
secondary education, however these students had grade point averages lower than
2.5. The data collected through questionnaires found students who had very high
aspirations for a college education, however lacked the grades to attend. Azores
attributed this dilemma to three factors: 1) Filipino American students have
unrealistic expectations; 2) high aspirations may not be linked to personal
commitment; and 3) students felt that there are characteristics other than grades that
define a good student.
Other evidence that contradicts those who contend that Filipino Americans
are up to par academically with the other Asian American groups and whites is from
a report by the Chronicle of Higher Education. This article discussed how certain
Asian subgroups such as Southeast Asians and Filipinos are underrepresented at
Stanford and continue to need affirmative action (Magner, 1993). Students and
administrators from the same institution stated that most of the Asian American
students are of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent.
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In the University of California system, Filipino Americans previously
received special consideration in admissions, along with African Americans,
Hispanic and American Indian students. The special considerations ended when the
percentage of Filipino American high school graduates who were able to meet the
academic requirements necessary for admission to the UC System grew.
Now, however, without the benefits of affirmative action, Filipino Americans
have among the lowest rates of admission at UCLA of any ethnic group (Magner,
1993). The dilemma is explained by the director of admissions at UCLA as Filipino
applicants coming from a high-income group with marginal academic records. The
director went on to say that Filipino American students are “being beat out of the
admissions game by students who are smarter and those who are poorer”(Magner,
1993).
Other research conducted by Okamura and Agabayani (1997) corroborated
Manger’s findings. The study further stated that in Fall 1991 at UCLA, 902 Filipino
applicants were admitted at a rate of 39% while other Asian American groups were
at much higher rates (Chinese 55%, Korean 46% and Japanese 46%). For Fall 1996,
of 1377 Filipino American applicants, only 26% were admitted - the lowest
admission percentage of any ethnic/racial group (keeping in mind that the affirmative
action program for Latinos and African Americans was still in place).
Cultural conflicts may be another barrier to accessing higher education for
Filipina Americans. A study conducted by Rosalind Mau (1995) with forty-six
Filipino, Hawaiian and Samoan American high school girls discovered that about
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half the girls in the sample were not enrolled in any science courses. In not taking
these types of courses, many of these girls may not be successful in competing for
college admission as well nor have the background to enter a science, math or
engineering major.
According to the girls’ narratives, they were socialized into traditional roles
in the home. Early experiences and responsibilities of many Filipino- and South
Pacific- American girls depend substantially on their birth order. Within the home
setting, older children care for the younger children and are responsible for most of
the household chores. This traditional role at home may interfere with their role as
students. The students in this particular sample expressed that their roles conflicted
between home and school settings.
High school experiences can also affect a Filipino American student’s desire
to attend college. For example, research conducted by Rebamontan (1989) of forty
college freshmen demonstrated that Filipino American students were influenced in
deciding to attend higher education institutions by the atmosphere of their high
school. He found that positive high school experiences (i.e., had positive teachers,
uncrowded classrooms and limited gang activity), may influence a Filipino American
student to attend a university.
High school counselors also influence students’ access to higher education.
Almirol (1985) discovered that counseling services alienated Filipino students. The
respondents in his study reported that school counselors rarely encouraged them to
apply to college. A majority of the same students indicated that high school
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counselors told them to enroll in vocational courses rather than the academic ones
needed for college admission. In general, the students in Almirol’s study felt that
Anglo teachers and school administrators were indifferent to their ability and
aptitude for higher education.
If a Filipino American student is able to overcome the barriers to access
higher education as mentioned above and enrolls in a university, he or she may have
to contend with a college campus that is not equipped to accommodate his or her
special needs. The next section will examine the lack of specialized student services
on campuses for Filipino Americans.
Need for “Tailored” Student Services
Within the California State University (CSU) system, Asian Pacific
American (APA) enrollments have increased dramatically over the past decade
(APAE Advisory Committee, 1990). However, APA students stated on a “Student
Needs Survey” conducted by the CSU system that they were dissatisfied with
institutional support services, i.e. advising, student services and campus life.
Interestingly, results of the same survey found African Americans and Latinos in
high approval of the institutional support they received. In 1990, there were
approximately 50,000 (15% of the total CSU student population) APA students
attending a CSU campus.
The CSU system investigated further information on issues related to campus
climate and retention through statewide hearings as well as numerous documents and
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reports. Based on the committee report, an alarming number of APA students
appeared to be experiencing intense psychological stress and alienation from the
campus environment and student support programs. Cultural differences and the
“model minority” stereotype imposed on APAs have also created resentment from
other students which further aggravates their sense of alienation (APAE Advisory
Committee, 1990).
Compounding the psychological stress and alienation of the Asian American
students was their reluctance to seek counseling because of the stigma attached to it.
Most Asian Americans try to deal with their psychological problems without seeking
professional help (Uba, 1994). Asian Americans tend to choose self-reliance or
reliance on the family as means of dealing with their problems (Sue & Sue, 1990).
Asian Americans usually ask advice or help from friends, family or clergy before
seeking a trained counselor.
The family influence is a strong force in the Filipino culture. The respondents
of the Almirol study (1985) expressed how members depend on one another for
emotional, psychological and financial support. Filipinos place a high priority on
dependence on and loyalty to the family. The interests or desires of the individual are
sacrificed for the good of the family (Agbayani-Siewert, 1994). This background
information is important for all educators to be aware of as they try to provide
student services to the Filipino student population. The CSU report further stipulates
that APA students seek APA counselors for academic and personal counseling
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because non-APA counselors often display insensitivity and ignorance of their
cultural background.
In addition, Asian American college students are reported to more likely
focus on academic and career problems than the white students, who are more likely
to focus on emotional or interpersonal problems (Gim, Atkinson & Whiteley, 1990).
Therefore, career and placement counselors on college campuses must be cognizant
of stereotyping APA students as being proficient only in math and science that would
lead them to limited range of occupational fields. Moreover, many APAs are
alienated from the “social grapevine” utilized by majority students. They often do
not have access nor are encouraged to participate in internships and cooperative
education programs (APAE Advisory Committee, 1990).
Again, the family influence needs to be taken into consideration when career
counseling the Filipino American student. In previously mentioned research,
(Rebamontan 1989), it was found that the success of the Filipino University students
depended specifically on the emotional and financial support from the parents. But
with this support came the students’ burden to repay their parents by forgoing their
career aspirations and replacing them with their parents’ career choices. Also career
counselors must keep in mind that Asian American College students invoke
academic and vocational problems as a way of opening the discussion to personal
problems (Sue & Sue, 1990).
As indicated earlier, the Filipino American student population is a growing
one. The research previously presented has shown that these students have to
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contend with barriers to access higher education and the need of tailored student
services. There is a lack of research, however, regarding Filipino Americans students
and their utilization of college experiences for ethnic identity exploration. The
importance to investigate this topic is relevant for university educators since studies
have supported the link between ethnic identity with self-esteem and academic
achievement.
Selection of the Universities
California State University, Long Beach (CSU Long Beach) and University
of Hawaii at Manoa (UH Manoa) were the chosen sites of this research study. These
institutions were chosen because of their Filipino American student populations and
the organizational structure of the ethnic specific student clubs.
First, the two institutions are four year public universities in states that have
the largest Filipino population in the United States (Census Bureau, 2000), with
California being the largest and Hawaii following. CSU Long Beach and UH Manoa
are also similar with an existing and active Filipino student organization with fifty
members or more.
The two student organizations, however, differ in structure. The details of
each organization will be discussed in Chapter 3, Background Information, but the
major difference is that at UH Manoa, the student organization is closely tied to the
Philippines language and literature department. While at CSU Long Beach, the
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student club is not as connected to the Asian American studies department with
exception of the faculty advisor coming from that particular academic department.
Another significant comparison between the two institutions is they both
have a similar number of Filipino students on their campuses, as indicated in Tables
1 and 2. The Filipino students at UH Manoa are 8% of the student population, while
at CSU Long Beach, the Filipino student population is 5%.
UH Manoa and CSU Long Beach have comparable Filipino American
student populations and active Filipino American student clubs. However, the
organizational structure of the student organizations and dynamic ethnic student
makeup at the two universities are quite different. These variances provide the
appropriate environment to tackle the research question of ethnic identity exploration
of Filipino American students on a university campus.
University o f Hawaii at Manoa
The University of Hawaii (UH) system is comprised of ten institutions and is
the only public higher education system in the State of Hawaii. Two of the ten are
universities located on the island of Oahu: UH Manoa, the sole research university
and UH-West Oahu, a much smaller upperdivison campus. The third institution, UH-
Hilo, is on the island of Hawaii and is a four-year university. Seven community
colleges make up the rest of the UH system - four on Oahu and one each on Hawaii,
Maui and Kauai.
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Established in 1907, UH Manoa offers bachelor degrees in 87 fields of study,
masters degrees in 89, doctorates in 57 as well as professional degrees in law and
medicine, As indicated in the Table 1, UH Manoa has a student population of 18,706
with the majority of the students ethnically identifying themselves Asian or Pacific
Islander.
Table 1
Fall 2002 - Ethnic Makeup o f the University o f Hawaii at Manoa
(Institutional Research Office, 2002)
Total Student Population = 18,706
Numbers Percentage
Asian/Pacific Islander 11,516 61.6
Japanese 4,040 21.6
Chinese 1,753 9.4
Korean 799 4.3
Filipino 1,505 8.0
Hawaiian/P art-Hawaiian 1,577 8.4
Pacific Islander 445 2.4
Other Asian 493 2.6
Mixed Asian/Pacific Island 904 4.8
Hispanic 334 1.8
Caucasian 4,436 23.7
African American 159 .8
Amer Indian/Alaska Native 50 .3
Mixed Ethnic Background 1,868 10.0
No Response 343 1.8
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California State University, Long Beach
Established in 1949, California State University Long Beach (CSULB) is one
of twenty-three campuses in the California State University (CSU) system. The CSU
campuses offer more than 1600 bachelors and masters degree programs in
approximately 240 subject areas. CSULB is one of the largest in the CSU system in
terms of both enrollment and acreage. More than 33,000 students participate in
classes in the more than 80 buildings sitting on 322 acres. In Fall 2002, the student
population at CSU Long Beach was 34,556 with largest group of students ethnically
identifying themselves as White (34%) with the Asian/Pacific Islander group
following (24%).
Table 2
Fall 2001 - Ethnic Makeup o f the California State University, Long Beach
(Institutional Research Office, 2002)
Total Student Population = 34,566
Numbers Percentage
Asian/Pacific Islander 8,350 24
Japanese 1,008 2.9
Chinese 1,138 3.3
Korean 877 2.5
Filipino 1,798 5.2
Asian Indian 327 .9
Laotian 34 .1
Thai 179 .5
Vietnamese 1,746 5.1
Cambodian 566 1.6
Other Southeast Asian 73 .2
Guamanian 33 .1
Samoan 45 .1
Hawaiian 45 .1
Other Pacific Islander 64 .2
Other Asian 417 1.2
H ispanic 7636 22
White 11,996 34.7
African American 2,062 6.0
Amer Indian/Alaska Native 212 .6
Other Ethnicity 1,224 3.5
No Response 3,086 8.9
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Problem Statement
Arthur Chickering’s “Seven Vectors of Student Development” theory asserts
that establishing identity is an important college experience (Chickering and Reisser,
1993). Chickering’s model has provided a conceptual lens for higher education
practitioners to view their students as they change through their college experience.
One specific stage in this theory, establishing identity, is defined as students’ ability
to develop a sense of self by clarifying physical needs, characteristics, and personal
appearance through the establishment of appropriate sexual identification, roles and
behaviors. Exploring one’s ethnic identity is an integral part for establishing identity.
It has been suggested that there is tension on some university campuses in
relation to the increasingly number of student organizations that are organized along
racial and ethnic lines (Chang, 2002). The fear is that as the student body becomes
more racially diverse, the campus becomes more racially divided or balkanized.
Many charge that student clubs formed around racial and ethnic groups foster
students’ tendency to segregate (D’Souza, 1991). Recent research does not support
this notion but rather supports various educational benefits for students who
participate in an ethnic or racial student organization (Antonio, 2001).
Due to cultural and racial barriers, Asian American students are known not to
be as involved as other students in extracurricular activities or in social and cultural
activities that bring them into frequent contact with other students especially of other
ethnic backgrounds (APAE Advisory Committee, 1990). In order to foster
exploration of ethnic identity, campuses should make efforts to expand the social
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environments of Asian American students. Such activities can provide them valuable
experiences that will help them develop the interpersonal leadership skills they need
to grow socially and professionally.
Individuals may also find a psychological niche by belonging to an ethnic
group. When individuals are not accepted by certain ethnic groups and can find no
other group to identify with, identity development becomes problematic. It is
important for all students to find a campus climate that is comfortable and inviting of
diverse backgrounds. This includes programs and services that recognize the
different needs of this diverse group of college students.
There is a shortage, however, of studies related to the college experiences
that may assist in the development of a student’s ethnic identity especially among the
Filipino American student population. Pascarella and Terenzini (1991) found a lack
of research dealing with identity development among minority students. They stated
that too few studies examine the nature of changes among minority students during
college or try to identify the factors that might promote or attenuate those changes.
Filipino students are one such minority group for which there is a scarcity of
available literature related to their ethnic identity. In addition, Filipino Americans
usually are lumped with other Asian American students, though a great diversity
exists among the Asian American ethnic groups. When using this term, Asian
Americans, the individual problems or issues related to specific ethnic subgroups are
masked. There is a need to look at the particular issues or concerns for each group
and in particular with the Filipino American population.
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Purpose and Significance of the Study
The proposed study investigates how a certain college experience is
significant for Filipino American students in ethnic identity exploration. In
particular, this study will add to the research literature by suggesting how
participating in a Filipino American student club provides a student the opportunity
to explore his or her ethnic identity. The findings of the research will provide
information to administrators and student affairs professionals to help them better
serve this growing student population.
In providing appropriate avenues to explore one’s ethnic identity, college
administrators and staff are assisting the students as they struggle to find their “true
self.” As mentioned earlier, research has shown a strong relationship between the
development of ethnic identity and self-esteem (Porter, 1993, Phinney & Alipuria,
1990; Ethier & Deaux, 1990) as well as demonstrated a correlation between having a
sense of ethnic identity and academic achievement (Gay, 1985).
Therefore, it is important to identify particular experiences that allow Filipino
American students to explore their ethnic identity. The findings from the study will
contribute to the literature on Filipino Americans and be a guide for educational
administrators in developing future educational policies.
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Research Questions
This study proposes to answer these questions:
1) How does participating in an ethnic-specific student organization, like a
Filipino American student club, provide a student the opportunity to explore
his/her ethnic identity?
2) What are other benefits in participating in an ethnic-specific student
organization, like a Filipino American student club, for Filipino American
students?
3) How does ethnic identity exploration for Filipino American student club
members differ at CSU Long Beach and University of Hawaii at Manoa?
Informants in this study will come from university students participating in a Filipino
American student organization at either California State University, Long Beach or
the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Data will be collected from questionnaires,
interviews and observations.
Limitations of the study
This study focuses on Filipino American students who have attended the
University of Hawaii at Manoa and California State University, Long Beach. The
findings of this study may not be applicable to the general population of Filipino
American students attending four-year universities in the United States.
In addition, observational data for this study will be collected for only one
semester. Data collected from interviews will attempt to elicit information regarding
past and future meetings that are unable to be observed by the researcher.
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Definitions of Ethnic Identity Terms
• Ethnic Identity
The sharing of a culture heritage, a sense of social relatedness and symbolic
cultural ties define ethnic identity (Sodowsky, Kwan & Pannu, 1995). The
group members’ feelings about those values, symbols and common histories
that identify them as a distinct group (Smith, E. 1991).
• Asian Americans
The term Asian American applies to members of over 25 groups that have
been classified as a single group because of their common ethnic origins in
Asia (Uba, 1994). Some of the 25 groups include Chinese, Japanese, Filipino,
Cambodian and Asian Indians.
• Pacific Islanders
Prior to 1980, Pacific Islanders did not appear as specific groups in the
United States Census. The 1980 Census divided the Pacific Islander
population into Polynesian, Micronesian and Melanesian. The most
numerous are the native Hawaiians, followed by the Samoans, Guamanians,
Tongans and Fijians (Kitano and Daniels, 1988).
• Filipino Americans
The earliest Filipinos who migrated to the United States from the Philippines
were students. This occurred in the 1920s and then farm laborers came in the
1930s, where most settled in Hawaii. The “third wave” of Filipino
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immigrants, who came after 1965, was the educated and upwardly mobile
professionals (Kitano and Daniels, 1988).
• Filipino and Pilipino
These terms are used interchangeably to describe the people from the
Philippines. They are also used in reference to the national language of the
Philippines. The change of the “F” to the “P” came in the 1930s, when there
was a movement to develop a national identity of new independence and
unity in the Philippines (Galang, 1988).
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Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
Theoretical Framework
Defining Ethnic Identity
As mentioned in Chapter 1, ethnic identity is commonly defined as a
construct pertaining to individual group membership. The emphasis in defining
ethnic identity is on knowledge about one’s own ethnic group and on the sense of
self as a member (Bernal et al., 1993). In addition, ethnic identity has to do with the
feeling of belonging and commitment with a sense of shared values and attitudes to
one’s group (Phinney, 1990). The connectedness of culture is also a focal point to
ethnic identity.
Sue and Sue (1990) defined culture as all the customs, values and traditions
that are learned from one’s environment. The sharing of a culture heritage, a sense of
social relatedness and symbolic cultural ties define ethnic identity (Sodowsky, Kwan
& Pannu, 1995). Ethnic identity is the sum total of group members’ feelings about
those values, symbols and common histories that identify them as a distinct group
(Smith, E. 1991).
Other researchers such as Fredrik Barth (1969) viewed ethnicity as both an
ascribed fixed concept and a choice to be made by the individual. Barth stated that
ethnicity was a combination of self-identification and social assignment. According
to this perspective, an individual’s ethnic identity is a composite of the view one has
of oneself and the opinions held by others about one’s ethnicity. Therefore, ethnic
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identity is dialectic between internal identification and external ascription (Nagel,
1996). As the individual moves through daily life, ethnic identities are shuffled in
and out of prominence depending on the situation. This results in a layering of
ethnicities with different identities activated at different times. This negotiated view
of ethnicity typifies the dual roles Filipino American students feel they balance
between home and school (Espiritu, 1994). These students balance their identities as
Filipinos relating to their parents cultural heritage and as being educated in American
culture.
The external ascription place upon certain ethnic groups may also produce
stereotypes. According to Webster’s Dictionary (1994), stereotype is defined in
sociological terms as “a simplified and standardized conception or image invested
with special meaning and held in common by members of a group.” Stereotypes are
typical perceived as negative because of the collective connotation placed upon a
group, though they can be meant as positive.
Many other studies have found ethnicity to be more emergent than
primordial, with ethnic group boundaries to be more fluid than fixed and ethnic
identity to be more multifaceted, negotiable, and changeable (Padilla, 1985; Espiritu,
1992; Cornell, 1988; and Waters, 1990). These processes have been seen as long
term, often intergenerational, frequently involving the dissolution or blending of
immigrant or minority ethnicities into a larger dominant ethnicity or nationality.
However, in the case of ethnic renewal, individuals adopt a non-dominant ethnic
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identity and move from membership in a dominant group to become part of a
minority group (i.e. from American to Irish-American).
The limits of ethnic choices are placed within social definitions by external
forces other than one’s self-identification. While mandatory ethnicity is generally
imposed on minorities by dominant groups, it can be enforced by an ethnic group on
its own membership. Opportunities for individual ethnic change vary. Some people,
such as American Whites, have had a wide menu of “ethnic options” from which
they are free to choose (Waters, 1990). It is more difficult for members of other
racial of ethnic groups to change their ethnicity, particularly groups of color when
the dominant group imposes the identities.
