Somali, Latino, and Hmong Youth Perceptions of School Connectedness

April K Wilhelm; Martha Bigelow; Mikow Hang; Luis E Ortega; Shannon Pergament; Michele L Allen

doi:10.1089/heq.2021.0095

Somali, Latino, and Hmong Youth Perceptions of School Connectedness

Health Equity. 2022 Jul 4;6(1):508-515. doi: 10.1089/heq.2021.0095. eCollection 2022.

Authors

April K Wilhelm^{1

2}, Martha Bigelow³, Mikow Hang^{2

4}, Luis E Ortega⁴, Shannon Pergament⁴, Michele L Allen²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
² Program in Health Disparities Research, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
³ Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
⁴ SoLaHmo Partnership for Health and Wellness, Community University Health Care Center, Office of Clinical Academic Affairs, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Abstract

Purpose: School connectedness positively influences adolescent health outcomes and is a key social determinant of health, yet, contributors to school connectedness for youth from immigrant communities remain poorly defined.

Methods: This community-based participatory research study uses thematic analysis to identify contributors to Somali, Latino, and Hmong (SLH) adolescents' school connectedness. We conducted nine focus groups with 71 SLH male and female adolescents, the majority aged 13-18 years, in a United States Midwestern metropolitan area.

Results: SLH students described contributors to their school connectedness that fit within three broad themes: (1) SLH students desire to be known and supported by their teachers as individuals, (2) specific teacher instructional approaches reinforce or undermine SLH student-school connections, and (3) transparency and fairness in school disciplinary practices are especially important for promoting Latino student-school connectedness.

Conclusion: SLH youth perspectives offer ways for educators to foster increased school connectedness to improve academic and health outcomes among increasingly diverse student populations.

Keywords: adolescent; community-based participatory research; immigrant; school connectedness; school environment.