South Asian Students in Gifted Education: Importance of the Home-School Connection

Introduction

South Asians are the second-fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, yet little research has been published on the everyday lives of SA immigrant families (US Census Bureau, 2020). Socialization and family dynamics differ significantly in collectivistic societies, such as the countries of South Asia, from Western individualistic countries such as the United States (Jilani et al., 2021; Micko, 2016). Discrepancies between how cultures value individualism versus collectivism are reflected in specific cultural socialization goals and, ultimately, in parents’ childrearing practices. This chapter explores SA childrearing practices in an effort to facilitate the home-school connection for US SA gifted students.

US SAs has their origins in the countries of “Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and other regions of the subcontinent” (Mukherjea, et al., 2018, p. 195). Teacher education programs have paid little attention to preparing educators to work with culturally diverse gifted learners in the United States (Char & Molina, 2021; Sayi, 2018). Considering the recent rapid and continuing growth of the US SA population — second only to Hispanic — there is a pronounced need for culturally responsive gifted educators (Roberson, 2021; Char & Molina, 2021). In fact, The Association for the Gifted, part of the Council for Exceptional Children, has issued A Call for Action “supporting equity, diversity, and access for gifted students” (Fugate, 2021, p. ii). This chapter explores sociocultural and intergenerational issues in US SA families that may be unknown to educators who work with gifted students.

Governmental classification and self-identification of US SAs has varied over the years (Badrinathan et al., 2021). Interviewees in this study prefer the term “SA American” (US Census Bureau, 2020; Badrinathan et al., 2021), hereafter “SA.”

SA parents place high value on academic success, which gifted learners may perceive either as support for maintaining good study habits or overt pressure to succeed (Micko, 2016). Home life and family are major socializing forces for SA students; parents prioritize participation in family events while discouraging students from participating in mixed-gender extracurricular events. Arranged and semi-arranged marriages continue to be the norm for US SA families. Suicide and suicide attempts are increasing among US SA adolescents living in the United States (Sharma & Sheligram, 2018).

In addition to exploring the acculturation process in migrant families, educators should take into account the role of culture in normative development (Abacioglu et al., 2020; Cote, 2020; Horner, 2019; Renzaho, et al., 2017). Cote (2020) endorses such an emphasis, noting developmentalists tend to focus on learning problems or problem behavior in cross-cultural settings rather than the possible implications toward individual development. The study of human development, however, continues to be dominated by a Euro-American individualist perspective (Horner, 2019) often at odds with a collectivist worldview.

Qualitative “thick description” research methodologies such as oral history interviews are preferred for studying cross-cultural phenomena (Renzaho et al., 2017). Geertz (1973) reframed Ryle’s (1949) concept of “thick description” to apply to sociology, education, and cultural studies. Culture is no longer perceived as a static property shared by all members of a given society, but as a dynamic process co-constructed by each individual (Nastasi et al., 2017).