The notion that ethnic identity can be multi-tiered or multi-layered is found in
among various ethnic groups. For example, McBeth (1989) discussed this multi
tiered ethnicity among American Indians in the various levels: sub-tribal (kin, clan,
tradition), tribal (historical, reservation-based, official) subtribal-regional (California,
Oklahoma, Alaska) or subtribal-national (Nativel American, Indian, American
Indian). Ivan Light (1972) describes this notion of different levels of ethnic
identification as “ethnic scope.” He maintains that the nested segments that makeup
ethnic consciousness need not exclude one another. He, therefore, proposes four
different levels of ethnic scope - continental, national, regional and local. According
to Light, a person of Asian descent can self-identify as Asian, Chinese, Cantonese
and/or from a specific place in Canton. For the Filipino American, the levels can
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depend on what region of the Philippines he or she comes from as well as if he or she
identifies him or herself with the Asian American community.
The view presented in this proposal is of an ethnic “presentation of self’
where individuals engage in a continuous assessment of situation and audience. The
contents of an individual’s ethnic identity and that person’s choices not only reflect
the complexity of ethnicity but also indicate the extent to which the meaning of
various ethnic identities is negotiated. The representation of ethnicity as a strategic
status raises the question of choice. Just how does an individual make the decision
whether he or she accepts and is comfortable with his or her ethnicity, how much
choice is involved in ethnic identification and when there is an array of options, how
is it decided which ethnicity or dimension of ethnicity will be chosen? To answer
this questions, one must keep in mind that ethnic identity can arise from both rational
and non-rational components (Nagel, 1996). Ethnicity as a rational choice can be
seen as ethnicity for profit, personal benefits. The clearest cases of rational ethnicity
can be seen where social, political and economic rewards are associated with
particular categories. For example, if Asian American subgroups came together in a
united pan-Asian identity, they would have more members and thus more political
power than any Asian American subgroup operating alone. This political power
could affect government monies that may be allocated to these ethnic groups.
Filipino American students may decide to be active in a particular ethnic
student organization on a college campus for political reasons or participate as a way
to explore their ethnic identity for emotional fulfillment. In addition, Filipino
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American students may join Filipino American organizations for social
connectedness. This particular study takes into consideration why these Filipino
American students join an ethnic-specific student club and further investigates how
participating in an ethnic-specific student club provides these students with the
opportunity to explore their ethnic identity.
Student Development Theories
The student affairs profession has always used theoretical perspectives about
students to guide its practice. Two theories in particular, cited often in student
development literature, contribute to the conceptual framework for this study. The
theories are the Seven Vectors of Student Development by Arthur Chickering and
Nevitt Sanford’s Challenge and Support theory.
The work of Arthur Chickering has been the most widely applied theory of
student development. The current model (1993) relies heavily on Pascarella and
Tenrenzini’s (1991) synthesis of more than 2600 research studies on the impact of
college on students. It was proposed to illuminate major points of development
during adolescence and early adulthood.
The model has lasted over the decades. The vectors and their meanings,
however, have expanded with follow up research (Chickering & Reisser, 1993). A
vector is commonly defined as a quantity possessing magnitude and direction.
Chickering uses this term to describe the components of his theory that explain a
student’s growth through college. Chickering’s Seven Vectors of Student
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Development theory consists of 1) developing competence, 2) developing emotions,
3) developing autonomy, 4) establishing identity, 5) freeing interpersonal
relationships, 6) clarifying purposes and 7) developing integrity.
The Chickering theory provides the conceptual framework for ethnic identity
exploration of college students. There are three vectors in the theory that are
particularly relevant in the role ethnic-specific student organizations play in a college
student’s development: vector one, developing competence, vector four establishing
identity and vector five, freeing interpersonal relationships.
The developing competence vector focuses on three interrelated forms of
competence - intellectual competence, physical and manual competence and
interpersonal competence. The role of the student organizations in relation to
interpersonal competence is most relevant in this study.
The fourth vector discusses the need for college students to establish their
identity. One’s ethnic identity is a significant aspect of establishing one’s identity.
This vector supports the need to have avenues provided for students to explore their
ethnic identity on a college campus. Participation in ethnic-specific student
organizations is one example of an opportunity for students to be able discover their
ethnic identity.
The fifth vector, freeing interpersonal relationships, places emphasis on the
importance of developing high levels of tolerance and acceptance for others because
of the increasing cultural pluralism in the U.S. and increasing global
interdependence. Chickering also stipulates the need for students to develop a
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capacity for intimacy and relationships based on trust, independence and
individuality.
Chickering provides a theory that examines the different components of
student development while Sanford (1966) was one of the first developmental
theorists to bring attention to the notion of student development as a function of
person-environment interaction. He stipulated three developmental conditions:
readiness, challenge and support. With regard to readiness, he proposed that
individuals cannot access opportunities until they are ready to do so. Readiness is a
result of either internal processes associated with maturation or beneficial conditions
from the environment.
Sanford further suggests that the goal of the person should be to find the
range of optimal dissonance. Optimal dissonance is a condition needed in order for
growth to occur and consists of a challenge placed upon an individual that may not
be too overwhelming. One example of dissonance Sanford (1966) presented was
taking a group of students who do not know each other for a weekend seminar.
Placing the student in a strange situation may free him from his usual role with its
expectations and force him to adapt in new ways.
If the environment such as university campus presents too much challenge,
however, college students may regress to an earlier stage of personal development or
ignore the challenge if escape is possible. On the other hand, if there is not enough
challenge in the environment, then the individuals may tend to feel complacent, and
therefore, they may not develop.
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The amount of challenge a person can handle is a function of the amount of
support available. The range of optimal dissonance for any particular individual
varies, depending on the quality of the challenge and support that the environment
provides as well as the characteristics of the individual (Sanford, 1966). Participation
in an ethnic organization such as the Filipino America student club on a university
campus may provide both challenge and support needed for an individual’s ethnic
identity development.
Chickering and Sanford provide conceptual background to understand
university students in their identity exploration. These theories have been cited in
numerous articles as relevant in examining the current student population (Moore
and Upcraft, 1992; Feldman, 1991; Evans, Forney and Guido-DiBrito, 1998).
However, Chickering’s vector on identity does not specify the need for ethnic
identity exploration. Sanford and Chickering also do not take into consideration how
Asian American students negotiate the tension of dominant societal norms and
cultural and family influences with their identity development (Kodama, McEwen,
Liang and Lee, 2002). In addition, both theories do not describe the process or stages
that may occur during a student’s ethnic identity development. The following
section, ethnic identity development theories, addresses this issue.
Ethnic Identity Development Theories
There are other theories that relate specifically to ethnic identity
development. One such model that describes the experiences of minorities in their
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development of ethnic identity is the “Minority Identity Development” (MID) model
developed by psychologists Donald R. Atkinson, George Morten and Deraid W. Sue
(1979). This model discusses the identity transformational process involving
minority groups and utilizes these processes to help explain individual differences
within the minority groups. The MID theory defines five stages of development that
individuals of a minority group may experience as they struggle to understand
themselves in terms of their ethnic culture, the majority culture, and the oppressive
relationship between the two.
The five stages are as follows: 1) Conformity, 2) Dissonance, 3) Resistance
and Immersion, 4) Introspection, and 5) Synergetic Articulation and Awareness. At
each of the five levels, the authors of the model break each stage into four
corresponding attitudes that may assist counselors in understanding behaviors
displayed individuals at that particular stage. The four parts are attitudes toward (a)
self, (b) others of the same minority, (c) others of another minority, and (d) the
dominant group. For Filipino American students, their university experiences may
trigger movement between the stages.
In first stage of “Conformity,” minority individuals exhibit a preference for
the dominant cultural values over those of their own culture. In addition, individuals
in this stage believe the dominant culture’s stereotypes about their minority group,
for example, “all Asian Americans are good in math.” However, in stage two,
“Dissonance” occurs when cultural confusion and conflict are experienced, while the
“Resistance and Immersion” stage of the MID model finds the minority individual
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embracing minority held views and completely rejecting the majority culture.
Dissonance can occur for an minority college student, who attended a high school
with the majority of the student population coming from the dominant culture, to
attending a university with a large minority population. The same individual may
have never taken courses related to ethnic identity exploration or joined clubs related
her ethnic background. In participating in this courses and clubs, this individual may
then be in the Resistance and Immersion stage of the MID model.
In the next stage, “Introspection”, the minority individual experiences
feelings of discontent with group views held in the previous stage and desires to find
more autonomy. The last and fifth stage is labeled “Synergetic and Articulation and
Awareness.” At this level, the minority individual has a sense of self-fulfillment with
regards to his/her ethnic identity. The cultural values of other minority groups along
with the majority groups have been examined and accepted or rejected based on prior
experiences gained in earlier stages of development. Also the individual in this stage
does not believe that everyone in the dominant group is an oppressor.
Another theory related to ethnic identity development designed by Stanley
Sue and Deraid W. Sue (1990) provides a conceptual classification of the Asian
American population. This model presents three categories of ethnic identity: 1)
Traditionalist, 2) Marginalist and 3) Biculturalist. The term “traditionalist” refers to
those who adhere to traditional Asian Values and who identify with an Asian culture
to the exclusion of the dominant society. Asian Americans who are labeled
“marginal” reject both American and Asian cultures and feel alienated. Lastly,
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“bicultural” Asian Americans maintain both Asian and American cultural values and
try to participate in the American mainstream.
The Sue and Sue ethnic identity model provides a theoretical framework for
Asian Americans but does not take into consideration those who adopt to American
values and behavioral norms and who identify themselves as Americans to the
exclusion of their Asian background. Other scholars label these individuals as some
form of “assimilationists” (Phinney, 1990 and Uba, 1994). The MID model does take
this stage into consideration.
There is also criticism of the MID model. The linear notion of identity is
frequently questioned (Jones, 1992). In addition, this model does not give clear
explanations of what factors move an individual from one stage to another. However,
Sanford’s theory of challenge and support does discuss how the environment, like a
university campus, plays a role in a student’s growth and can explain some factors
that may help a student move in the MID model. All these theories complement each
other to support the need to have opportunities for students to explore their ethnic
identity on a college campus.
Ethnic Identity Exploration
My research is conducted with the assumption that certain ethnic groups have
utilized various college experiences to explore their ethnic identity. There are,
however, limited studies that examined the Filipino American student population.
The following section will discuss how participation in student clubs and fraternities
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and sororities provides avenues for ethnic identity exploration for other ethnic
groups. In addition, various studies will be presented to demonstrate how other
college experiences such as enrollment in an ethnic studies course and the political
climate of an academic institution can provide students the opportunities to explore
their ethnic identity.
Student Clubs
A campus atmosphere of cultural pluralism in which individual minority
groups can maintain a sense of identity and uniqueness while acknowledging and
building on shared experiences and values can empower all members of the college
community. Participation in ethnic student organizations may provide the
opportunity for minority groups to maintain a sense to ethnic identity and learn more
about their heritage.
In Espiritu’s study (1994) of second generation Filipino Americans,
respondents indicated their growing sense of racial and ethnic consciousness
crystallized during college years. They considered their experiences in the Filipino
American club as a catalyst to this “awakening.” This particular college student club
gave them the opportunity to meet other Filipinos, learn about Filipino history and
even participate in a Filipino dance group. But her study did not examine the other
benefits students obtained from participating in an ethnic-specific club. Also her
study was limited to one institution and data was collected only with interviews.
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A study on American Indians in higher education discussed the positive
impact of student organizations on ethnic identity and retention issues among this
particular minority group (Wright, 1985). My study aims to investigate the types of
positive impact an ethnic-specific student organization has with the Filipino
American student population in relation to ethnic identity exploration.
Another report related to minority student involvement in minority student
organizations had similar findings (Rooney, 1984). The sample consisted of 74
African Americans, 86 Asian Americans, 121 Latinos and 40 Native American
Indian undergraduates registered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The
students in this study joined minority student organizations and reported that their
involvement not only had a positive impact on their lives, but they also used the
organization to promote cultural awareness to others in the university regarding their
ethnic background. This supports the assumption that it is relevant to study the
positive effects participation in an ethnic-specific organization may have with the
Filipino American student population. However, this study did not take into
consideration the role of the organization in a student’s identity exploration.
Through the involvement in ethnic specific student clubs, students have the
opportunity to explore their identity as well as educate others regarding their ethnic
heritage. My research will investigate what role these student clubs, as well as other
variables such as attending ethnic studies courses or political organizations, have
played in lives of the Filipino American students in the development of their ethnic
identity. The following section discusses how a specialized student organization,
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fraternities and sororities, provide an avenue for identity exploration for university
students.
Fraternities and Sororities
The evidence on the relationship between membership in a fraternity or
sorority and the students’ intellectual and cognitive development is modestly
consistent in suggesting that the general influences are negative, although not strong
(Terenzini, Pascarella & Blimling, 1996). On the other hand, there is support for the
positive impact participation in fraternities and sororities has on identity
development. Despite efforts by this researcher, there were no studies found
pertaining to the Filipino American student population (or even in other Asian
American ethnic communities) regarding involvement in fraternities and sororities. I
was able to locate studies conducted with other ethnic groups that were useful as
background information.
One such study by Taylor and Howard-Hamilton (1995) confirmed that a
relationship exists between identity attitudes and student involvement among African
American males at predominantly White institutions. In particular, Taylor and
Howard-Hamilton found that African American males who participated in a Greek
fraternity tend to embrace a stronger racial identity than their non-Greek
counterparts. Overall, Taylor and Howard-Hamilton found greater campus
involvement contributed to higher stages of racial identity development for the
African American males.
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The 1990s have been characterized by a surge of student interest in Hispanic-
oriented fraternities and sororities. This is because Hispanic students often join
fraternities to be around other Hispanics (Puente, 1992). Juan A. Rodriquez, Co-
Chair of Alumni for the Hispanic fraternity Sigma Lambda Beta stated “ there is a
demand for the groups (Hispanic fraternities), other (non-Hispanic) student
organizations can’t fulfill what they need and they don’t fit in Afrocentric or white
houses.” There has also been a growth for Hispanic sororities (Puente, 1992).
A relationship between ethnic specific sororities and identity formation was
found in two studies. Interviews were conducted with twelve members of a Latina
sorority at a northwestern university (Olivas, 1996). Their testimonies revealed that
the reasons for joining a Latina sorority were for preserving or regaining an
individual, yet collective, ethnic identity. Additionally, findings indicated that the
formation of this Latina sorority was a response to institutionalized racism, feelings
of isolations and alienation, and needs for emotional, psychological, and social
support.
Another study which compared White sororities and African American
sororities discovered that White women join sororities for social reasons while
African American women reported more diverse motives for being in a sorority
(Schmitz and Forbes, 1994). One particular African American respondent stated that
“I feel better about myself now that I am in the sorority. Being a Black student at this
university is hard. The sorority has made it easier for me because it has to with
African-American culture and pride.” According to this study, another reason for
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joining a Black sorority was being part of a support network for educational and
emotional needs.
As indicated above, the literature supports the notion that ethnic student
organizations play a role in ethnic identity exploration. In addition, other reasons
why many minorities join these organizations are to have the support network of
those with similar cultural backgrounds for educational and emotional needs. Yet
there is no existing literature that supports the Filipino American student population
and Asian American student population in utilizing fraternities and sororities for
identity exploration. There are many Asian American fraternities and sororities on
college campuses today. But the research related to the positive and negative impacts
these organizations have with these particular populations have not been examined.
Ethnic Studies Courses
Besides co-curricular activities, participation in academic courses such as
ethnic studies can also assist in identity exploration. The impact these courses have
on the students need to be taken into consideration since many of the students who
participate in ethnic-student organizations also participate in ethnic study courses
(Espiritu, 1994).
The curriculum on most campuses is still based on a dominant Eurocentric
perspective, adhering to assimilationist viewpoints and thus poorly serves both
students of color and white students since it cannot address the reality of their mutual
world. The establishment of ethnic studies programs on college campuses was one
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way to address this issue. The impetus for these programs came during the 1960s and
1970s from African American and Mexican American scholars who were deeply
troubled by both the omission of their peoples from the scholarship of the
mainstream academic community and by their stereotypical treatment when they
were included.
A study conducted by Padilla (1997) of Latino university students
demonstrated the “liberating” experience in partaking of an ethnic studies course.
This three-year ethnographic study of college students in a Latino Studies course,
presented the students’ struggle as they jointly examined their own and each other’s
personal histories and were awakened to a critical consciousness. Through this
course, the students became aware of lack of information on the Latino community
and came to realize the validity of their own experiences. The lack of information of
the Filipino American community is also true.
The field of ethnic studies challenges Western imperialism and viewpoints.
Ethnic studies scholarship focuses on the central roles that race and ethnicity play in
the construction of American history, culture and society. Advocates of these courses
contend that it must be an interdisciplinary, comparative study of American cultures.
Butler and Schmitz (1992) assert that ethnic studies courses can be better presented
in a separate department from the “traditional” disciplines and will allow it to stand
out as a respectable scholarly program. In this manner, Filipino American students as
well as students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds would have the
opportunity to explore their identity.
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As discussed earlier in Sanford’s theory of Challenge and support, the
environment on college campuses play an important role for a student’s
development. The type of ethnic studies courses available to students can affect this
growth. In addition, the political climate of an institution can have an impact on a
student’s exploration of his/her ethnic identity exploration.
Political Climate
The civil rights era profoundly impacted the racial ideology of the nation and
particularly the students studying on college campuses at that time. The period of
1964-66 saw the development of student-run programs to address racial issues and
social concerns (Umemoto, 1989). Specifically, at San Francisco State College, the
Third World Liberation Front was formed. African American, Asian American,
Chicano, Latino and Native American students called for ethnic studies programs
and open admission policies. For Asian American students, this participation in
student activism marked a “shedding of silence” and an affirmation of identity
(Umemoto, 1989).
In galvanizing around social issues, students of color have the opportunity to
define their ethnic identity for themselves and make others aware. Carlos Munoz, Jr.
notes, in his study of the Chicano movement, that many Mexican American students
first became active on campuses during the 1960s through participation in politically
active groups and began to develop their own identity (Barlow, 1991). Through these
student-run programs, a new Chicano consciousness was bom (Barlow, 1991).
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Currently, the political climate in California has presented opportunities for
students to develop campus organizations around ethnic and racial issues. For
example, recent propositions (187 and 209) on the California ballot have sparked
political debate among the students on college campuses. Based on earlier
discussions regarding Sanford’s Challenge and Support theory, the political climate
of an institution can provide optimal dissonance for student development growth,
therefore, must be taken into consideration when investigating ethnic identity
exploration on a university campus.
Other Benefits in Student Club Participation
Besides the opportunity to explore one’s ethnic identity, students who
participate in student organizations and for some specifically in ethnic-specific
organizations, can acquire leadership, interpersonal and academic skills. These are
skills that are highly valued in the workforce and society. Therefore, it is imperative
for university educators to provide opportunities for students to acquire these skills.
The next sections will discuss the literature that describes the avenues ethnic-specific
student clubs provide for this growth. Again there has been research conducted with
a variety of ethnic groups on this topic but none with the Filipino American student
population.
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Leadership and Interpersonal Skills
One particular study examined the impact of membership in a Black Greek-
Letter organization on black students, involvement in campus-related activities and
leadership development (Kimbrough & Hutcheson, 1998). The total sample group
comprised of 387 black students from 12 university campuses. The students who are
part of a fraternity or sorority were 183 (38% men, 62% women) and the comparison
group of non-Greek students were 204 (28% men, 72% women). The results for the
study show that those students who were part of a Black Greek-Letter organization
demonstrated greater student involvement in campus related activities and had more
confidence in their leadership skills.
Another study that examined leadership did so with a Japanese American
college student organization (Yamaski, 1995). This study investigated the role of
personal qualities, cultural values and generational status in students; conceptions
and practice of leadership. The study used a qualitative approach with data collected
through observations and interviews. Observations from this study were made at
general meetings that consisted of approximately 40 members and 9 in-depth
interviews were conducted with the officers of the organization.
Data analysis presented findings that the organizational structure of the
Japanese American student club was bounded by students’ reasons for joining the
club, which was to establish their own ethnic identity. In addition, the data yielded
results that effective leadership was caring and nurturing, yet also hierarchical, a
model with strong roots in the Japanese-American culture.
