Cultural Biases of Differential Effect of Acculturation
Acculturation is the result of cultural adaptation due to intercultural contact,
which is mainly considered as immigrants’ adapt to the host (dominant or main- stream) culture. Less acculturated immigrant students from cultures with empha- sis on strong ties to family may experience more difficulty learning to read English than students whose culture lacks emphasis of strong family ties (Portes & Zady, 2001). As such, students who identify with their families and intend to remain close to the family tend to have lower reading achievement in English, whereas those who report willingness to move away exhibit higher achievement. For ex- ample, reading achievement of Asian immigrant students is negatively influenced by the strength of their identification with their native culture. However, reading achievement of Hispanic counterparts is negatively influenced by the strength of their identification with American culture (Portes & Zady, 2001). This shows that Hispanic students do well if they are attached to their own culture, rather then to their host culture. This indicates that achievement is negatively influenced by perceptions and experiences of discrimination for both Hispanic and Asian im- migrant students, but in different ways.
Acculturation to the culture of a particular school also creates negative effects in academic achievement. In schools in which Standard English is valued and stu- dents’ home languages are devalued, whether they be different dialects of English or other languages, a student’s adoption of the school’s valued language may feel like a rejection of one’s home community, which may be a difficult and painful decision (J. Baker, 2002). White middle-class students whose first language is English and who behave as teachers expect them to behave are provided more opportunities to learn than their peers, whereas students who do not embody these privileged ideals are often positioned as being deficient and difficult to teach (Walker, 2006).
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