Civic identity and transnationalism in rural Minnesota

Abstract

This embedded case study was conducted in two racial and culturally diverse seventh grade Civics classrooms taught by the same teacher at a small town high school in rural Minnesota. Beginning in the 1990s, the high school and community experienced a rapid demographic change due to immigration. This study examined how young people from various cultural backgrounds (Bosnian, Latino, Vietnamese, and White) living in the town construct and negotiate their civic identity. Data were collected over the course of five months, from October 2013 through February 2014. I utilized qualitative research methods, including interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis, with the purpose to investigate how the curriculum, instruction, classroom climate, social interactions, family, and cultural backgrounds factor into how youth living in a rural community conceptualize their civic identity. Bronfenbrenner's (1979, 1988) ecological model of human development, transnationalism (Ong, 1999) and imagined communities (Anderson, 1983) form the framework that guides this study.