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One particular study supports the acquisition of interpersonal skills with
participation in a student organization (Sermersheim, 1996). This study surveyed 96
past leaders of college fraternities and sororities at Western Illinois University to
investigate the impact Greek leadership had on work-related and personal life skills.
The results found that 95% of those surveyed felt their undergraduate leadership
position in a Greek organization was extremely beneficial in developing personal life
skills and prepared them for their chosen profession.
As mentioned Chapter 1, Asian American students are not known to be as
involved as other students in extracurricular activities or in social and cultural
activities which would help them develop leadership and interpersonal skills. These
are skills that are necessary for professional growth. Therefore, it is relevant to
examine the role of activities, such as participation in an ethnic-specific organization,
has with the Filipino American student population.
Academic Skills
One study (Hayek, et al., 2002) compared the levels of student engagement
between fraternity and sorority members and other undergraduate students. It was
discovered that the fraternity and sorority members appeared to be equally and
sometimes more engaged in academically challenging tasks, active learning and
interacted more with faculty. In addition, the study found these same students who
participated in this particular type of student organization were more satisfied with
their college experience, engaged in community service more often and were more
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involved with diversity issues than those individuals who did not participate in a
fraternity or sorority.
The data used in the study were collected under the National Survey of
Student Engagement (NSSE). The sample composed of 42,182 undergraduate
students at 192 institutions that had recognized fraternities and sororities in Spring
2000 and who completed the NSSE survey instrument. The group included 6,560
self-identified students who belong to fraternities or sororities (62% women, 38%
men) and 35,622 other students (65% women, 35% men) for the comparison group.
Another study investigated the relationship between student involvement in
specific activities (which included volunteering and participating in student clubs)
and their academic self-concept (House, 2000). Some researchers in the United
States have identified students’ academic self-concepts as significant predictors of
academic achievement (Marsh & Yeung, 1997). The participants in this study were
2,134 college freshmen (882 men, 1,252 women) who were enrolled at a large
university. During an on-campus orientation period, they completed the Annual
Freshman survey concerning their activities during their previous year and their self-
ratings of their academic abilities.
The results indicated that student involvement in several types of activities
was significantly, though weakly, associated with specific facets of academic self-
concept. The findings lend some support to notion that involvement in
extracurricular activities such as student organizations is connected to the acquisition
of academic skills.
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The acquisition of academic skills from participation in an ethnic-specific
student organization was supported by a study of students in a Latina sorority
(Patterson, 1998). Data in this study were collected via 44 interviews of students who
were participating or had participated in a Latina sorority on the CSU Chico campus.
In addition, data were collected from observations of club meetings and events.
The findings of this study indicated that the majority of Latina women felt the
sorority had a positive impact on their academic performance, primarily by
compensating for their previous lack of socialization as college students as they
acquired new skills and worked to fulfill sorority requirements. In addition, the
majority of respondents discussed how the sorority had been a major contributor to
these women feeling more comfortable and connected on campus and within the
community.
As indicated in Chapter 1, Asian American students, who include the Filipino
American students, felt disconnected and alienated from the campus environment.
The previous studies demonstrated how other ethnic students were able to utilize the
ethnic-specific organizations to feel more comfortable on a college campus. There is
need to investigate if ethnic-specific student organizations can do the same for
Filipino American students in order to support the need of these type of
organizations on university campuses.
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Summary
There are four theories providing conceptual framework to this research
project. Chickering’s Seven Vectors and Sanford’s Challenge and Support provide
student development theoretical background. The Minority Identity Development
(MID) model by Atkinson, Morten and Sue along with Sue and Sue’s Asian
American classification model offered insights to ethnic identity exploration.
Based on the literature, factors such as the political climate and the
opportunity to take ethnic studies courses can provide the avenues for ethnic identity
exploration for students. In addition, participation in ethnic-specific student clubs
and fraternities and sororities can increase the awareness of students’ ethnic identity.
However, there is either limited or no studies supporting these factors from the
Filipino American student populations.
In addition, participation in student organizations including ethnic-specific
student clubs and fraternal organizations can provide avenues for other personal
growth. As discussed in this chapter, students involved with these types of activities
acquired leadership and interpersonal skills as well as academic skills. Therefore, it
is appropriate to study what types of benefits participation in a Filipino American
student club offers. These findings would validate the need to encourage student
involvement in these types of organizations.
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Chapter 3
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Philippines
Historical and Cultural Background
The Philippines is comprised of more than 7000 islands, inhabited by a
population of approximately fifty million persons. The islands were visited by the
Portuguese explorer Fernando Magellan in his trip around the world on behalf of the
Spanish government. Magellan named the islands after King Philip of Spain. Later in
the sixteenth century, Spain took possession of the Philippines and its people were
converted to Roman Catholicism.
In 1898, following the Spanish American War, the United States assumed
colonial rule of the Philippines. The U.S. occupation affected various segments of
the Philippine society. Politically, the Philippine government was modeled after that
of the United States. Convinced that education was one of the best ways to pacify the
Filipinos, U.S. colonizers introduced universal public education and revamped
Philippine educational institutions and curricula using the American system as its
model. With the use of U.S. textbooks, Filipinos began learning not only a new
language but also a new culture.
The Filipino people are ethnically Malaysian and the languages spoken in the
Philippines are of the Malayo-Polynesian group. There are more than 80 languages
spoken in the Philippines, depending on how one defines a language (Galang, 1988).
The main languages spoken are Tagalog (also known as Pilipino and since 1946 the
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official language), Ilokano and Cebuan. In addition, Spain and the United States
imposed their own languages; thus the educated elites also speak Spanish or English.
Most Filipino immigrants to the United States were Roman Catholics and speakers
of Ilokano. In Hawaii, approximately 85% of the Filipino population speaks Ilokano.
The ancient Malays influenced the Filipinos belief in magic (superstitions)
and the extended family. The Spanish influence for almost 400 years is evident in the
Catholic stronghold and the profound respect and obedience to authority that many
Filipinos have. The American influence is apparent in the adoption of English as a
major language and the emulation of American dress, music, art and science.
Hospitality is an integral part of the Filipino lifestyle (Smith, F.1991). Guests
to the Filipino homes should expect younger persons to show respect to their elders.
Older people are shown respect by being awarded the lead role in many situations
and being addressed properly. There are terms in the Filipino languages that
demonstrate this respect such as “Manang and Manong” in the Ilokano language. A
somewhat comparable translation in the English language is the term “Mr. and Mrs.”
(Smith, F.1991).
A family’s roots in the Philippines are also important. People are identified
by which barrio (village) they are from and take pride in calling one another
“townmates.” Celebrations within the family are another important tradition in the
Philippines. Birthdays, baptisms, wedding, anniversaries, graduations and funerals
are all occasions for big celebrations. The highlight of these celebrations is the lavish
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tables filled with Filipino food and drink. The importance of food relates back to the
importance of hospitality in the Filipino lifestyle (Smith, F.1991).
Filipino Peoples in United States
Immigration to the United States
The earliest Filipinos migrated from the Philippines to the United States in
the 18th century as a result of Spanish imperialism. This small group of immigrants
traveled via Mexico to settle around the New Orleans area. However, it was not until
the early 1900s when the actual first wave of Filipinos was documented as
immigrants. These immigrants were students coming to the U.S. to study. The U.S.
government designed, financed and sponsored several hundred Filipino students for
practical training (Melendy, 1977). After their studies were finished, some did return
to the Philippines to occupy important positions in business and government while
some chose to stay in the U.S. Those who did stay in the States had to be content
with manual labor positions because though they were educated, racism stood in the
way of seeking better jobs.
The second wave of Filipino migration to the United States was due to
economic rather than intellectual reasons. Filipinos immigrated first to Hawaii
because of the fortunes of the islands’ sugar companies. Sugar cane cultivation was
so labor-intensive that the plantation owners needed a constant flow of cheap labor to
work on their expanding properties and looked to the Philippines for workers. Those
who immigrated from the Philippines were predominantly from the Ilokano speaking
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regions (Smith, F. 1991). Filipinos were the last immigrant group to arrive on
Hawaii’s sugar plantations.
The early 1930s brought the wave of farm laborers to the American
mainland, either from Hawaii or directly from the Philippines. This Filipino
migration was a result of the post World War I years and for economic reasons, as
with most immigrant groups. This group was also overwhelmingly male which posed
problems. For example, unlike earlier Asian immigrants, Filipinos actively sought
white female companionship and this overt sexuality enraged much white opinion
(Kitano and Daniels, 1988).
In addition to agriculture and menial service jobs, like dishwashing, Filipino
workers played a significant role in Alaska’s fish canneries (Kitano and Daniels,
1988). Most cannery workers were recruited in Seattle, which became the major non-
California center of Filipino American population. Their involvement in the Alaska
canning industry brought many Filipino Americans into contact with the trade union
movement. However, the American Federation of Labor did not welcome their
involvement. Between 1934 and the end of World War II no significant migration
from the Philippines occurred, and the heavily male Filipino population aged and
declined.
After changes in the immigration laws in 1965, came the largest wave of
Filipino immigrants. These were the parents of most of the Filipino college students
today. About two thirds of these immigrants were from the professional classes,
particularly the health professions. Reasons behind their immigration are familiar -
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unstable economic and political conditions in the home country and the expectation
of better economic and educational opportunities for their children in the new
country (Kitano and Daniels, 1988).
Filipinos in California
According to the 2000 Census, the state of California has the largest Filipino
population in the United States. The Asian American population in California is ten
percent of the overall state population with the Filipinos as the second largest Asian
ethnic subgroup after the Chinese.
Cabezas, Shinagawa and Kawaguchi (1986) analyzed the status of Filipino
Americans in California based on the 1980 Census. They found that Filipinos remain
in a subordinated position in relation to other Asians and the white majority. Their
findings were that Filipinos were often clustered in the secondary labor market,
where pay is low and mobility is limited.
However, in 1990 there was shift of Filipinos being in the working-class to
professional occupations as indicated by Juanita Tamayo Lott (1998). She found that
two thirds (63.3%) of all Filipinos in the labor force were in managerial, professional
and technical positions. Only 9.5 % were in sales and clerical work. The proportion
of service workers and farm workers had diminished from previous years. This shift
was responsible for the rise in the median family income of Filipinos.
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Filipinos in Hawaii
The state of Hawaii has the second largest Filipino population in the United
States based on the U.S. Census Bureau 2000. The Asian American population is
approximately 42 percent of the total population in Hawaii. The Filipino population
is the second largest Asian American subgroup after the Japanese American in
Hawaii.
With this large “minority” as a majority, it is widely believed by academics,
researchers and lay persons that ethnic relations in Hawaii are better than on the U.S.
mainland (Okamura, 1994). One reason for the more tolerant ethnic relations in
Hawaii is the unique local culture of the islands. This local culture or identity is the
result of “blending, sharing and mixing” of the different cultures which is
predominantly of Asian and Native Hawaiian ethnic backgrounds.
However, there has been a widening social cleavage between Japanese
Americans and other ethnic groups, particularly the Filipino Americans, Native
Hawaiians and “haole” or white Americans (Okamura, 1994). This divide has
developed because of the Filipino Americans and “haoles” blaming the Japanese
Americans for discrimination against them in employment, particularly in the state
government jobs. The Native Hawaiians also resent the Japanese Americans as
evidenced by the movement for Hawaiian sovereignty and for recognition of their
rights and claims as indigenous people. Some Hawaiians believe that the Japanese
Americans are in “control” state government and do not fully support this cause.
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As indicated earlier, the Filipino peoples immigrated to the United States in
three “waves.” The first group was the Filipino students who came to the United
States to study and decided to stay. The second wave of migration was due to
economic reasons and the plentiful agriculture jobs in Hawaii and California. The
largest wave of Filipino immigrants came after changes in the immigration laws in
1965. Currently, California and Hawaii have the largest Filipino populations residing
in their states.
The Universities
University o f Hawaii at Manoa
Department of Hawaiian and Indo-Pacific Languages & Literatures
Ilokano is the mother tongue of the majority of Filipinos in Hawaii as well as
the heritage language of most Filipinos in the United States. Thus in recognition of
the large Ilokano population in the State, the University of Hawaii supported the
development of a full Ilokano Program in 1972. This move was in response to the
community’s clamor for Ilokano-fluent trained professionals in the areas of health,
social, and legal services, education and commerce.
Ilokano has been one the largest language departments in the University of
Hawaii’s Department of Hawaiian and Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures.
Based on the department’s brochure, apart from the need to fulfill the University’s
language requirement, the department’s growth has also been fostered by the desire
of Filipino students to learn the language in order to communicate with their parents
and other members of the Ilokano community.
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The department’s web page boasts that the University of Hawaii has
consistently been cited as having one of the best and most extensive language
programs in the United States, and Ilokano is one of the language programs of
prominence. The University of Hawaii is the only institution in the United States
offering a Bachelor of Arts in Philippine Languages and Literature with the
concentration in Ilokano. This particular degree program began in Fall 2002. The
program includes classes on Philippine history, literature and film.
Background on Timpuyog
Affiliated with the Ilokano department is the Ilokano student organization,
Timpuyog (which means “together” in Ilokano), supporting the cultural and language
activities. The faculty from the Philippine language department is integrally involved
with Timpuyog, with at least two faculty servings as advisors to the organization.
The organization’s motto is: “Striving to preserve the Ilokano language, culture and
traditions in today’s youth... the leaders of tomorrow.”
From its constitution some of the organization’s objectives are:
1) To serve the needs of students of the Ilokano language and theater
program and others interested in the Ilokano language and Philippine
culture.
2) To help students develop proficiency in Ilokano and awareness of
Filipino traditions and values through meaningful language and cultural
activities.
3) To instill pride in our Filipino heritage.
4) To develop leadership skills among the students.
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Timpuyog organizes various events throughout the semester to promote the
Ilokano language and Filipino culture. One such event is “Dramafest” where
participation is required of all students enrolled in an Ilokano language course.
Dramafest is a two-hour long presentation of skits created by the students and
presented solely in the Ilokano language. In addition to Dramafest, Timpuyog co
sponsors other social and academic events and contributes its services to other
organizations through cultural presentations. In addition, the students of the
organization help in civic activities in the community.
At UH Manoa, due to the legal relationship between clubs and the University
of Hawaii, clubs are not required to have a staff/faculty advisor. Student clubs are
considered independent legal entities for liability reasons. Therefore, the Division of
Student Affairs at this institution is not integrally involved with this student
organization.
California State University, Long Beach
Asian and Asian American Studies Department
Housed within the College of Liberal Arts, the Department of Asian and
Asian American Studies (AAAS) enables students to explore Asian civilizations
from an interdisciplinary perspective. The department encourages students to
integrate the study of Asian peoples across the Pacific with that of Asian American
communities in the United States. It also enables students to explore the Asian
American experience, cultures and issues. The study of Asian cultures and societies
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is combined with appropriate language studies and training. The Department also
houses the Center for Asian Pacific American Studies (CAPAS) and the Southern
Asian Studies Center (SASC).
Through academic offerings of its own and those of some dozen cooperating
departments, the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies offers the B.A.
and M.A. degrees in Asian Studies, a B.A. and Single Subject Teaching Credential in
Japanese, and a minor in Asian American Studies. Students seeking a Bachelor of
Arts in Asian Studies can choose between an "Area studies" track and an "Asian
American studies" track. The first track emphasizes a social science or humanities-
based exploration of two Asian civilizations (Chinese, Japanese, South Asian or
Southeast Asian). The second track combines the study of Asian Americans as an
ethnic minority with supporting investigation of their countries of origin.
The faculty of this department is very active with the student organizations
affiliated with Asian and Asian American students. Many of them are faculty
advisors to these organizations as in the case of the Filipino American student
organization called PAC (Pilipino American Coalition).
Background on Pilipino American Coalition (PAC)
The Pilipino American Coalition (PAC) was formed by several Pilipino
students who took Asian American classes during the Fall 1971. With the guidance
and help of Lloyd Inui, the head of the Asian American Studies Department at
CSULB, the Pilipino American Coalition was established in 1971. PAC is a student
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organization of whose goals are to nurture increasing cognizance of the Pilipino
culture at California State University, Long Beach.
Part of the organization’s mission statement proposes goals that are related to
helping young Pilipino Americans identify themselves through events during the
Pilipino American history month as well as the Pilipino Culture Night. In addition to
meetings that are held once a week on campus, PAC promotes social experiences by
encouraging athletic competition, as well as events sponsored by other schools to
help promote unity within Pilipinos as well as other ethnicities.
According to the club’s website, the purpose of the Pilipino American
Coalition shall be to promote, encourage and to initiate programs which prove to be
socially, educationally, and morally beneficial to the Pilipino-American community
and to the Pilipino and Pilipino-American students at California State University,
Long Beach. Christmasfest and the Pilipino Culture Night (PCN) are some social and
cultural events sponsored by PAC in support of this mission.
At CSU Long Beach, the Division of Student Services regulates all student
club activities. In order to be recognized by the University and receive funding from
the student government, student organizations must adhere to the policies presented
by the Division of Student Services. Though PAC can choose its own faculty or staff
advisor, the organization also has a student services staff member assigned to it as
well. This extra staff support for the club can be helpful, however at this institution,
the student services staff member assigned to PAC also has 35 other student
organizations to assist.
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Summary
Filipino people have had a long history with the United States dating back to
colonial rule in 1898. The relationship continued with the waves of Filipino
immigration to the United States. Based on the 2000 US Census, California and
Hawaii have the largest Filipino populations. Filipinos in each of these states have
respectively made their marks.
This chapter also provided the background information on the particular
academic departments at the institutions, UH Manoa and CSU Long Beach, which
are closely linked to the Filipino American student organizations chosen for this
study. Timpuyog, the student organization at UH Manoa is closely linked to the
department of Hawaiian and Indo-Pacific Languages & Literatures while at CSU
Long Beach, the Pilipino American Coalition (PAC) is connected with the Asian
American Studies department. These relationships are particularly important because
of the role faculty from these departments play with the student organizations.
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Chapter 4
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
A qualitative study was conducted because of the exploratory nature of the
research questions. Support for the use of qualitative methodology for this study is
found in various resources. For example, James Spradley (1979) stated that using
qualitative methods provides the means to study the knowledge that people have
learned as members of a group and that we cannot observe directly. Spradley further
comments that “if we want to find out what people know, we must get inside their
heads.”
One type of data collection method used in this research project was
interviews. Through one-on-one interviews, I was able to investigate how
participating in an ethnic-specific student organization provides opportunities for
ethnic identity exploration among Filipino American students. In addition, data
collected with questionnaires and observations provided further information on what
other benefits students acquired in participating in an ethnic specific organization
and provided a comparison of the student organizations at two different institutions.
According to Catherine Marshall and Gretchen B. Rossman (1995), one of
the unique strengths of qualitative research is that it assumes the value of context and
that it searches for a deeper understanding of the participant’s lived experiences of
the phenomenon. It was my desire to understand the significance of the participation
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in a student club to ethnic identity through the “eyes” of the Filipino American
student.
Qualitative research provides an opportunity for the researcher’s role to be
examined. In this type of methodology, the role of the researcher as primary data
collection instrument necessitates the identification of personal values, assumptions
and biases at the outset of the study. I am cognizant of the fact that my ethnic
identity of Filipino American will affect the interpretation of the data presented.
However, such openness is considered to be useful and positive in this type of
research methodology (Creswell, 1994). On the other hand, I am an “outsider” to the
Filipino American student organization. I have never participated in an ethnic-
specific student organization nor been a staff advisor to one.
In addition, my ethnic identity, as a Filipino American, may influence the
responses of the students interviewed. The students in the sample groups were aware
of my ethnic background. One must aware that some may not elaborate on their
answers assuming I have a similar understanding as a Filipino American. However,
others may expand more on their responses due to their comfort of having similar
ethnic backgrounds. The interview questions and questionnaires were based on the
literature collected rather than my “insider’s” knowledge to the ethnic group.
