Heritage, History, and Identity

Abstract

Background/Context Prior research indicates that students’ ethnic, religious, national, and racial identities often impact their interest in, emotional connection to, and knowledge about histories specific to those groups with which they identify. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study (a) What meaning do students attach to events with which they have a heritage connection? (b) How do students’ identities impact their connection to, interest in, and understanding of events with which they have a heritage connection? Population/Participants/Subjects This study focuses on three groups of secondary students (Hmong, Chinese, and Jewish) that studied a seminal event (respectively, the Vietnam War, the Cultural Revolution, and the Holocaust) with which they may be considered to have a heritage connection. Therefore, the students could not have been involved in the event itself, but their parents, grandparents, other family members, or other members of an affinity group (racial, ethnic, national, or religious) to which they belong were involved. Research Design This qualitative study uses a multiple-case study design to interrogate the ways in which students (n=17) identify with heritage histories. Findings/Results Findings reveal that students who have heard about family members’ experiences during these events identify strongly with the events prior to learning about them in school. However, school knowledge was a powerful tool that enabled the students to create more lasting connections to the past. Conclusions/Recommendations This study revealed that students connect with and understand heritage histories in multiple ways. Students whose families share personal stories about their own experiences during a specific time seem to have strong connections to heritage histories. However, some of their peers may have a strong connection to their heritage without access to the narratives associated with that heritage, leading to feelings of embarrassment or confusion. Other students’ connections to heritage histories may be enhanced by the inclusion of the heritage history in the official knowledge of the classroom, which may also lead them to develop a stronger sense of identification with more multidimensional historical actors.

Annual review of Asian American Psychology, 2014.

“…Cheng et al, 2014; Cui, Fitzgerald, & Donovan, 2014; Devos & Yokoyama, 2014; Gartner et al, 2014; T. L. Lee, Wilton, & Kwan, 2014; Levy, 2014; Ocampo, 2014; Roberts, Cha, & Kim, 2014), the buffering role of ethnic identity in Asian American adolescents’ lives (Stein et al, 2014), and the effects of social justice-oriented youth programs on racial and ethnic identities for Asian American youth (Suyemoto, Day, & Schwartz, 2015). A two-wave longitudinal study demonstrated the moderating role of ethnic identity (belonging and exploration) on the effects of economic stress (but not perceived ethnic discrimination) on mental health outcomes (depressive symptoms and self-esteem) in a sample of Asian American adolescents from an emerging immigrant community (Stein et al, 2014).…”

“[My] Family Has Gone through That”: How High School Students Determine the Trustworthiness of Historical Documents

“…First, we found some evidence that students' heritage influences their trust of the documents in the Mexicans and Mexican Americans task. Previous studies (e.g., Levy, 2014;Peck, 2010;Rameriz, 2012) found that students' identities can be a powerful factor in how they make sense of the past. In this study, students had different criteria for trustworthiness of sources for the two tasks, even for the same kinds of sources.…”

“…Levy's (2014) study of Hmong, Chinese, and Jewish students in US schools examined how the students connected to topics to which they could have had a heritage connection (where family members could have been involved, but not the students). Levy discovered that almost all of the students were able to combine heritage knowledge (often acquired from hearing family stories) and school/official knowledge to “grapple with conflicting perspectives and deepened both their understanding of and their identification with these seminal events” (p. 25).…”

“…In Martell's (2013) study of his own teaching, he found that his choice of culturally relevant topics in US History (e.g., Zoot Suit Riots, the Black Panthers organization) improved how his diverse student population felt that they connected to history and recognized multiple perspectives in history. Levy's (2014) study of Hmong, Chinese, and Jewish students in US schools examined how the students connected to topics to which they could have had a heritage connection (where family members could have been involved, but not the students). Levy discovered that almost all of the students were able to combine heritage knowledge (often acquired from hearing family stories) and school/official knowledge to "grapple with conflicting perspectives and deepened both their understanding of and their identification with these seminal events" (p. 25).…”

“…In this study, students had different criteria for trustworthiness of sources for the two tasks, even for the same kinds of sources. For the Mexicans and Mexican Americans task, they relied far more on heritage knowledge (Levy, 2014) as a basis for trustworthiness. Even if students did not explicitly mention their families in their trustworthiness decisions, we found that the Mexicans and Mexican Americans task elicited many more responses that connected to students' prior experience and knowledge.…”