Immigrant families and the college experience: Perspectives of Filipina Americans

As Filipina/o Americans comprise the largest Asian immigrant population in the United States, the experience of college-aged children of immigrants becomes an increasing concern at the university level. The purpose of this qualitative research investigation was to explore the ways Filipina American students negotiated their home environment and college experiences. Three primary themes emerged from the data: family/ parent influence, home obligations/gender differences, and importance of negotiating their Filipina American identity within the context of their home and college experiences. Provided are implications, particularly for student affairs professionals, administrators, and researchers. In 1997, the United States (U.S.) immigrant population, which includes either foreign-born or U.S.-born children of immigrants, numbered 55 million people, representing one-fifth of the U.S. population (Rumbaut & Portes, 2001). As the number of immigrant families in the U.S. continues to grow, the experience of college-aged children of immigrants in colleges and universities becomes a topic of increasing concern (Chung, 2001). Because the majority of parents of immigrant children often are not familiar with the educational system in the U.S., this tends to result in conflict with their children’s experience in school (Fuligni, 1997). Despite the growing immigrant population, only a few studies exist that investigate college-aged children of immigrants and of specific ethnic group