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Research Questions
This study was designed to answer these questions:
1) How does participating in an ethnic specific student organization, like to a
Filipino American student club, provide a student the opportunity to explore
his/her ethnic identity?
2) What are other benefits in participating in an ethnic-specific student
organization, like a Filipino American student club, for Filipino American
students?
3) How does ethnic identity exploration for Filipino American student club
members differ at CSU Long Beach and University of Hawaii at Manoa?
Research Population and Design
Questionnaires (their construction will be discussed later in this chapter) were
distributed on two university campuses (See Appendix A) - University of Hawaii
(UH) at Manoa and California State University, Long Beach (CSU Long Beach).
These two campuses where chosen because they both have a significant Filipino
American student population and active Filipino American student club membership.
I disseminated approximately 100 questionnaires to student participants in the
Filipino American student organizations on the campuses. I attended a student club
meeting at CSU Long Beach to distribute and collect the questionnaires. While the
faculty advisor for the Filipino American student club at UH Manoa distributed and
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collected the questionnaires at a student club meeting and then I collected them from
him.
The questionnaires had an extra sheet attached requesting for volunteers to
participate in an interview related to the study. I was able to obtain seven students
from the volunteer sheets indicating their interest in participating in the interviews.
The other thirteen students who participated in the interviews were solicited via the
faculty advisors or from the other interviewees. These interviews were conducted
and audio taped on the campuses. Twenty informants were chosen because of the
patterns or themes that might be repeated by interviewing this number of students.
All the students were interviewed with the same set of questions (Appendix
B). The interviews took place in either a campus staff office or the campus cafeteria
area. In addition, the faculty advisors of each student organization were interviewed
with a set of questions (Appendix C). One faculty interview was conducted in a
faculty office and the other in a campus cafeteria area.
In addition, data were collected from observations at student club meetings
and social/culture events. The observations conducted at the student club general
meetings and its social events occurred during the course of one academic semester.
I attended one general business meeting and one cultural event at each institution.
The general business meetings were held in classrooms. During these visits, I sat in
the back of the room to take notes but did not audiotape the meetings. In addition, I
did not have direct interaction with club members. One cultural event took place in a
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university auditorium while the other was conducted in the plaza area of a university
student union.
In observing these events, I generated field notes that contained both
descriptive and reflective information. Descriptive information as described by Gall,
Borg & Gall (1996) includes verbal portraits of the research participants,
reconstruction of dialogue, descriptions of the physical setting and description of the
observer’s behavior. In addition, they describe reflective information as reflections
of ethnical dilemmas and conflict, reflections on the methods of data collection and
reflections on emerging interpretations.
Instrumentation
Data in this proposed study was collected by three methods: questionnaires,
ethnographic interviews and observations. The next portions of this section will
discuss each method along with its strengths and limitations. In using three methods,
triangulation occurs which provides stronger validity to the data collected (Babbie,
1995). Triangulation will be described more in detail later in this chapter.
Questionnaires
Today, survey research is perhaps the most frequently used mode of
observation in the social sciences. It is the most common method reported in recent
articles of the American Sociological Review (Babbie, 1995). In a typical survey, the
researcher selects a sample of respondents and administers a standardized
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questionnaire to them. Surveys and questionnaires are often used to collect original
data for describing a population too large to observe directly. This is why this
particular research methodology is popular in studying ethnic groups.
The questionnaire used in this study contains questions to ascertain a
student’s involvement in a Filipino American student organization and perceptions
of their ethnic identity, as well as demographic data. In addition, questions related to
why a student joined the club were important to finding a sample group for the
ethnographic interviews.
There are limitations in using questionnaires. One such restriction is that this
type of research method has a limited ability to probe deeply into respondents’
opinions and feelings (Gall, Borg & Gall, 1996). In addition, once a questionnaire is
distributed, it is not possible to modify the items, even though they may be unclear to
some respondents.
Survey research has other limitations. Standardized questionnaire items often
represent the least common denominator in assessing people’s attitudes, orientations,
circumstances and experiences (Babbie, 1995). By designing questions that will be
the least minimally appropriate to all respondents, the researcher may miss what is
most important to many respondents. These questionnaires can then appear
superficial in their coverage of complex topics.
Babbie further stipulates that “finding out that a person gives conservative
answers to a questionnaire does not necessarily mean the person is conservative and
finding out that person gives prejudiced answers also does not mean the person is
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prejudiced.” He further discusses this as a limitation especially in the realm of action.
Questionnaires cannot measure social action, they can only collect self-reports of
recalled past action or of prospective action.
However, survey research is generally strong on reliability. Questionnaires
usually present all subjects with a standardized stimulus that eliminates unreliability
in conclusions made by the researcher (Babbie, 1991). In addition, careful wording
of the questions can also reduce significantly the subject’s own unreliability. But on
the contrary, survey research is generally weak in validity. The responses to the
questionnaires must be regarded as approximate indicators of what the researchers
have in mind in framing the questions.
Another benefit in using questionnaires for data collection is its
appropriateness in dealing with sensitive issues. They offer respondents complete
anonymity on reporting controversial or deviant attitudes or behaviors. Individuals
may feel more comfortable in answering an anonymous questionnaire truthfully than
in interviews.
Observations
I attended general club meetings and social/cultural events to observe the
informants in this study. Through observations, I was able to collect data related to
the behavior and environment of the individuals being studied. If used properly,
observation methods avoid inaccuracy and bias of some self-report data (Gall, Borg
& Gall, 1996).
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However, a problem with observations is that the observer often changes the
situation being observed, though unintentionally. I took on the role of “observer-
participant” in this proposed research project. I interacted with the informants when I
conducted interviews but did not actively engage in any of the general meetings or
social events. I merely observed the behaviors of the informants.
Another limitation to the observation method is that it is more time
consuming than other methods of data collection. Individuals must be observed over
a period of time to obtain reliable data. To fully obtain meaningful data, a great deal
time should be allotted in a research project. I, however, had limited exposure to the
student organizations with attending two meetings and two social events for one
semester.
Observations, also known as field research, are powerful techniques for
gaining insights into the nature of human affairs. Compared to surveys and
experimental measurements, field research provides the researcher with more valid
measures (Babbie, 1995). However, field research does have a problem with
reliability. Field measurements, although in-depth, are also often personal. In
addition, the observations and measurements made by the researcher may not be
replicated by another, independent researcher. On the other hand, with the additional
research methods conducted in this study such as interviews and questionnaires will
help strengthen the data collected by observations.
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Interviews
Concurrent with the observations, I conducted ethnographic interviews with
the informants of this study. The ethnographic interview is a particular kind of
speech event (Spradley, 1979). The interview could also be described as friendly
conversation. This type of interviewing involves two distinct but complementary
processes: developing rapport and eliciting information. Rapport encourages
informants to talk about their culture and eliciting information fosters the
development of rapport.
Consistent with the ethnographic tradition, the interviewer should enter the
field without preconceived notions. Rather, Spradley asserts that the researcher
should utilize an inductive approach to the collection of data. In conducting
ethnographic interviews, I had questions that were open-ended and non-directed.
One advantage of these questions is the spontaneity that may occur. Spontaneity
enables the researcher to learn how the informants conceptualize and think about
their lives (Tierney, 1991).
There are many advantages to the researcher who uses interviews as a
method of collecting data. One is that interviews are more effective in dealing with
complex issues as compared to questionnaires that have a set of predeterminded
questions. Also with questionnaires, a respondent can skip questions whereby
interviewers are trained to have all the questions answered. In addition, interviewers
questioning respondents face to face are able to make important observations aside
from responses to questions asked in the interview.
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On the other hand, interviews do not provide the respondents with the level
of anonymity on sensitive issues as a questionnaire may. Subjects may not feel
comfortable discussing these issues with a stranger. However, as mentioned earlier,
interviews along with observations can strengthen the validity of a study.
Data Analysis
In conducting a qualitative study, it is important to be open to “emerging
themes.” I analyzed the data according to themes that emerged from the
questionnaires, interviews and observations. I was particularly interested in the
relationship of participation in an ethnic student club with ethnic identity. I analyzed
the assumptions from the literature that stipulate student clubs provide Filipino
Americans the opportunity to explore ethnic identity. Specifically, I sought to find
the dominant ways students used their participation in a student organization in
ethnic identity exploration. In addition, I discovered other themes related to other
benefits acquired in participation as well as comparing the two student organizations.
In particular, I utilized interpretational analysis in processing the data
collected. Interpretational analysis is the process of examining data closely in order
to find constructs, themes, patterns that can be used to describe and explain the
phenomenon being studied (Tesch, 1990). The procedures of this type of analysis
include: (1) segmenting the database, (2) developing categories, (3) coding segments,
(4) grouping category segments and (5) drawing conclusions.
I transcribed the interviews, both faculty and students, from the audiotape
recordings. These transcriptions were used in developing categories and I coded
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sections accordingly. In addition, I used my field notes from the observations to
corroborate with the emerging themes.
The first part of the questionnaire provided demographic information about
the respondents while the Likert scale part of the questionnaire provided information
on perspectives of their ethnic identity. The second part of the questionnaire was
categorized into different themes and analyzed with both interview responses and
observational data in Chapter 5. The frequency of responses to all the questionnaires
will be presented as well in Chapter 5.
In conjunction with interpretation analysis, I utilized the grounded theory
principle of “constant comparison” (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Constant comparison
refers to the continual process of comparing segments within and across categories.
The term “constant” highlights the fact that the process of comparison and revision
of categories is repeated until satisfactory closure is achieved. Using this type of
analysis tool, I was able to clarify the meaning of each category, create sharp
distinctions between categories and decide which categories were most important
(Strauss & Corbin, 1990).
Research Considerations
Validity
In order to have a valid qualitative study, one must have the trustworthiness
of the data collected. I utilized “member checking” strategy to assure the credibility
of the data collected (Gall, Borg & Gall, 1996). Member checking refers to the
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researcher checking back with the informants after the interviews have been
transcribed to clarify that the points made were accurate and complete. Each
interview session was audio taped and transcribed. I sent a copy of the transcript to
each interviewee via email to verify that I had correctly recorded the information
given during each interview. Corrections were made accordingly.
In addition, member checking occurred with the informants during the
interviews. During these sessions, I verified the themes and patterns initially
obtained from the data collected from the questionnaires and observations. Member
checking might reveal factual errors that are easily corrected (Gall, Borg & Gall,
1996). This particular procedure allows informants to recall new facts or have new
perceptions of their situation.
Reliability
Reliability is defined as the extent to which a particular technique, applied
repeatedly to the same object, yields the same result each time (Babbie, 1995). The
difficulty of assuring the same result of this research study to others would be the
dynamism of the subject matter. The techniques of data collection and analysis are
well documented in this research project for others to duplicate. In the appendices,
the questionnaires and interview questions are provided.
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Triangulation
Triangulation involves the use of multiple methods to study a problem
(Patton, 1982). The use of multiple methods to study the same phenomenon
counteracts the problem of collecting incomplete data due to the limitations that are
inherent to any one research method. In addition, triangulation produces findings
which are transferable. However, the findings may be generalized to student
populations of similar institutions and similar structure of ethnic-specific student
organizations. As discussed earlier, this study collected data through questionnaires,
interviews and observations.
Summary
This research project utilized the qualitative approach in studying ethnic
identity exploration among Filipino American students through their participation in
an ethnic-specific organization. Data were collected through questionnaires,
interviews and observations at two different institutions. The data were then
analyzed for emerging themes in answering the research questions that also included
the comparison of the two different student organizations and other benefits students
acquire in participating in an ethnic-specific organization.
In order to ensure the credibility of this study, research considerations were
established. Triangulation was implemented with three different modes of data
collection utilized. The validity and reliability of the data were also discussed.
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Chapter 5
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
Introduction
This chapter presents the analysis of the data collected related to the research
questions how Filipino American students explore ethnic identity through an ethnic
specific student organization and how the two different student organizations, one
from Hawaii and one from California compare. In addition, this chapter provides
data pertaining to how the students benefited from participating in the student
organization. In Table 3, the modes of data collection and the sample groups are
summarized.
Table 3
Data Collection Summary
CSU Long Beach UH Manoa
Interviews 10 students
(male - 4, female - 6)
1 faculty advisor (female)
10 students
(male - 7, female - 3)
1 faculty advisor (male)
Observations 1 general meeting
1 social/cultural event
1 general meeting
1 social/cultural event
Questionnaires 50 (male -2 1 , female -29) 56 (male - 21, female -35)
This chapter also includes 1) demographic data from the two institutions; 2) data
regarding participation in the organizations; 3) perspectives on how the sample views
their identity; 4) data on how the participants explored their ethnic identity on a
university campus; and 5) other benefits students acquired in participating in the
ethnic specific student organization.
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The Respondents: Filipino American University Students
Questionnaires
A total of 106 questionnaires were collected, with 50 from the CSU Long
Beach respondents and the remaining 56 from the UH Manoa organization. The
breakdown of the respondents to the questionnaires at CSU Long Beach and UH
Manoa are similar to one another with a slightly larger female population
participating in the student organizations and the majority of students between the
ages of 18 to 22 years old (see Table 4).
There was a difference in the academic class levels represented in the sample
group. CSU Long Beach had more lower-division students involved in the student
organization with 64% first year and sophomores and 36% upper-division students
(junior and seniors) as indicated in Table 4. On the other hand, at UH Manoa, there
were more upper-division students with 64% responding as juniors and seniors as
described in Table 4 and 20 lower-division students (first year and sophomore).
Students among the two student organizations were similarly distributed
across categories of majors with the largest response from those majoring in the
Health Sciences and Humanities/Liberal Studies. There was also a commonality
between CSU Long Beach and UH Manoa whereby the respondents predominantly
entered as freshman rather than as a transfer student. The similarity continues with
the majority of respondents in both colleges bom in the United States while their
parents were bom in the Philippines. However, there is a stronger presence of
Filipino languages spoken at the homes of the UH Manoa respondents than the CSU
Long Beach respondents.
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Table 4
Demographic Information from the Questionnaires
UH Manoa
(56 collected)
CSU Long Beach
(50 collected)
Gender: Male 21/ 38% 21/42%
Female 35/ 62% 29/ 58%
Age: 17 yrs or younger 1/ 2% 0
18 - 22 yrs old 48/ 86% 45/ 90%
23 yrs or older 7/12% 5/10%
Class Level: First Year 9/16% 11/22%
Sophomore 11/20% 21/42%
Junior 24/ 43% 12/ 24%
Senior 12/21% 6/12%
Majors: Health Sciences 14/ 25% 16/ 32%
Business 12/ 21% 6/12%
Humanities 11/20% 11/22%
Education 6/11% 0
Science & Engineering 6/11% 6/12 %
Arts 1/ 2% 5/10%
Undeclared 5/ 8% 5/10%
No Answer 1/ 2% 1/ 2%
Transfer Student: Yes 18/32% 11/22%
No 38/ 68% 39/ 78%
Place of Birth: USA (Hawaii) 40/71%
USA (Mainland) 4/ 8% 38/76%
Philippines 12/21% 8/16%
Guam 0 1/ 2%
Saudia Arabia 0 1/ 2%
Germany 0 1/ 2%
Tawain 0 1/ 2%
Father’s Birthplace:
USA (Hawaii) 3/ 5% 0
USA (Mainland) 0 4/ 8%
Philippines 52/ 93% 43/ 86%
I don’t know 1/ 2% 0
Vietnam 0 1/ 2%
Honduras 0 1/ 2%
India 0 1/ 2%
Mother’s Birthplace:
USA (Hawaii) 1/ 5% 0
USA (Mainland) 0 4/ 8%
Philippines 55/ 98% 45/ 90%
Vietnam 0 1/ 2%
Language spoken at home:
Standard English 20/ 35% 26/ 54%
Tagalog 0 9/18%
Ilokano 23/41% 3/ 6%
Pidgin 1/ 2% 0
English/Tagalog 2/4% 8/16%
English/Ilokano 9/16% 0
Other Combo 1/ 2% 3/ 6%
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Interviews
There were a variety of similarities and differences with the twenty interview
respondents, ten from CSU Long Beach and the other ten from UH Manao (detailed
interviewee demographic information found in Appendix F). Based on the
demographic information on Table 5, the respondents are of similar ages (19 to 24
years old). The UH Manoa participants were predominantly male (70%) and
upperclassmen (90%). As indicated in Appendix F, the UH Manoa participants were
mostly club officers (90%) and involved in the organization more than one year
(80%).
The CSU Long Beach interview respondents were split in the class levels
with 5 lower- division students (freshman and sophomore) and 5 juniors and seniors.
In addition, it was a split of 5 club officers and 5 club members participating in the
interviews with the majority (70%) involved in the organization more than one year.
In both institutions, the respondents varied in their majors.
In comparing the birthplace, both groups were identical with all but one
respondent in each group bom in the United States. Interestingly, the respondents
were also bom in the respective states they attend college and the lone respondents
not bom in the United States were bom in the Philippines. In addition, all the parents
of the respondents were bom in the Philippines. However, the two groups differed in
the languages spoken at home. At UH Manoa, 80% of the respondents spoke Ilokano
and English at home. While at CSU Long Beach, 60% spoke only English at home.
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Table 5
Demographic Information from the Interview Respondents
UH Manoa
(10 collected)
CSU Long Beach
(10 collected)
Gender: Male 7/ 70% 4/40%
Female 3/ 30% 6/ 60%
Age: 17 yrs or younger 0 0
18 - 22 yrs old 10/100% 9/ 90%
23 yrs or older 0 1/10%
Class Level: First Year 0 1/10%
Sophomore 1/10% 4/ 40%
Junior 3/ 30% 4/ 40%
Senior 6/ 60% 1/10%
Majors: Health Sciences 1/10% 1/10%
Business 3/ 30% 1/10%
Humanities 4/ 40% 3/ 30%
Education 2/ 20% 0
Science & Engineering 0 2/ 20%
Arts 0 3/ 30%
Transfer Student: Yes 1/10% 2/ 20%
No 9/ 90% 8/ 80%
Place of Birth:
USA (Hawaii) 9190% 0
USA (Mainland) 0 9/ 90%
Philippines 1/10% 1/10%
Father’s Birthplace:
Philippines 10/100% 10/100%
Mother’s Birthplace:
Philippines 10/100% 10/100%
Language spoken at home:
Standard English 1/10% 6/ 60%
Tagalog 0 1/10%
Ilokano 1/10% 1/10%
English/Tagalog 0 2/ 20%
English/Ilokano 8/ 80% 0
One similarity between the two institutions and the two sample groups was
found in the age category with the majority of students, who either participated in the
questionnaire or interview, being between the ages of 18 to 22 years old (Tables 4
and 5). Another similarity was the majority of the participants of either the
interviews or questionnaires were bom in the United States and that both parents
were bom in the Philippines. Some of the differences between the two institutions
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and sample groups occurred in the class levels, gender, academic majors and
languages spoken at home. These differences, though, were not significant for the
CSU Long Beach group but were more prominent in comparison with the UH Manoa
participants.
Participation in the Student Organizations
Reasons fo r joining the club
Knowing why the students joined the ethnic specific organization may help
us understand how they use the organization in exploring their ethnic identity. As
indicated in Table 6, the respondents from CSU Long Beach generally wanted to
learn more about the Filipino culture and meet new people especially other Filipino
students. One male respondent commented,
I wasn’t involved in any organizations on campus and figured if I was going
to join one I might as well join something I would be interested in, leam
more about my culture with other Filipinos.
Another female student also discussed cultural reasons for joining,
In the past I was involved in folk dancing and it was not like my parents
didn’t instill a sense of culture in me, but I wanted to leam more and then I
went to a meeting as they were emphasizing cultural lessons. Also I went to
(another) meeting and they brought the Veterans and all these issues and I
wanted to leam more. I liked the cultural aspect.
One student described how his parents encouraged him to assimilate into the
mainstream culture and but used the student club as a vehicle to explore his culture.
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He specifically said,
I was bom in the Philippines, when I came here I was turning 4 or 5.
Basically my parents did not want to teach me Tagalog (Filipino language), they
wanted me to leam English, so not to get mocked at school. So they basically didn’t
tell me a lot about my culture. (My parents said) ‘ just go to school and leam’. Slowly
as time went on I became curious.
Others at CSU Long Beach spoke specifically about wanting to meet new
people. One male student stated, “... it seemed a good way to meet people and I
went to a private school and there were not too many Filipinos.” Another female
student also spoke of her desire to interact with other Filipinos, “.. .meet other people
my age, other Filipino Americans.”
On the other hand, based on Table 6, the UH Manoa majority of
questionnaire respondents indicated they were automatically placed in the
organization because of their enrollment in an Ilokano class yet only one interview
respondent discussed this reason. However, there was a significant portion of the
interview respondents who indicated their interest to leam more about the Filipino
culture. A female student joined the club “to get a better understanding of our
(Filipino) culture but get others interested, get students to recognized their roots and
where they are from.”
One UH Manoa student said he joined the student organization because, “I
really wanted to leam Ilokano so I could talk to my parents and grandparents and to
show off that I could.. ..and I really wanted to leam about my culture.” Another
female student also mentioned the language as an important aspect of the culture and
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why she joined, “I wanted to communicate with grandparents, show respect to them,
I can understand but couldn’t speak it especially grammar.”
The faculty advisor at UH Manoa corroborated with the majority of
respondents by stating “by default they join the club, once they are in the (language)
class they are in Timpuyog.” However, he continues, “they (the students) do join the
class to leam the language of their parents, communicate with their parents better.”
The faculty advisor at CSU Long Beach also agreed with the respondents at her
institution with the statement
One of the reasons that students join is to find out about themselves, their
roots, and the university can be alienating so for some freshman that is why
they join to form some kind of bond with other students, it is different kind of
bond than what they find in the classroom. When you join an ethnic based
student organization there are certain things that are known and do not need
to be discussed.
Table 6
Reasons for Joining the Club
Frequency of Responses
UH Manoa CSU Long
Beach
QUESTIONNAIRES Automatically placed in it because of
enrollment in Ilokano class
32 0
Leam more about the Filipino culture 11 28
Meet new people especially Filipinos,
make friends, socialize
11 27
Influenced by friends and family 1 8
Be more involved with school and
community
2 5
INTERVIEWS Leam more about the Filipino culture 6 5
Meet new people especially Filipinos
make friends, socialize
1 3
Influenced by friends and family 4 2
Be more involved with school and
community
0 2
Automatically placed in it because
of enrollment in Ilokano class
1 0
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Length o f Participation
Participation in the respective institutions is presented overall in Table 8
showing that students at CSU Long Beach are newer to the organization than the
students at UH Manoa. As indicated in Table 7, half of the student club membership
at CSU Long Beach were new to the organization. Twenty-six questionnaire
respondents (52%) indicated their participation in the organization as less than one
semester. While at UH Manoa, 55% of the participants indicated they have been
active more than 1 year in the student organization.
There was a balance among those who participated in the interviews with
regards to the length of membership in the student organization. There were at least
two or three respondents in each category of membership. CSU Long Beach had
50% of the interview participants who were active with the organization for one
year or less and the other 50% involved for more than a year. At UH Manoa, 40%
of the respondents have participated in the organization for one year or less while
60% were members for more than a year.
The CSU Long Beach faculty advisor commented on the growth of its
student organization,
It has changed. It used to be Juniors and Seniors and cabinet (club officers)
was usually Seniors. This year’s (membership) is majority first-year students
and cabinet is mostly Sophomores and Juniors. The President is a Junior.
PAC use to be heavily male and this year it has its first female president. I
feel I have to teach more with a younger cabinet they (yet) bring in new
ideas.
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Table 7
Length of Membership in the Filipino American student club
UH Manoa CSU Long
Beach
QUESTIONNAIRES Less than 1 semester 20/ 40% 26/ 52%
1 semester to 1 year 5/ 9% 6/12%
1 year to 2 years 17/ 30% 9/18%
2 or more years 14/ 25% 9/18%
INTERVIEWS Less than 1 semester 2/ 20% 3/ 30%
1 semester to 1 year 2/ 20% 2/ 20%
1 year to 2 years 3/ 30% 3/ 30%
2 or more years 3/ 30% 2/ 20%
Attendance at meetings
The general student club meetings are more active at CSU Long Beach (see
table 8). There is a great difference in the attendance of general meetings between
the two universities. At CSU Long Beach, 86% of the respondents either often or
always attend the club meetings. While at UH Manoa, 73% rarely or never attend to
the meetings.
My observations of the general meeting corroborate with the data collected
from the questionnaires. At one club meeting at UH Manoa, there were only 11
members present and they were all officers of the student club. The faculty advisor
was also present at the meeting and according to the students, he typically attended
all the meetings. While at CSU Long Beach, I observed 46 students with the
majority being members. This was demonstrated by the majority of the officers
(approximately 8) standing in front of the classroom conducting the meeting and the
remaining 38 student members sitting in the audience listening to the officers. Their
faculty advisor was not present at this general meeting.
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The lack of student participation in general meetings at UH Manoa was
explained by the faculty advisor, “the meetings are open to all the student members
and we try to get more members to attend but only the officers and class reps
usually show up.” He went on to describe that the classes in the language
department all have a class representative attending the meetings and the students
feel that they would get the club announcements from them in the classes, therefore,
not needing to attend the general meetings.
In addition, the structure of the general meetings at each institution was
different. At UH Manoa, an agenda was distributed to all those who attended. The
meeting was conducted with “Roberts Rules of Order” and was business-like. With
the faculty advisor present, many of the questions and clarification were directed
towards him.
While at CSU Long Beach, the agenda was written on the blackboard.
Various officers made announcements throughout the meeting along with
icebreaker games for the membership to interact. The meeting ended with a cultural
lesson topic of Filipino foods and the members then eating Filipino food brought in
by the officers of the club. The faculty advisor was not present at this meeting.
Table 8
Attendance at Club Meetings
Responses from Questionnaires
UH Manoa CSU Long
Beach
Attend all meetings 5/10 % 25/ 50%
Often attend meetings 9/17% 18/36%
Rarely attend meetings 9/17% 7/14%
Never attend meetings 31/56% 0
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The majority of respondents to both the questionnaires and interviews joined
the student organizations because they wanted to leam more about the Filipino
culture. The exception was from the UH Manoa questionnaire respondents stating
that they were automatically placed in the club because of their participation in a
Filipino language course. Based on the questionnaires, the length of membership in
the respective institutions found that students at CSU Long Beach were newer to the
organization than the students at UH Manoa. Lastly, this section demonstrated a
major difference in the attendance of club members at general meetings with
students at CSU Long Beach attending the meetings more frequently than the
students at UH Manoa.
Perspectives on their Ethnic Identity
Pride and Participation in the Filipino Culture
The data collected from the questionnaires and interviews found the
respondents active in learning, understanding and participating in the Filipino
culture. In addition, the participants demonstrated pride in the Filipino culture.
Lastly, this section discusses how the students interact with both Filipinos and other
ethnic groups.
Actively Learning and Participating in the Filipino Culture
The majority of CSU Long Beach questionnaire respondents supported the
statements related to how active they are in learning about the Filipino culture or
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participation in the Filipino culture (as seen in Table 10). Based on the answers, the
percentage of respondents (range of 54% to 76%) either somewhat agreed or
strongly agreed with statements such as “I have spent time trying to find out more
about Filipino history, traditions and customs.”
Similarly, the UH respondents (found in table 11) somewhat or strongly
agreed that they are actively learning about the Filipino culture or participating in the
Filipino culture. The percentage was slightly higher - 64% to 91% on same
questions.
A few interview respondents discussed the desire to leam more about the
Filipino culture. One male respondent from UH Manoa indicated, “ I like learning
more about the Philippines to see how my mother struggled.” Another male
respondent from UH Manoa said, “I like learning more about words (Ilokano
language) in class that I don’t know.”
Two female students from CSU Long Beach discussed their participation
with the Filipino culture through folk dancing. One student stated, “in the past I was
involved in folk dancing but I want to leam more about the culture...” Another
female respondent said, “I did folk dances in high school and ever since then I have
been hooked on Filipino folk dancing.”
Pride in the Filipino Culture
The CSU Long Beach questionnaire participants responded favorably to the
statements about their pride and comfort in the Filipino culture. As indicated in
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Table 10, the percentage of respondents (range of 84% to 88%) either somewhat
agreed or strongly agreed with statements such as “I feel good about my Filipino
culture and ethnic background.”
Similarly, the UH respondents (found in Table 10) somewhat or strongly
agreed in the related questions on their pride and comfort in the Filipino culture,
however, the percentage of respondents agreeing was higher - 94% to 98% on the
same questions.
In addition, seven of twenty interviewees mentioned their pride in the
Filipino culture some time during the course of the interview. One made a comment
on her ethnic identity by saying she was “proud of it and a big part of who
I am, values, what I eat...” Another student described his pride in the “part” of his
identification as a Filipino (the other part he identifies with is American) with the
statement, “to be part Filipino means knowing who you are, proud of your culture...”
One UH Manoa respondent discussed how pride in the culture was part of the
mission of the student organization in stating the purpose of Timpuyog to “help
students gain awareness and make Ilokano students proud of who they are.”
Understanding the Filipino Culture
Table 10 illustrates 60% to 78% of the CSU Long Beach respondents
somewhat or strongly agreed with statements from the questionnaires related to
understanding the Filipino culture. Examples of these statements were - “I have a
clear sense of my Filipino background and what it means to me” and “I understand
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what it means to be Filipino.” The majority of UH respondents (found in Table 11)
also agreed in the related questions with their understanding of the Filipino culture.
The range of respondents was slightly higher at 86% to 93%.
One interview respondent from CSU Long Beach indicated her comfort level
with the Filipino culture by describing how the student organization helped her “ be
more comfortable with my culture and be proud and feel more empowered knowing
the history.”
Socializing with other Filipinos and Ethnic Groups
There is a strong attachment by these respondents to other Filipinos. Based
on Table 10, 76% of the CSU Long Beach questionnaire participants somewhat or
strongly agree with the statement “I feel a strong attachment toward Filipinos.” The
UH respondents (table 11) concurred with a slightly higher percentage at 86%.
In addition, based on responses from the interviews collected, CSU Long
Beach (Table 9), 70% of the participants indicated that most of their college
friends were Filipinos with only 30% indicating they have diverse group of friends.
The faculty advisor for CSU Long Beach observed that the club membership
interacted with diverse ethnic groups though the majority indicated otherwise. One
CSU Long Beach student discussed her social circle as, “in high school I hung out
with Filipinos, African Americans and Mexican Americans, now in college I mostly
around Filipinos, I never hung out with so many Filipinos in my life.” Another
female respondent indicated her interaction with Filipinos made her realize,
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We have much in common and that’s why it’s so fun and we have these
things to share, in high school I didn’t have many Filipinos where I grew up
and here there a lot of Filipinos we can relate more and know that we go
through the same things and experiences.
Another student described her favorite experience with participating in the student
organization was “meeting all the people because regardless of all the cultural stuff,
it’s the people who make it enriching, you make friends, I feel I have a home base.”
Similarly, 70% of the UH Manoa interview respondents (Table 9) indicated
their social time is spent more with Filipinos with three respondents indicating
friendships to be more with other ethnic groups. Two of the three specified they
interacted more with other Asian American ethnic groups. The faculty noted that
“they have friends with mixed background but the majority are Filipinos.”
Table 9
Interviewees Responses related to Friendships in College
UH Manoa CSU Long Beach
Filipinos - 7/ 70% Filipinos - 7/ 70%
Mostly Japanese - 1/10% Diverse - 3/ 30%
Mostly Asian - 1/10% Diverse - faculty advisor response
Diverse - 1/10%
Filipinos - faculty advisor response
Though they often socialize with other Filipinos, the questionnaire
respondents also indicated they interacted with other ethnic groups. As shown in
Table 10, the majority CSU Long Beach participants positively agreed with
statements related to socializing with other ethnic groups. Based on the answers, the
percentage of respondents (range of 68% to 82%) either somewhat agreed or
strongly agreed with statements such as “I am involved in activities with people from
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ethnic groups other than Filipino.” In addition, the respondents (90%) somewhat and
strongly disagreed to the question which stated “I don’t try to become friends with
non-Filipinos.”
In comparison, the UH respondents (found in table 11) as well agreed with
the questions regarding their socialization with other ethnic groups. The percentage
range is slightly higher at 77% to 90% on questions. The UH respondents were
similar to CSU Long Beach with a high percentage of 94% somewhat and strongly
disagreeing to the statement of trying not to interact with non-Filipinos.
On student from UH Manoa discussed how he used his interaction with other
ethnic groups as a way to teach them about the Filipino culture. He said,
Since there are a lot of Filipinos on the Islands, I know a lot of students
outside of the Filipino race want to leam about Filipinos. In the beginning of
the semester, people where I lived were not Filipino and my roommate was
Japanese and every time I would pass these people they looked at me weird
trying to figure what I am, they said ‘you are not white, black, Mexican and I
would say I am Filipino and they thought I was Indian’ and would ask me
questions about my projects for my Ilokano class.
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Table 10
CSU Long Beach - Responses from Questionnaires
Strongly
Disagree
Somewhat
Disagree
Not Sure/
Neutral
Somewhat
Agree
Strongly
Agree
No
Answer
1 I have spent time trying
to find out more about
Filipino history,
traditions, and customs
3 / 6% 2 / 4% 1 2 / 24% 2 2/ 44% 1 0 / 20% 1 / 2%
2 I am active in
organizations or social
groups that include
mostly Filipinos
4 / 8% 7 / 14% 6 / 12% 1 5 / 30% 17/ 34% 1 / 2%
3 I have a clear sense o f
my Filipino
background and what
it means to me
2 / 4% 2 / 4% 1 5 / 30% 17/ 34% 1 3 / 26% 1 / 2%
4 I think a lot about how
my life will be affected
by my Filipino
ethnicity
1 / 2% 5 / 10% 1 5 / 30% 2 1/ 42% 7 / 14% 1 / 2%
5 I am happy that I am
Filipino 1 / 2% 1 / 2% 4 / 8% 4 / 8% 38/ 76% 2 / 4%
6 I have a strong sense o f
being Filipino 1 / 2% 1 / 2% 8 / 16% 1 5 / 30% 2 4/ 48% 1 / 2%
7 I understand what it
means to be Filipino 1 / 2% 1 / 2% 8 / 30% 2 5/ 50% 1 2 / 24% 3 / 6%
8 In order to learn more
about my Filipino
heritage, I have often
talked to other people
about my Filipino
ethnicity
1 / 2% 7 / 14% 14/ 28% 14/ 28% 1 3 / 26% 1 / 2%
9 I have a lot o f pride in
the Filipino people 1 / 2% 1 / 2% 5 / 10% 1 6 / 32% 2 6/ 52% 1 / 2%
10 I don’t try to become
friends with non-
Filipinos
32/ 64% 1 3 / 26% 3 / 6% 1 / 2% 1 / 2%
11 I participate in Filipino
cultural practices such
as special food, music,
or customs
1 / 2% 1 0 / 20% 1 8 / 36% 20/ 40% 1 / 2%
12 I am involved in
activities with people
from ethnic groups
other than Filipino
1 / 2% 2 / 4% 1 2 / 24% 1 5 / 30% 19/38% 1 / 2%
13 Ifeel a strong
attachment toward
Filipinos
2 / 4% 8 / 16% 2 3/ 46% 1 5 / 30% 1 / 2%
14 I enjoy being around
people from ethnic
groups other than my
own
2 / 4% 2 / 4% 4 / 8% 1 6 / 32% 2 5/ 50% 1 / 2%
15 I feel good about my
Filipino culture and
ethnic background
2 / 4% 3 / 6 1 1 / 22% 3 3/ 66% 1 / 2%
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Table 11
UH Manoa - Responses from Questionnaires
Strongly
Disagree
Somewhat
Disagree
Not Sure/
Neutral
Somewhat
Agree
Strongly
Agree
1
I have spent time trying to find
out more about Filipino
history, traditions, and
customs
3 / 5% 7 / 13% 32/ 64% 14/25%
2
I am active in organizations or
social groups that include
mostly Filipinos
3 / 5% 4 / 7% 1 3 / 23% 24/ 43% 1 2 / 21%
3
I have a clear sense o f my
Filipino background and what
it means to me
1 / 2% 7 / 13% 2 0 / 36% 28/ 50%
4
I think a lot about how my life
will be affected by my Filipino
ethnicity
1 4 / 25% 30/ 54% 1 2 / 21%
5 I am happy that I am Filipino
3 / 5% 8 / 14% 4 5/ 80%
6 I have a strong sense o f being
Filipino 1 / 2% 3 / 5% 1 9 / 34% 3 3/ 59%
7 I understand what it means to
be Filipino 1 / 2% 5 / 9% 2 0 / 36% 30/ 54%
8 In order to learn more about
my Filipino heritage, I have
often talked to other people
about my Filipino ethnicity
1 / 2% 4 / 7% 3 3/ 59% 18/32%
9 I have a lot o f pride in the
Filipino people 4 / 7% 33/ 59% 1 8 / 32%
10
I don’ t try to become friends
with non-Filipinos
38/ 68% 9 / 16% 5 / 9% 2 / 4% 2 / 4%
11
I participate in Filipino
cultural practices such as
special food, music, or
customs
2 / 4% 1 / 2% 8 / 14% 2 1 / 38% 24/ 43%
12
I am involved in activities with
people from ethnic groups
other than Filipino
1 / 2% 3 / 5% 9 / 16% 2 3/ 41% 2 0 / 36%
13
I feel a strong attachment
toward Filipinos
8 / 14% 1 9 / 34% 2 9/ 52%
14
I enjoy being around people
from ethnic groups other than
my own
2 / 4% 1 / 2% 3 / 5% 2 0 / 36% 30/ 54%
15
I feelgood about my Filipino
culture and ethnic background
1 / 2% 1 3 / 23% 4 2/ 75%
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Identifying as a Filipino American
During the interviews, the students were asked to answer two questions
pertaining to their ethnic identification. One question was, “In what terms would you
describe your own ethnic origin” and the other was, “Do you consider yourself Asian
American, Filipino, Filipino American, American?” All the respondents (from both
organizations), with the exception of one, responded Filipino American.
Those who identified as Filipino Americans gave reflections based on their
birthplace and cultural heritage. One UH Manoa student said he was “raised as an
American but still have the cultural background of a Filipino.” Another UH Manoa
student concurred with, “I was bom in America but I am part Filipino with the blood
line.” While a CSU Long Beach female student thought similarly, “I was bom here
so I am American with Filipino descent and its culture has lots to do with who I am.”
A male CSU Long Beach student concurred,
Filipino is someone who is intact with their Filipino culture, background,
very strong. An American is well informed of the American culture and
honestly, I know more about the American culture. However, I can not deny
the fact that Filipino is my ethnicity. So (I am) Filipino American.
The one respondent, from CSU Long Beach, who did not answer Filipino
American to the question answered Filipino. She stated “I am Filipino because that’s
the box I check when filling out surveys so that is how identify myself.” The faculty
advisor at UH Manoa thought his students would view themselves as Filipino
Americans. While the faculty advisor at CSU Long Beach thought that was too
layered of question to answer for the students. Her specific response was,
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My students are sophisticated enough, they have taken my classes - Filipino
American Experience, Asian American history - there is no one way to
define Filipino American and they get this from their own membership. I
think they know that there are different ways to define it.
An additional interview question was asked of the respondents of “What does
it mean to be a Filipino American to you.” All responses were related to identifying
as an American because of it being their birthplace and choosing Filipino because of
where their parents are from. In addition, a few respondents indicated that their
Filipino identification was related to their connection to the culture. One female
respondent stated, “I am a Filipino first, that is my culture and that’s where my
parents are from, Filipino is everywhere in me - physically, culturally but I am also
American because I am bom here.” Another female student said,
I was bom here in America but I have not forgotten where my parents are
from, my roots, however I know more American history but being in
Timpuyog is helping with Philippine History, so I feel more balanced.
A few other respondents recognized the effect the American culture has on them. For
example, one male respondent stated, “My nationality is American, my ethnicity is
Filipino, I can’t say I am one or the other, I grew up in a Filipino household but in
America.”
The data collected from the observations corroborate with how the students
identify with both Filipino and American cultures. At both institutions, through the
social/cultural events they demonstrated an element of this finding. At UH Manoa,
the Dramafest event had skits created and presented by the students and several of
them were related to this dichotomy. One such example, was the storyline of two
neighboring families, one household infused with the Filipino culture which was
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demonstrated by the traditional dress, dancing and way of eating and the other family
presented cultural traits associated with the American culture with rapping songs,
dancing hip-hop and in westernized clothing.
Similarly, at CSU Long Beach, the social/cultural event showed respect to
their affiliation to the Philippines and United States by singing both national anthems
at the beginning of the program. In addition, this particular cultural event,
Christmasfest, was meant to celebrate Christmas traditions of the Philippines and the
United States. There were some displays demonstrating how Christmas was
celebrated in the Philippines In addition, one particular segment of the event was
dedicated to the traditional folk dances of the Philippines. However, most of the
performances were representative of the American culture.
Local Identity and Stereotypes
Interestingly, half of the respondents at UH Manoa discussed their local
identity during the interviews. As discussed in the background chapter, local identity
is an extra layer of identity that individuals living in Hawaii relate to. The faculty
advisor to the student organization also mentioned this notion. He said “being able to
speak pidgin language (local dialect) is a ‘marker’ for them.” One female student
corroborated this observation with the statement, “I can talk pidgin when I want to
and depending on who I am with, I have one friend who said he is Filipino but
“Hawaiian” by heart, though not by blood but has a local identity.”
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One student defined the local identity as a person who has been here (Hawaii)
for awhile, graduated from high school (in Hawaii) and understands pidgin. This
same student identified with this definition. Another student indicated,
I come from a background rich in diversity and often times people who were
bom here mock those who came from the Philippines, this was in high
school, I can say I am Filipino but then I rather say I am ‘local’ but going
through the language courses (in college), I am proud to say I am Filipino
too.
One more male respondent described the local identity as, “it’s all mixed
here, you get your identity from all types of cultures, there’s a local culture, all
mixed.” And yet another female respondent stated, “...w e tolerate a lot of stuff, we
are a ‘melting pot’ in Hawaii, in the mainland they separate themselves (based on
visiting cousins in the mainland).” On male student described his affinity to the local
culture by saying, “I like the local culture because (it) acknowledges all cultures.”
This local culture was also infused at a UH Manoa cultural event called
Dramafest. At the beginning of the program, leis (wreath made of either flowers,
candies or leaves) were given to special guests in the audience. The giving of leis is
not a Filipino tradition but a local Hawaiian tradition.
In addition, 80% of student interview participants discussed the negative
stereotypes about Filipinos in Hawaii. One male student said that a Filipino in
Hawaii is seen as “a plantation worker with a hard accent who eats with his hands
and squats.” Another male student said, “Filipinos are looked down in Hawaii as
‘country people’ from outside races.” A third male respondent was quite vocal about
his anger towards these stereotypes,
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It’s hard, growing up and living in Hawaii, there were a lot of Filipinos there,
newly immigrated and if you spoke with a heavy accent the other cultures
would tease you and make fun of you but the real issue is that your own
people would put more pressure on you and make you ashamed of being that,
so when I was growing up when my mom spoke to me I didn’t want to speak
it (Ilokano) and then going to school I would never hang out with those who
had an accent. I don’t like the idea that when they think of Filipinos they
think of housemaids, dishwashers or janitors, it is so demeaning and my mom
is in environmental position and my uncles are managers. It makes me want
to have a higher job, I like the challenge.
Another female student indicated a common stereotype of Filipinos as
“people who kill and eat dogs.” One male student discussed Filipinos are seen as
always “carrying knives and having bagoong (fish paste) in the house.” And yet
another student discussed the mocking Filipinos get when they still speak with a
Filipino accent, “unfortunately, we mistreat those Filipinos who recently immigrate
here especially those with accents.”
Passing on Cultural Traits
To assess what particular Filipino cultural traits where most important to the
students, I asked during the interview “if you were to have children, what Filipino
cultural traits would you want to pass on to them.” Table 12 categorizes the
respondents’ remarks and the frequency of the particular categories.
At both institutions, a frequently mentioned cultural trait that the students
would pass on to their children would be the customs, history and superstitions of the
Filipino culture. Quite notably, one male respondent indicated how important the
Filipino superstitions were to him but that he was not well versed enough to teach
them. He stated, “I would have my grandmother or mother teach them to my
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children.” At least two other students made similar remarks of wanting their parents
to help in passing on the Filipino culture to their children.
At UH Manoa, the most frequent cultural trait mentioned by the students was
passing on knowledge of Filipino foods to their children. The cultural event,
Dramafest, at UH Manoa had free Filipino food for all the attendees to enjoy at the
conclusion of the event. At a CSU Long Beach general meeting, food played an
important part of the general discussion since the meeting took place right before the
Thanksgiving weekend. A portion of this meeting included a dialogue on what types
of Filipino food was served in their homes at Thanksgiving. At the conclusion of the
meeting, they had some Filipino food available for the members to partake.
As discussed in the background chapter, a respect fo r elders is an important
aspect of the Filipino culture and similarly viewed by the respondents from
UH Manoa. Data collected from the observations also substantiate this notion. At the
general meeting and social event, the term “Manang and Manong” was used to
address the professors in the program rather than “Dr.” or “Professor.”. As
mentioned in the Chapter 3, there are particular words designated in the Filipino
languages/dialects that are used to properly address elders. Students also used these
terms during the interviews. The UH Manoa respondents always referred to their
faculty advisor as “Manong” when discussing his role with the student organization.
One male respondent added, “saying Manong in class makes me feel part of a family
which creates a positive learning environment.” Another student concurred with, “...
we call our teachers ‘Manang and Manong’ out of respect.”
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Another important finding was the role religion plays with a few of the
students. As noted in Chapter 3, Catholicism has a strong influence in the
Philippines. The passing on of religion was important to some CSU Long Beach
respondents but not to any UH Manoa respondents. One particular male CSU Long
Beach student discussed the role his parents had in transmitting this particular
cultural trait to him, “my parents taught me to be strong with my religious faith” and
further stipulated that he plans to raise his children in the same manner. The
importance of family and education was equally relevant to respondents of both
institutions.
Another notable finding as indicated from Table 13 is how passing on the
Filipino language was not often mentioned by the students from UH Manoa though
they are involved in the student organization to learn their parents’ language. In
contrast at CSU Long Beach, one student made a profound remark to her role in
passing on the cultural traits, “my generation is more of a link for our children to tie
them to the Filipino bom, our children will be more American.”
Table 12
Passing on Cultural Traits
Frequency of Responses from Interviews
UH Manoa CSU Long
Beach
Customs/History/Superstitions 4 4
Religion 3 0
Importance of education 2 3
Importance of family 2 2
Language 2 2
Food 1 6
Respect for Elders 1 4
Work Ethic 1 0
Strictness/Discipline 0 3
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The questionnaires and interviews provided insights into the respondents’
perceptions regarding learning about and participating in the Filipino culture. In
addition, the participants had pride in the Filipino culture as well as understood the
culture. The data also provided information related to the students interacting with
both Filipinos and other ethnic groups.
The majority of interview respondents and data from the observations
indicated that the students identified themselves as Filipino Americans. This
response was predominantly given because the students felt that they were American
due to being bom in the United States and Filipino because of where their parents
were from. In addition, a few of the UH Manoa interview participants identified with
a “local culture or identity.” Some were dismayed by the negative stereotypes of
Filipinos in Hawaii.
Lastly, this section discussed the most important Filipino cultural traits the
students thought they would pass on to their children. At CSU Long Beach, the
interview respondents believed that passing the Filipino customs and superstitions
was the most important. While at UH Manoa, the students want to make sure their
children were aware the Filipino foods.
Exploring their Ethnic Identity
One of the main research questions of this study was to find how these
students used the ethnic specific student organization to explore their ethnic identity.
At CSU Long Beach, a majority of the respondents (70%) indicated that the cultural
lessons presented at the general meetings help them better understand what is means
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to be a Filipino American. While at UH Manoa, there was not one salient experience
indicated the respondents.
Table 13
Responses from the Interviews - Exploring Ethnic Identity
UH Manoa CSU Long Beach
Club Events - 3/ 30% Cultural Lessons - 7/ 70%
Language Class - 3/ 30% Other Club Events - 2/ 20%
Interacting with Others - 2/ 20% Interacting with Others - 1/10%
Other University Activities - 2/ 20%
CSU Long Beach Responses
Seven of the ten CSU Long Beach respondents noted that the cultural lessons
at the general meetings were the most relevant experience in their ethnic identity
exploration. The “cultural lessons”, a term coined by the organization, were usually
the last item on the agenda at the meeting. The lessons were usually conducted by
the Cultural Chair (student officer) and the topics were related to issues in the
Philippines and Filipinos in America. Various topics have included the history of the
Philippine flag, the Filipino Americans Veterans rights and how holidays are
celebrated in the Philippines and the U.S. by Filipino Americans.
One male respondent affirmed that the cultural lessons “keeps me well
informed, during meetings they keep us aware and a sense of pride with a history of
both Philippines and Filipinos in America.” Another female respondent discussed her
ethnic identity exploration through the cultural lessons by saying, “I have been
getting a lot information, they (cultural lessons) revolved around the Philippines like
the Filipino alphabet and then some history here.” On student described one of the
cultural lessons,
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Near at the end of the meeting they talk about the Filipino history. One
instance they discussed tourism, they (the Philippines government) tried to
increase tourism by taking pictures of the mountain people, they gave the
impression that the Filipinos were uncivilized. I was somewhat offended by
that.
The faculty advisor at CSU Long Beach also observed that the cultural lessons
from the general meetings were the primary way the Filipino American student club had
helped them learn more what it means to be a Filipino American. She indicated that,
One of the things PAC cabinet (student club officers) plans is once or twice a
month a lecture on identity or cultural roots,.. .they call it cultural lessons, and
they are from my lectures and what is good about it is that it gives upper division
students things to think about it and teach it and for freshman students it gives
them exposure and lets them think about it.
The other three students from CSU Long Beach specified the general cultural
events and interacting with other Filipino American students as helping them in
exploring their identity as a Filipino American. One male respondent identified
“Pilipino Cultural Night and Christmasfest (cultural event sponsored by the student
organization) because they (the club) give background on the dances and the events
and why we do it.” Another female respondent discussed how interacting with other
Filipino students helped her exploration,
Working with these individuals, I see how much we have in common and
that’s why its so fun and we have these things to share, in high school I didn’t
have many Filipinos where I grew up and here there are a lot of Filipinos, we
can relate more and know that we go through the same things and
experiences.
UH Manoa Responses
The majority (70%) of UH Respondents had indicated activities outside to
club events in helping them explore their ethnic identity. The students were asked the
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interview question - “has there been any particular event or experience through the
Filipino American student club that has helped you learn more about what it means
to be a Filipino American?” The students had varied answers from particular club
events to class activities as well as other university activities and interaction with
other Filipino Americans students.
Two students talked about how specifically Dramafest was the event or
experience that helped them in their ethnic identity exploration. One of the students
chose this event “because we had to research on what we want to do (the skit),
research the music and the (cultural) background.” Another student said,
Participating in Dramafest, I get to do different things and learn more about
your culture, doing folk songs and interaction with other people. Last year
when I was singing a Filipino song and I looked at the crowd and see the
older people singing and laughing and that made me feel good.
In observing Dramafest, I noted that the students conducted the skits in the
Ilokano language. In addition, most of the storylines of the skits compared traditional
families in the Philippines to family dynamics of young Filipinos in America. The
faculty advisor for the student organization said this about Dramafest,
It is part of the curriculum and they are graded for the presentation. It is an
application of the material they learn in the class. And I see it as a showcase
the language of Ilokano. We try to get them to respect the Filipino culture,
not so westernized, mix it up.
He continued discussing the event with relation to their identities as Filipino
Americans,
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When they are creating their skits (for Dramafest) they would bring in their
pop culture and for us (advisors) we try to get them to infuse the traditional
culture so I have been trying to meet them half-way, making it a hybrid,
validates their identity but respecting their parents traditional part. One
student said, ‘Manong that is odd, that is too Filipino.’ They want to make it
more contemporary.
Another student mentioned a club event called “The Picnic” as the most
relevant experience. He recalled the event,
I would say the picnic because everything is deep in the tradition like we pray
before we eat, we call our teachers “Manang and Manong” out of respect and
they have us meet each other and we do the “Timpuyog circle” (everyone
holding hands in a circle and coming in the middle saying loudly
‘Timpuyog’) to show you are proud to be a Filipino.
Three students discussed how experiences in the language class were most
important to their exploration of what it means to be a Filipino American. One male
respondent stated that “in class we have discussions and it’s about culture and in our
journals we discuss our experiences.” Another male student also gave a similar
viewpoint “the class work helped with speaking the language better and
(understanding) the culture.” In addition, the faculty advisor answered that the
language classes do help with the students learning more about the Filipino
American culture, “as a language teacher, I would say learning the language of their
parents and saying where their parents are coming from and also we have cultural
notes in the textbook with discuss in class.”
Two other students indicated that their interaction with other Filipino
students helped them in exploring their identity as a Filipino American. They were
both female respondents with one appreciating, “getting together, (Filipinos) from
different backgrounds, I am from the Big Island.. ..my classmates (who are
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predominantly from Oahu) are brought up in a different way but there are
similarities.” The other female respondent also discussed being around Filipino
professors help her understand what it means to be a Filipino American. She said that
“just being around other Filipinos, my professors from the Philippines, they can
relate (to me)” helped her ethnic identity exploration.
Lastly, there were two students who discussed other university activities as
the most relevant experience that had helped them understand what it means to be a
Filipino American. One male student indicated a university sponsored mentoring
project he was involved in whereby he was matched with younger Filipino students.
He stated that this particular experience outside the student organization was most
relevant to him. The other student mentioned that a Filipino conference on campus
sponsored by another student organization helped him “discover Filipino identity, we
had a session about leadership, history and the overall experience helped me see that
Filipinos have a lot to offer and the rich history.”
Comparisons
There was a commonality among the interview respondents at CSU Long
Beach regarding how they explored their ethnic identity through the student
organization. The majority discussed how the cultural lessons at the general meetings
helped them learn what it means to be a Filipino American. The answers were
limited at UH Manoa regarding their use of the student organization in the ethnic
identity exploration. The majority of the interview respondents (70%) discussed
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activities outside the student organization such as the language classes and other
university activities as having an impact to their exploration.
It appears that the CSU Long Beach students utilized their student
organization for ethnic identity exploration while participation in the ethnic-specific
student organization was not a salient experience for UH Manoa students. One
reason that may account for the minimal significance for the UH Manoa students
could be related to why they joined the organization. As indicated earlier, the
majority of questionnaire respondents felt obligated to participate in the organization
because of their enrollment in a Filipino language course. In addition, the meetings at
UH Manoa were not well attended by its members as indicated by the data collected
from questionnaires and observations.
Other Benefits in Participation
This study sought to research how participation in an ethnic-specific
organization provides the avenue for ethnic identity exploration. In addition, it
investigated the other ways students benefited from participation in this student
organization.
One of the questions addressed to the interview respondents was “how has
your participation in the student organization helped you as a person or student?”
Only four (three from UH Manoa and one from CSU Long Beach) of the twenty
respondents indicated that identity exploration was a benefit they acquired in their
participation in the student organization. One of the respondents stated,
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I always took interest in my culture but when I came to campus I took interest
in a specific organization in Ilokano...it was weird... In high school you have
the multicultural club but it had Samoans and I wasn’t interested. I am
Ilokano, when you get older you tend to realize more stuff, when you are in
high school no one wants to join the Filipino stuff, when I came to college I
saw Timpuyog, I thought ‘right on’.
Another respondent concurred with, “I am more comfortable with my culture ...
proud and feel more empowered knowing the history.”
But quite notably, the other seventeen respondents discussed other benefits
that are important to cite. The four categories that emerged were how the students
acquired 1) leadership skills, 2) social/networking skills, 3) confidence in themselves
and 4) community awareness. As indicated in Table 14 obtaining leadership and
social skills were the most frequent responses from the students.
Table 14
Benefits in Participation
Frequency of Responses
UH Manoa CSU Long Beach TOTAL
Identity Exploration 3 1 4
Leadership skills 3 3 6
Social/Networking skills 1 4 5
Confidence 3 2 5
Community awareness 0 6 6
Leadership Skills
One female respondent from UH Manoa commented on how her leadership
skills have increased with her participation with Timpuyog, “my leadership skills are
more now and I learn to work with difficult people.” Another student from UH
Manoa also discussed how his leaderships skills have expanded due to his
involvement with the student organization with remarks, “I learn about leadership
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skills and how to relate to people. I have learned how to manage conflict between
friends and having to get work done for the organization.”
One male student explicitly describe his role as a club officer in the growth of
his leadership skills,
I am able to be a voice of my classmates because sometimes their voices are
not being heard and things are being done without their consent and they may
not like it but someone has to tell the people (other officers) this is what the
class wants.
In addition, the UH Manoa faculty advisor substantiated this notion with his view
that the one of the purposes of the organization is “to empower students, give them
control - it is a student centered organization so leadership skills come out.”
At CSU Long Beach, the responses related to leadership skills were
connected to developing more time management skills. One female respondent who
was on officer in the organization elaborated on her role with, “when you have so
many things to do, it makes you (stay) on top of your job, so having to worry about
time management (is important).” Having to be organized in leading the student
organization, another officer discussed how this had also helped her as a student,
“It really has helped me to be more organized. My freshman year I had a 2.0 and last
year was my busy year and I got a 3.8.” Another CSU Long Beach student concurred
with, “... since I have a lot to do with PAC, I am managing my time better and have
concentrated better in school.” This student was also an officer in the organization.
Among the CSU Long Beach respondents, there was also a club member who
described how he acquired leadership skills with his participation in the student club.
He specifically said,
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Filipinos are just followers and it is hard to get people to lead, you don’t want
to have that many chiefs but there was not enough initiative in the club. In
planning for the friendship games, people were just waiting for the officers to
take a lead and the event was getting close so I decided to (take the lead).
Social/Networking Skills
A few of interview respondents felt that they benefited from the organization
by obtaining more social or networking skills. This was found predominantly at CSU
Long Beach with four of the five students indicating this particular response. One
male CSU Long Beach respondent stated he was “more friendly and open to new
people.” Another male student commented that “my socializing skills have
increased, you should have met me a couple years ago. I was more the quiet person,
school was just for school not for socializing.”
The other two CSU Long Beach respondents discussed that their networking
skills had expanded through their involvement with the student organization. One of
the two students stated that participation in PAC had “helped me network better with
people.” The lone UH Manoa respondent in this category discussed his comfort level
in socializing with other Filipino students, “since you are surrounded mostly by
Filipinos you feel more comforted.”
Gaining Confidence
Acquiring confidence from participating in the student organization was
found among more UH Manoa students than CSU Long Beach students. One male
respondent from UH Manoa remarked on how he was “more talkative than when I
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entered college and spoke up more in classes.” Another male student commented on
being more sociable since he became involved with Timpuyog because the group
gave him “confidence to speak in front of students and make eye contact (the faculty
advisor) encouraged us to use our talents.”
One CSU Long Beach student had also gained more confidence in her self by
stating that the student organization had “given me confidence to approach people.”
Another female CSU Long Beach student added her participation in the ethnic-
specific student organization as helped her, “to speak up more about the things I am
more passionate about.”
Community Awareness
Six students, specifically from the CSU Long Beach campus, discussed how
their participation in the student organization had made them more aware of issues
within the Filipino community. The respondents particularly talked about the
injustice of Filipino Veterans who were ordered to serve for the United States in the
Philippines during WWII but due to the 1946 Rescission Act did not receive medical
and economic benefits which were promised to all soldiers who fought alongside
Americans.
One of the students described her understanding of the Filipino history with
“when we deal with issues like the Veterans, I actually see the struggles Filipinos
have been through.” In addition, the faculty advisor from CSU Long Beach
commented on how the student organization had worked over the past two years with
this issue. She noted,
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PAC has supported the Filipino veterans who fought in WWII, right now they
are fighting for GI benefits that were promised to them but right now are
rescinded. CSULB PAC has worked closely with the community to work for
the veterans and launched this campaign two years ago.
The faculty advisor’s statement was corroborated with the data collected
from the social/cultural event Christmasfest whereby the student organization invited
community organizations to set up tables. One of the organizations invited was the
“Justice for Filipino American Veterans” and notably they were given an opportunity
to speak at this social event.
Summary
This chapter presented data to answer the research questions of how Filipino
American students explore ethnic identity through an ethnic-specific student
organization and the comparisons between two different student organizations from
Hawaii and California. In addition, this chapter provided data on the students
benefited from participating in the student organization.
The differences between the two institutions regarding student participation
in the organizations were quite notable. At CSU Long Beach, the majority of
students joined the organization to learn more about their culture and the members
newer to the organization attended the meetings frequently. On the other hand, at UH
Manoa the majority of students joined the organization because of the class
requirement and had members who were in the organization longer yet rarely
attended the general meetings.
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This chapter also provided perspectives on how the students viewed their
ethnic identity. The majority of students from both institutions were proud of the
Filipino culture and actively participated in the culture. In addition, they socialized
with other Filipinos yet discussed how they also interacted with other ethnic groups.
The students also discussed their dual identification as Filipino Americans: their
parents’ roots in the Philippines juxtaposed with having been bom and raised in the
United States. As the students looked to the future in perpetuating this identity with
their children, the data present confirmed that they wanted to pass on the Filipino
customs, history, superstitions and food to the next generation.
The students at CSU Long Beach did find ways to explore their ethnic
identity. The majority learned more about their Filipino American background
through the cultural lessons presented at the general meetings. At UH Manoa, the
majority of the interview respondents discussed events or experiences outside the
student organization as providing insights into their Filipino American identity.
Though a few students described how the student organization benefited them, it
overall was not a salient avenue for the majority in ethnic identity exploration. The
students believed they were exposed more to issues in the Filipino community and
acquired leadership, social/network and confidence skills as result of their
participation in the student organizations.
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Chapter 6
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
Introduction
The findings in this study contribute knowledge about students benefiting
from participating in an ethnic-specific student organization. This chapter will
analyze the data through the student development and ethnic identity development
theories presented in Chapter 2, Literature Review. In addition, major comparison
between the two organizations will be highlighted. Based on the research findings,
recommendations for future practices will also be discussed. Lastly, I will suggest
areas for future research.
Theoretical Analysis
I previously discussed four theories which were relevant to Filipino
American University students with respect to ethnic identity exploration. Two of the
theories presented were in relation to student development while the other two
examined how an individual develops his or her ethnic identity. In the next sections,
I briefly review the theories and discuss how they apply to the data.
Student Development Theories
The Seven Vectors of Student Development by Arthur Chickering provided
one conceptual framework for this study. As mentioned previously, the seven vectors
included 1) developing competence, 2) developing emotions, 3) developing
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autonomy, 4) establishing identity, 5) freeing interpersonal relationships, 6)
clarifying purposes and 7) developing integrity. The vectors most pertinent to this
study were vector one - developing competence, vector four - establishing identity
and vector five - freeing interpersonal relationships.
In vector one of Chickering’s theory, developing competence is defined as a
student’s ability to develop intellectual competence, physical and manual skills and
social and interpersonal competence. As discussed in the Chapter 5, the students who
participated in the student organizations gained a variety of interpersonal skills. One
such skill was the leadership ability to organize events and meetings.
For example, one student from UH Manoa discussed how his leadership
skills have expanded due to his involvement with the student organization with
remarks, “I learn about leadership skills and how to relate to people. I have learned
how to manage conflict between friends and how to get work done for the
organization.”
Other students discussed the acquisition of social and networking skills as
another benefit of participation. Lastly, the students who participated in these ethnic-
specific organizations gained confidence by feeling comfortable in voicing their
opinions. A male student from UH Manoa commented on being more sociable since
he became involved with Timpuyog and that he had more “confidence to speak in
front of students and making eye contact and (the faculty advisor) encouraged us to
use our talents.” Another female CSU Long Beach student added her participation in
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the ethnic-specific student organization helped her, “to speak up more about the
things I am more passionate about.”
Chickering originally defined vector four, establishing identity, as students’
ability to develop a sense of self by clarifying physical needs, characteristics and
personal appearances through sexual identification, roles and behaviors. Based on
the data, I would expand this vector to the students’ needs to explore their ethnic-
identity. The Filipino American students at both institutions joined the ethnic
specific student organization to explore their Filipino culture and heritage. In
addition, they continued to participate in the general meetings and events to learn
more about their ethnic background. One example from a female student cited
cultural reasons for joining,
In the past I was involved in folk dancing and it was not like my parents
didn’t instill a sense of culture in me but I wanted to learn more and then I
went to a meeting as they were emphasizing cultural lessons. Also I went to
(another) meeting and they brought the Veterans and all these issues and I
wanted to learn more. I liked the cultural aspect.
The other vector, freeing interpersonal relationships, was defined as students’
ability to develop an increased tolerance for others and develop relationships based
on trust, independence and individuality. The data in chapter 5 discussed how the
Filipino American students found comfort in interacting with other Filipino
American students as well as socializing with other ethnic groups. One male student
from UH Manoa talked about his comfort level with other Filipinos “since you are
surrounded mostly by Filipinos you feel more comforted.” While the majority of
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questionnaire respondents indicated interaction with groups outside their ethnic
group.
Due to the cultural pluralism in the United States and the increasing
importance of global interdependence, students need to learn to work with people of
different backgrounds. The negative notion that ethnic student organizations tend to
“balkanize” a university campus, as mentioned in Chapter 1, is countered with
positive aspects for student participation. The Filipino American students did
respond that they interacted with other ethnic groups therefore, they may have not
have recognized balkanization occurring which could be more evident to other
students not participating in ethnic-specific organizations.
The second student development theory that provided theoretical background
was Nevitt Sanford’s Challenge and Support theory. This theory revolves around the
idea of student development as a function of person-environment interaction.
Sanford stipulated three developmental conditions: readiness, challenge and support.
With regard to readiness, he proposed that individuals cannot access the
opportunities until they are ready to do so. In addition, the goal of the person should
be to find the range of optimal dissonance for development to occur. Lastly, the
amount of challenge a person can handle is function of the amount of support
available. The range of optimal dissonance for any particular individual varies,
depending on the quality of the challenge and support that the environment provides
as well as the characteristics of the individual (Sanford, 1966).
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The students who chose to participate in the Filipino American student
organizations did so because of their desire to learn more about their culture and
heritage. Therefore, based on Sanford’s theory, there was a readiness on the part of
the students to engage themselves. However, I found there was a difference in the
level of support between the two institutions. While the student organization at CSU
Long Beach provided a close support structure, UH Manoa’s organization functioned
differently for the students. The majority of interview respondents at CSU Long
Beach utilized the student organization’s meeting and events for ethnic identity
exploration. One such event most frequently discussed was the cultural lessons
presented at the general meetings. A female respondent discussed her ethnic identity
exploration through the cultural lessons by saying, “I have been getting a lot
information, they (cultural lessons) revolved around the Philippines like the Filipino
alphabet and then some history here.”
While at UH Manoa, the majority of the interview respondents felt that
activities outside the organization provided more of an avenue for them to learn more
about their Filipino American identity. One male student mentioned a Filipino
conference on campus sponsored by another student organization that helped him
“discover Filipino identity, we had a session about leadership, history and the overall
experience helped me see that Filipinos have a lot to offer and the rich history.”
The challenge or optimal dissonance for the students was more evident at UH
Manoa because of the stereotypes of the Filipino American in Hawaii. The students
at UH Manoa were more vocal regarding their views of how others see Filipinos than
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those at CSU Long Beach. One example of their dissonance was stated by one
student at UH Manoa,
It’s hard, growing up and living in Hawaii, they were a lot of Filipinos there,
newly immigrated and if you spoke with a heavy accent the other cultures would
tease you and make fun of you but the real issue is that your own people would put
more pressure on you and make you ashamed of being that, so when I was growing
up when my mom spoke to me I didn’t want to speak it (Ilokano) and then going to
school I would never hang out with those who had an accent.” He went on to say, “I
don’t like the idea that when they think of Filipinos they think of housemaids,
dishwashers or janitors, it is so demeaning and my mom is in environmental position
and my uncles are managers. It makes me want to have a higher job, I like the
challenge.
Both of these theories, Seven Vectors of Student Development and Challenge
and Support, provided the conceptual lens to view how college students explored
their ethnic identity in the context of a campus environment and the role a student
organization plays in that development. The next section will analyze the data
through specific ethnic identity development models which an individual may
progress.
Ethnic Identity Development Theories
As discussed in Chapter 2, one model that describes the experiences of
minorities in their development of ethnic identity exploration is the “Minority
Identity Development” (MID) model developed by psychologists Donald R.
Atkinson, George Morten and Deraid W. Sue (1979). The MID model defines five
stages of development that individuals of a minority group may experience as they
struggle to understand themselves in terms of their ethnic culture, the majority
culture, and the oppressive relationship between the two cultures.
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The students at both institutions wanted to learn more about their parents’
heritage to make it their own as well as take this knowledge to pass on for the next
generation of Filipino Americans. However, they have identified with the dominant
group culture in being an American as well. One female respondent stated, “I am a
Filipino first, that is my culture and that’s where my parents are from, Filipino is
everywhere in me - physically, culturally but I am also American because I am bom
here.” Another male respondent acknowledged, “My nationality is American, my
ethnicity is Filipino, I can’t say I am one or the other, I grew up in a Filipino
household but in America.”
Based on these responses, I found the students to have progressed through the
MID model to the Dissonance stage. In this stage, there is confusion and conflict
regarding the dominant cultural system and their own group’s cultural system. The
majority of the respondents were bom in the United States and connected their
Filipino identity to their parents’ heritage but had a desire to explore that part of their
identity. In addition, these students understood they were living in the United States
and being raised in a different cultural system.
The student organization provides support for the students to learn more
about their parents’ heritage and make it their own. The club leadership is
responsible for organizing the events and meetings to expose the membership to
different aspects of being a Filipino American. For example at CSU Long Beach, the
Filipino student organization utilized its general meetings to present cultural lessons
regarding issues in the Philippines and Filipinos in America. At UH Manoa, the
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student organization produce a Dramafest every semester to provide the opportunity
for the students to develop skits related to their experiences as a Filipino American
student.
Another theory related to ethnic identity development designed by Stanley
Sue and Deraid W. Sue (1990) provided a conceptual classification of the Asian
American population. This model presents three categories of ethnic identity: 1)
Traditionalist, 2) Marginalist and 3) Biculturalist. The term “traditionalist” refers to
those who adhere to traditional Asian Values and who identify with an Asian culture
to the exclusion of the dominant society. Asian Americans who are labeled
“marginal” reject both American and Asian cultures and feel alienated. Lastly,
“bicultural” Asian Americans maintain both Asian and American cultural values and
try to participate in the American mainstream. One aspect I found lacking in this
model was it did not take into consideration those who adopt American values and
behavioral norms and who identify themselves as Americans to the exclusion of their
Asian background.
Based on the data, the students in this study fall into the Biculturalist
category. When asked how students identify themselves all but one interview
respondent said Filipino American. In further elaborating the meaning of this label,
the students said they were being raised in America, therefore learned the American
culture but had a desire to learn about their parents’ Filipino cultural roots and
planned to pass on these cultural traits to their children. At both institutions, a
frequently mentioned cultural trait that the students would pass on to their children
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was the customs, history and superstitions of the Filipino culture. Quite notably, one
male respondent indicated that how important the Filipino superstitions were to him
but that he was not well versed enough to teach them. He stated, “I would have my
grandmother or mother teach them to my children.”
Both of these theories, Minority Identity Development and Sue and Sue’s
Asian American Conceptual Classification, provided the conceptual framework to
examine how individuals like Filipino American university students view their ethnic
identity and the role a student organization plays in that development. The next
section highlights the similarities and differences of the two ethnic-specific student
organizations examined in this study.
Comparisons of the Organizations
To better understand how a Filipino American student utilizes an ethnic-
specific organization for ethnic identity exploration, it is helpful to have two
organizations to compare. This next section will highlight the major differences
(gathered from the data and literature review) between the two institutions, UH
Manoa and CSU Long Beach. This is important to keep in mind because of the
impact institutional and environmental differences have on being Filipino American
in the two different locales.
Institutional Comparisons
As indicated in an earlier chapter, CSU Long Beach and UH Manoa were
chosen because of their active Filipino American student organizations but had
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structural differences which made comparisons more relevant. In addition, the two
institutions had a similar number of Filipino students enrolled on their campuses.
Based on data gathered at the respective universities in Fall 2002, CSU Long Beach
had a 5% Filipino student population, while at UH Manoa the Filipino students were
8% of the student population.
The structure of the two organizations is important to note. The Filipino
American student club at UH Manoa is closely tied to the Philippines language and
literature department. The department is mainly responsible with the oversight of the
student organization. While at CSU Long Beach, the oversight of the student club
rests with a central Student Affairs office called Student Life and Development.
Though a faculty advisor from the Asian and Asian American department is involved
with the CSU Long Beach student club, a Student Life and Development coordinator
has university responsibility of the organization.
These structural differences may be some of the reasons for differences in the
organizations. For example, based on the data presented in Chapter 5, students at
CSU Long Beach participated in general club meetings more than their UH Manoa
counterparts. In addition, at UH Manoa the majority of questionnaire respondents
indicated that they joined the Filipino American club by de facto because of their
enrollment in one of the departments courses while at CSU Long Beach the majority
of students joined to learn more about the Filipino culture. This in turn impacted how
the students utilized their participation in the ethnic-specific student organization for
identity exploration.
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The major difference between the two organizations was how the students did
or did not utilize the club in exploring their ethnic identity. The majority of CSU
Long Beach interview respondents indicated that they were exposed to Filipino
American issues and topics from the cultural lessons presented at general meetings.
However, at UH Manoa, the majority of interview participants discussed other
university activities outside the student organization on having an impact on their
Filipino American identity.
Environmental Comparisons
According to the 2000 Census, California has the largest Filipino population
in the United States with the state of Hawaii having the second largest. It is also
interesting to note that the Asian American population in Hawaii is 42% of the
overall state population with Filipinos being the second largest after the Japanese. In
California, the Asian American population is 10% with again the Filipinos being the
second largest, however, after the Chinese.
As mentioned in an earlier chapter, Filipinos initially immigrated to Hawaii
and California for agricultural and menial service jobs. However, in the 1990s, there
was shift of Filipinos being in working-class occupations to professional ones (Lott,
1998). This does not seem to be the case in Hawaii. As discussed in Chapter 3, there
has been a social and economic cleavage between the Japanese Americans and other
ethnic groups, particularly the Filipino Americans and Native Hawaiians (Okamura,
1994).
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This environmental situation may be one to the reasons for the strong
responses given by the students at UH Manoa regarding stereotypes of Filipinos in
Hawaii. The interview respondents, 80% of them, discussed how disturbed they were
with the negative stereotypes of Filipinos. On the other hand, half of the same
respondents mentioned a positive aspect to the many ethnic groups living in Hawaii.
These students discussed having an extra layer of local identity to their Filipino
American identity. This local culture is the result of the “blending, sharing and
mixing” of predominantly the Asian and Native Hawaiian ethnic backgrounds.
The students at CSU Long Beach did not discuss an extra layer of local
identity or prevalent stereotypes of the Filipino population. But one environmental
difference they did discuss more often was their community awareness outside of the
university. The respondents, 60 % of them, particularly talked about the injustice of
Filipino Veterans who were ordered to serve for the United States in the Philippines
during WWII but due to the 1946 Rescission Act did not receive medical and
economic benefits which were promised to all soldiers who fought alongside
Americans. Based on the data in Chapter 5, this particular Filipino American
community issue was particularly salient for the CSU Long Beach group and
appeared to have an impact on a few of the student organizations’ meetings and
events.
Recommendations for Future Practices
In Chapter 1, the need for tailored student services for Asian American
students were presented. Furthermore, there is a particular need to look at the
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specific Asian American subgroups to assess the problems or issues of that ethnic
population. Based on the research conducted in this study the following
recommendations are made for the Filipino American student group: 1) provide more
avenues for ethnic identity exploration, 2) encourage the development of leadership
and communication skills, 3) coordinate more interaction with other groups outside
the ethnic group, and 4) develop Filipino American student organizations in
appropriate institutions. The next section will discuss the recommendations in detail.
1) Provide more avenues fo r ethnic identity exploration.
As indicated earlier, the main reason Filipino American students joined the
ethnic-specific organization was to learn more about their culture. Therefore, it is
imperative for the student club officers and faculty advisor to provide opportunities
for this learning to occur. In addition, studies have shown how a secure ethnic
identity is correlated with self-esteem and academic achievement (Porter, 1993,
Phinney & Alipuria, 1990; Ethier & Deaux, 1990, Gay, 1985). So participation in a
student organization that provides chances for identity exploration may also help the
students self-esteem and academic achievement.
Club officers should provide avenues for the members to become more
engaged in the organization and ways to explore ethnic identity. In addition, planned
events and general meeting times can offer opportunities for the members to gain life
skills like socializing, confidence and community awareness.
The CSU Long Beach student organization utilized their weekly general
meetings to allow the membership an opportunity to learn more about what it means
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to be a Filipino American. The culture chair of the student club was responsible for
presenting cultural lessons at each meeting. The topics varied from the meaning of
the Philippine flag to the plight of Filipino Veterans who fought in WWII.
Each semester at UH Manoa, the student organization coordinates a Dramafest
which provides the students the chance to explore their ethnic identity through song
and dance. The students are responsible for developing the skits presented at this
event. This type of venue allows the students to reflect on how their identity as
Filipino American affects their lives. The following male student’s comment attest to
this fact, “with Dramafest, I get to do different things and learn more about your
culture, doing folk songs and interaction with other people.” Another female student
added,
In Dramafest we have to do research on what we want to do (the skit),
research the music and the background, the sad thing is that we do not have
much information (on the Philippines) at the university.
2) Encourage the development o f leadership and interpersonal skills.
In addition to the opportunity to explore their ethnic identity, the students
also acquired leadership and interpersonal skills with participating in the ethnic-
specific student club. As mentioned in Chapter 1, there is a need for APAs to have
more opportunities for leadership and growth in social interaction. Faculty advisors
and student affairs staff can encourage this in the organizations, and club officers can
provide ways for members to acquire these skills.
A few members said they became more organized with the extra
responsibilities of being a club officer. Other members mentioned how participating
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in the student organization helped them develop their communication skills with the
confidence to speak up more and socialize with others. Such examples of these skills
are demonstrated in the following comments. One female respondent who was an
officer in the organization elaborated on her role, “when you have so many things to
do it makes you (stay) on top of your job, so having to worry about time
management (is important).” Another male student commented on his increase of
social skills with “my socializing skills have increased, you should have met me a
couple years ago. I was more the quiet person, school was just for school not for
socializing.”
Faculty advisors play an important role in encouraging the development of
leadership skills among the club officers. Optimal guidance is important. I noticed at
one of the general meetings that the members tended to defer issues to the faculty
advisor rather than make their own decisions. Faculty advisors for student groups
should provide guidance but allow the students to make their own decisions so that
leadership growth will occur.
3) Coordinate more interaction with other groups outside the ethnic group.
The notion that ethnic-specific student organizations tend to balkanize an
institution can be combated with these organizations coordinating activities with
other student clubs outside their ethnicity. Based on the data, the majority of the
questionnaire respondents said they already interacted with individuals outside their
ethnic group.
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Club events could be planned to encourage this interaction. The leadership
along with student affairs officers and faculty advisors can help these relationships
develop by suggesting dialogue between club officers of different organizations.
Perhaps the different student organizations can work together to co-sponsor events
on the campus that could benefit both organizations.
These types of coalition building events can help diffuse the notion that these
ethnic-specific organizations segregate themselves on university campus. Rather the
students of both organizations would learn more about each other’s ethnic
backgrounds in organizing and implementing joint events. In addition, opening
events to the campus community would help educate everyone regarding the
different cultural backgrounds at the university.
4) Develop Filipino American student organizations in institutions where
appropriate.
The findings in this study support the need for ethnic-specific student
organizations to support student development growth and assist students in exploring
ethnic identity issues. The interviewees stated they acquired numerous benefits from
their participation in the Filipino American student club. They discussed obtaining
leadership, social and confidence skills. In addition, other students believed the
organization provided them the opportunity for identity exploration. Administrators
at their respective institutions should encourage students to develop these types of
organizations if they do not already exist.
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This study provided two examples of active Filipino American student
organizations on university campuses. UH Manoa has a strong connection with
Philippine Language and Literature Department. While at CSU Long Beach, the
efficient use of the weekly general meetings provided opportunities for ethnic
identity exploration and social interaction. In addition, there were general events
such as faculty/staff mixer, poetry readings from Filipino American artists and field
trip to a local area designated at “Pilipino Town” to increase avenues for identity
examination.
Both organizations provided major events for all members to present their
definition of their identity through song and dance. At UH Manoa, it was
“Dramafest” while at CSU Long Beach was “Pilipino Cultural Night (PCN).” These
events allowed the students to explore their ethnic identity and enhance their
personal growth.
Further Research
As mentioned earlier, the awareness of ethnic differences may often increase
during an individual’s participation in higher education (Espiritu, 1994). Therefore,
the development of one’s ethnic identity is a relevant interest to student affairs
personnel and administrators on college campuses. The purpose of this study was to
examine how participation in a student club provides Filipino American students an
opportunity to explore their ethnic identity. The findings from this study provided
more questions that need to be researched.
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One such question is what role do ethnic-specific organizations play in the
cognitive development among Filipino American students. The literature presented
in the Chapter Two discusses the relationship of acquiring cognitive skills with
participation in student organizations among certain student populations but not
specifically with the Filipino American student population. As indicated the first
chapter, not all Asian American subgroups are academically prepared to fit the
“model minority” mold.
Second, other college experiences, such as ethnic studies courses and ethnic-
specific fraternities and sororities, have provided students an opportunity to explore
their ethnic identity as indicated in the literature review chapter. The literature
presented in the Chapter 2 discussed how these college experiences have an affect
with certain ethnic subgroups in relation to ethnic identity development. However,
this particular research questions has not been explored with the Filipino American
student population.
It would also be beneficial to conduct this same study with a pre and post
component. I was only able to acquire data from students who reflected back on their
participation in the organization. A future study could first assess the students’
perception of their ethnic identity prior to their participation in the student club and
then follow up with questionnaires, interviews and observations after a set period of
timed. This would allow the researcher to see how long an impact takes.
Another way to expand this study is to conduct further observations. Since
the responses indicated on the questionnaires and interviews were how the students
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perceived themselves and their experiences, further observations could confirm their
answers. My study did include observations but they were limited to one semester
and to one meeting and cultural event. This study could be further strengthened with
more observations for a longer time period.
Lastly, in studying ethnic identity development, it would be important to
compare Filipino American students who do not participate in student organizations
to those who do participate in the ethnic-specific clubs to see how salient exploring
ethnic identity is to their growth. Chickering’s Seven Vectors of Student
Development and the Minority Identity Development theories emphasize the need
for students and minorities to establish and explore their identity. In comparing the
two groups, these theories could further be tested.
Conclusion
The demographic diversity of the growing Asian American population has
raised questions for higher education institutions. Universities are challenged with
needs of a population that encompasses more than two dozen ethnic subgroups. The
considerable academic success for some Asian Americans masks the academic
difficulties for some of the subgroups. The particular needs of the Filipino American
student population is one such group covered in the “model minority” mold.
This research project provided a “voice” to a student population that often
gets overlooked with the umbrella term of Asian American. With the growing
Filipino American population nationally, it is imperative to recognize the
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distinctiveness of this group. As universities gain a more culturally and ethnically
diverse student population, educators are required to view the students and the
learning environment from different perspectives.
For the Filipino American student population, learning can also occur outside
the classroom through participation in ethnic-specific student organizations. These
organizations are outlets for ethnic identity exploration as well as for acquiring
leadership and social skills. Being involved in these student organizations, Filipino
American students have the opportunity for personal development and growth.
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Appendix A
Filipino American Student Questionnaire
DIRECTIONS: Please fill in all the blanks or circle corresponding to the best answer to each
question.
1. Your Gender
0
Male
0
Female
2. Your age?
0
17 years old or younger
0
18 to 22 years old
0
23 years old or older
3. Class Level
0
First Year Student
(0 to 29 credits/units)
0
Sophomore
(30 to 59 credits/units)
0
Junior
(60 to 89 credits/units)
0
Senior
(90 or more credits/units)
4. What is your academic major?_________________
5. Did you transfer from another college or university?
0
Yes
0
No
6. How long have you been a member of the Filipino American student club?
0
Less than 1 semester
0
1 semester to 1 year
0
1 year to 2 years
0
2 or more years
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7. How often do you attend club meetings?
0
Attend all meetings
0
Often attend meetings
0
Rarely attend meetings
0
Never attend meetings
8. Why did you join the Filipino American student club?
9. Your place of birth (city and state or foreign country)
10. If not born in the United States, how long have you been living in the U.S.?
0
Less than 1 year
0
1 to 5 years
0
6 to 10 years
0
More than 10 years
11. Fathers place of birth (city and state or foreign country)
12. Mother’s place of birth (city and state or foreign country)
13. While you were growing up, what language was primarily spoken in your home?
0
Standard English
0
Tagalog
0
Ilocano
0
Pangasinan
0
Other
Please specify
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14. Indicate your agreement with the following statements.
Strongly Somewhat Not Somewhat Strong;
Disagree Disagree Sure/
Neutral
Agree Agree
I have spent time trying to find out more
about Filipino history, traditions, and
customs
O O O O O
1 am active in organizations or social
groups that include mostly Filipinos
O O O O O
I have a clear sense of my Filipino
background and what it means to me
O O O O O
I think a lot about how my life will be
affected by my Filipino ethnicity
O O O O O
I am happy that I am Filipino
0 O O O 0
1 have a strong sense of being Filipino
O O O O O
I understand what it means to be Filipino
O 0 O O O
In order to learn more about my Filipino
heritage, I have often talked to other
people about my Filipino ethnicity
O O O O O
I have a lot of pride in the Filipino
people
O O O 0 O
1 don’t try to become friends with non-
Filipinos
0 0 O O O
1 participate in Filipino cultural practices
such as special food, music, or customs
O O O O O
I am involved in activities with people
from ethnic groups other than Filipino
O O O O O
I feel a strong attachment toward
Filipinos
O O O O O
I enjoy being around people from ethnic
groups other than my own
0 O O O O
I feel good about my Filipino culture and
ethnic background
O O 0 O O
Thank you fo r your participation in this research project.
140
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You are under no obligation to do so. but if you would like to yarticiyate in an in-
depth interview resardine your participation with this particular Filipino American
student club, please fill out the following contact information. We will be happy to
invite you if there is space.
Name:____________________ ______
Address:__________________________
City, State, Zip:_______________________
Email address:________________________
Telephone Number:____________________
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Appendix B
INTERVIEW GUIDE (Student)
Name: Date:
Campus: Email:
1. Why you joined the Filipino American student club?
2. What activities/events have you been involved with? Club officer?
3. What future activities or events are you interested in being involved with?
4. What has been your favorite experience with participating in the Filipino
American club?
5. What has been your least favorite experience with participating in the
Filipino American club?
6. Has there been any particular event or experience through the Filipino
American student club that has helped you learn more about what it means to
be a Filipino American?
7. How has participating in the Filipino American student organization helped
you as person or student?
8. What is mission of your student organization? Is it successful in
accomplishing it?
9. Has your organization ever dealt with political issues?
10. What other clubs or organizations are you involved with (including
fraternities and sororities)?
11. Can you tell me about any ethnic studies courses you have taken at the
university?
12. Has the “September 11” event affected your organization or your
participation with this organization?
13. Are your parents aware/supportive of your participation in PAC?
14. Siblings? Participation? Any other relatives.
Ethnic Identity Information
15. In what terms would you describe ethnic origin?
16. In what terms would you describe your own ethnic origin?
17. What was the ethnic makeup of the neighborhood you grew up? High School
and College
18. What was and is the ethnic/racial makeup of your friends?
19. Do you consider yourself Asian, Asian American, Filipino, Filipino
American, American?
20. What does it mean to be a Filipino American to you?
21. Is there anything else you want to add to help my study?
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Appendix C
Interview Guide for Faculty Advisors
1. In your opinion, why do students join the Filipino American student club?
2. Why are you a faculty sponsor?
3. What interests YOU in the Filipino American Club, etc.
4. How involved do you feel you are with the organization?
5. In what terms do you describe thnic origin?
6. How do students define ethnic origin?
7. How the students in the organization define a Filipino American?
8. How do you feel students use this organization in developing their ethnic
identity?
9. Has there been any particular event or experience through the Filipino
American student club that has helped the students learn more about what it
means to be a Filipino American?
10. What are the most important issues you have seen the students in the
organization deal with?
11. What do you think are the favorite experiences students have had with
participating in the Filipino American club?
12. What do you think are the least favorite experiences students have had with
participating in the Filipino American club?
13. What other ethnically related activities or organizations do you see these
students involved with?
14. Does this organization interact with other clubs/organizations on or off
campus?
15. Are you aware if the students are active in any ethnic studies courses at the
University?
16. What have you observed with the ethnic/racial makeup of their friends?
17. Is there anything else you want to add to my study?
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Appendix D
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education
Educational Policy and Administration
CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
Exploring Ethnic Identity on a University Campus:
Filipino American Students Perspective
You are asked to participate in a research study conducted by Maria Dela Cruz
Besnard and Dr. Linda Serra Hagedom, from the Rossier School of Education -
department of Education Policy and Administration at the University of Southern
California. The results for this study will contribute to the dissertation of Maria Dela
Cruz Besnard. You were selected as a possible participant in this study because of
your membership in a Filipino American student club. All completed questionnaires
collected will be used in this study. Your participation is voluntary.
Completion and return of the questionnaire will constitute consent to
participate in this research project.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
We are asking you to take part in a research study because we are trying to learn
more about how participating in a ethnic specific student organization such as a
Filipino American student club can provide opportunities for university students
to explore their ethnic identity.
PROCEDURES
If you volunteer to participate in this study, we would ask you to do the following
things:
You are asked to fill out a questionnaire that should take approximately 15 minutes
to complete. At the end of the questionnaire, you will be asked if you would like to
participate in an in-depth interview. You are under no obligation to do so, but if you
would like to be interviewed, please leave your name and contact information on the
last page.
Date of Preparation: January27,2003
USC UPIRB #02-12-211
Expiration Date: December 15, 2003
144
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
At the CSU Long Beach campus, the questionnaires will be distributed and collected
by Maria Dela Cruz Besnard, research investigator, during student club meeting
At the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus, the questionnaires will be distributed
and collected by the student faculty advisor, Precy Espiritu, during a student club
meeting and then mailed to the research investigator, Maria Dela Cruz Besnard.
POTENTIAL RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS
The subjects involved in the interviews may develop some discomfort in discussing
their personal experiences. If this occurs, the participant does not have to answer any
questions that may make him or her uncomfortable. In addition, the Research
Investigator, Maria Dela Cruz Besnard, will have available phone numbers and
referrals for the counseling center at the respective institutions.
The only inconvenience will be the time needed to fill out the questionnaire.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO SUBJECTS AND/OR TO SOCIETY
There are no foreseeable benefits for participation in this study.
PAYMENT FOR PARTICIPATION
You will not receive any payment in participating in this study.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that can be
identified with you will remain confidential and will be disclosed only with your
permission or as required by law. The questionnaires will be kept in a locked cabinet
for security. Only the investigators will have access to the questionnaires. The
questionnaires will be analyzed and coded by Maria Dela Cruz Besnard. Upon
completion of the dissertation all questionnaires will be destroyed.
When the results of the research are published or discussed in conferences, no
information will be included that would reveal your identity. When quotes are used,
they will be attributed by gender and age; example Male age 19 or Female age 20.
Date of Preparation: January27,2003
USC UPIRB #02-12-211
Expiration Date: December 15, 2003
145
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL
You can choose whether to be in this study or not. If you volunteer to be in this
study, you may withdraw at any time without consequences of any kind. You may
also refuse to answer any questions you don’t want to answer and still remain in the
study. The investigator may withdraw you from this research if circumstances arise
which warrant doing so.
IDENTIFICATION OF INVESTIGATORS
If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact
Maria Dela Cruz Besnard at (562) 985-4682 or mbesnard@csulb.edu and/or Dr.
Linda Serra Hagedom at (213) 740-6772 or lsh@usc.edu.
RIGHTS OF RESEARCH SUBJECTS
You may withdraw your consent at any time and discontinue participation without
penalty. You are not waiving any legal claims, rights or remedies because of your
participation in this research study. If you have questions regarding your rights as a
research subject, contact the University Park IRB, Office of the Vice Provost for
Research, Bovard Administration Building, Room 300, Los Angeles, CA 90089-
4019, (213) 740-6709 or upirb@usc.edu.
Date of Preparation: January27,2003
USC UPIRB #02-12-211
Expiration Date: December 15, 2003
146
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Appendix E
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education
Education Policy and Administration
CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
Exploring Ethnic Identity on a University Campus:
Filipino American Students Perspective
You are asked to participate in a research study conducted by Maria Dela Cruz
Besnard and Dr. Linda Serra Hagedom, from the Rossier School of Education -
department of Education Policy and Administration at the University of Southern
California. The results for this study will contribute to the dissertation of Maria Dela
Cmz Besnard. You were selected as a possible participant in this study because of
your membership in a Filipino American student club and your indication on a
questionnaire of your willingness to participate in a one-on-one interview. A total of
20 participants will be selected for interviews. Your participation is voluntary.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
We are asking you to take part in a research study because we are trying to leam
more about how participating in a ethnic specific student organization such as a
Filipino American student club can provide opportunities for university students to
explore their ethnic identity.
PROCEDURES
If you volunteer to participate in this study, we would ask you to do the following
things:
You will be asked a series of questions related to your participation in a Filipino
American student club. The interview should last approximately an hour and will be
audiotaped. All interviews will be conducted by Maria Dela Cmz Besnard.
Date of Preparation: January 27,2003
USC UPIRB #02-12-211
Expiration Date: December 15,2003
147
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
POTENTIAL RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS
The subjects involved in the interviews may develop some discomfort in discussing
their personal experiences. If this occurs, the participant does not have to answer any
questions that may make him or her uncomfortable. In addition, the Research
Investigator, Maria Dela Cruz Besnard, will have available phone numbers and
referrals for the counseling center at the respective institutions. The only
inconvenience will be the time needed to fill out the questionnaire.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO SUBJECTS AND/OR TO SOCIETY
There are no foreseeable benefits for participation in this study.
PAYMENT FOR PARTICIPATION
You will not receive any payment in participating in this study.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that can be
identified with you will remain confidential and will be disclosed only with your
permission or as required by law.
Information from interviews may be audiotaped. Only the investigators in this study
will have access to the audiotapes. The audiotapes will be stored in a locked cabinet.
The subject has the right to review his or her individual tape. The interviews will be
transcribed and coded by Maria Dela Cruz Besnard. Upon completion of the
dissertation, all audiotapes will be erased.
When the results of the research are published or discussed in conferences, no
information will be included that would reveal your identity. When quotes are used,
they will be attributed by gender and age; example Male age 19 or Female age 20.
PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL
You can choose whether to be in this study or not. If you volunteer to be in this
study, you may withdraw at any time without consequences of any kind. You may
also refuse to answer any questions you don’t want to answer and still remain in the
study. The investigator may withdraw you from this research if circumstances arise
which warrant doing so.
Date of Preparation: January 27,2003
USC UPIRB #02-12-211
Expiration Date: December 15, 2003
148
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
IDENTIFICATION OF INVESTIGATORS
If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact
Maria Dela Cruz Besnard at (562) 985-4682 or mbesnard@csulb.edu and/or Dr.
Linda Serra Hagedom at (213) 740-6772 or lsh@usc.edu.
RIGHTS OF RESEARCH SUBJECTS
You may withdraw your consent at any time and discontinue participation without
penalty. You are not waiving any legal claims, rights or remedies because of your
participation in this research study. If you have questions regarding your rights as a
research subject, contact the University Park IRB, Office of the Vice Provost for
Research, Bovard Administration Building, Room 300, Los Angeles, CA 90089-
4019, (213) 740-6709 or upirb@usc.edu.
SIGNATURE OF RESEARCH SUBJECT
I understand the procedures described above. My questions have been answered to
my satisfaction, and I agree to participate in this study. I have been given a copy of
this form.
Name of Subject
Signature of Subject Date
SIGNATURE OF INVESTIGATOR
I have explained the research to the subject or his/her legal representative, and
answered all of his/her questions. I believe that he/she understands the information
described in this document and freely consents to participate.
Name of Investigator
Signature o f Investigator Date
Date of Preparation: January 27,2003
USC UPIRB #02-12-211
Expiration Date: December 15, 2003
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Appendix F
CSULB Interview Respondents
Gender Age Class Level Role in Club Maior Birtholace Parents Language (a),home
1. Female 19 Sophomore officer Graphic Design U S A -C A
birthplace
Philippines English & Tagalog
2. Female 20 Junior officer Interior Design U S A -C A Philippines English
3. Female 19 Sophomore officer Communication U S A -C A Philippines English
4. Female 21 Junior officer
Studies
Sociology U S A -C A Philippines English
5. Female 24 Senior member Kinesiology U S A -C A Philippines English
6. Female 20 Junior member Marine Biology U S A -C A Philippines Ilokano
7. Male 19 Freshman member Film Studies U S A -C A Philippines English & Tagalog
8. Male 20 Junior officer History U S A -C A Philippines English
9. Male 19 Sophomore officer Business U S A -C A Philippines English
10. M ale 19 Sophomore m em ber M athematics Philippines Philippines Tagalog
i n interview Kesponuenrs
Gender Age Class Level Role in Club Maior Birtholace Parents Language ©home
1. Male 22 Senior officer Family Resources U S A -H I
birtholace
Philippines English & Ilokano
2. Male 21 Senior officer Speech U S A -H I Philippines English & Ilokano
3. Male 20 Junior officer Education
& History
U S A -H I Philippines English & Ilokano
4. Male 21 Senior officer Psychology
& Architecture
U S A -H I Philippines English
5. Male 21 Senior officer Marketing U S A -H I Philippines English & Ilokano
6. Male 21 Senior officer Finance U S A -H I Philippines English & Ilokano
7. Male 22 Senior member Asian Studies Philippines Philippines Ilokano
8. Female 19 Sophomore officer Marketing U S A -H I Philippines English & Ilokano
9. Female 20 Junior officer Communications U S A -H I Philippines English & Ilokano
10. Female 20 Junior officer Education U S A -H I Philippines English & Ilokano
150
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Besnard, Maria Dela Cruz (author)

Core Title Exploring ethnic identity on a university campus: Filipino American students' perspectives

School Graduate School

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, bilingual and multicultural,Education, Guidance and Counseling,education, higher,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Hagedorn, Linda Serra (committee chair), Renteln, Alison Dundes (committee member), Sundt, Melora (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c16-629843

Unique identifier UC11334883

Identifier 3116667.pdf (filename),usctheses-c16-629843 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 3116667.pdf

Dmrecord 629843

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Besnard, Maria Dela Cruz

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA