ImComin to America A Study of Immigrants in the Citizenship Class at the Bellevue Washington Regiona

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ImComin to AmericaA Study of Immigrants in
the Citizenship Class at the Bellevue
(Washington) Regional Library
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Group Name Sixteen CandlesPresenters Renee
Disch and Katy Pike
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Literature Review

• Americanization is the goal for serving the
  immigrant population
• Novotny, Eric. Library Services to Immigrants
  The Debate in Library Literature, 1900-1920, and
  a Chicago Case Study. Reference User Services
  Quarterly. 424 (2003) 342-352
• Libraries play a key role in reaching out to
  immigrants and helping them to integrate into
  life in the United States.
• Crouse, Jacque. Immigration, Citizenship, and
  Libraries. Texas Library Journal 82 (2006)
  140-142

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Problem Statement

• The number of immigrants in the nation as a
  whole, and in Bellevue, WA, is on the rise
• Approximately 25 of Bellevue residents are
  foreign-born
• 60 of these foreign-born residents remain
  non-naturalized
• Process of becoming a U.S. citizen involves both
  written and oral examinations
• Bellevue Regional Library (BRL) established
  classes to assist immigrants with the citizenship
  process
• The purpose of this study is to determine how
  effective the BRL citizenship program is in
  serving the information needs of those library
  patrons who seek to become U.S. citizens.

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About BRL and its Patrons

• BRL is the largest library in the King County
  Library System (KCLS), housing 325,000 volumes
• Many of BRLs patrons are new immigrants who have
  recently moved to the Puget Sound area
• For these patrons, the library is one of the
  first places where they make contact with
  Americans in a public setting
• It is vital that library staff serve this part of
  the communitys population well
• Library services to the immigrant population
  include parts of the collection and ESL and
  citizenship classes

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The BRL Citizenship Class
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The BRL Citizenship Class

• BRL has run the citizenship class for 2 years in
  partnership with the St. James ESL program
• St. James ESL program is a Seattle-based
  non-profit organization connected to the St.
  James Cathedral
• KCLS provides space for the class, and St. James
  ESL provides a volunteer instructor
• In the past, KCLS has provided volunteer
  instructors through Literacy AmeriCorps
• The class meets weekly for 8 weeks the cycle
  repeats, allowing students to enter at any time
• The curriculum covers the application for
  citizenship as well as the citizenship interview
• The course is intended solely to be a civics
  class it does not aim to cover such concerns as
  eligibility for citizenship

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The BRL Citizenship Class (cont.)

• Subjects covered in the curriculum
• Special vocabulary (e.g., selective service)
• U.S. History
• U.S. Government
• The citizenship interview
• Preparation for the interview is quite difficult
  the interview test begins when the applicant
  first meets the interviewer
• Being able to tell the interviewer how you
  arrived at the interview location is just as
  important as a question about U.S. government

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About St. James ESL and its Citizenship Program

• Jim Hodges is the ESL citizenship coordinator
• Originally came from England is a naturalized
  citizen
• Students have a 95 success rate over the past 3
  years
• Program initially began as a way to match
  students with tutors
• Evolved into a curriculum designed to help
  students through the entire citizenship process
• Class averages about 10 students per session
• Women tend to outnumber men by 21 ratio
• Students typically range in age between 20 and 60
• Class makeup at time of study 3 men, 8 women

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Observing the Class in Action
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Instructor and Materials

• Volunteer instructor is a middle school social
  studies teacher
• Course materials
• Worksheets/handouts students compile into an
  information packet
• Includes a copy of the actual citizenship exam
• Citizenship Study Kit
• Flashcards of exam questions
• CD-ROM
• 102-page manual called Welcome to the United
  States Guide for New Immigrants from the U.S.
  Citizenship and Immigration Services and the U.S.
  Department of Education

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Daily Course Structure

• Class usually begins with an opening exercise,
  either a worksheet or an oral exercise
• Instructor goes over answers and takes students
  questions
• Lecture on the days material
• Students use their information packets to follow
  along
• Instructor directs class to write down
  information that will be covered on the
  citizenship test
• Instructor answers related questions and listens
  to student remarks on material and other
  tangential information

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Daily Course Structure (cont.)

• Review of material covered during session
• Distribution of worksheet that reinforces
  material from the days lesson
• When everyone is finished, the instructor reviews
  the answers
• Instructor fields related questions
• Listens to student comments on the material
• Preview of material covered in next class

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The Study Group
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User Profile

• Five students volunteered to participate
• 2 males, 3 females
• Age ranges
• One between 18 and 30
• Two between 41 and 50
• Two between 51 and 60
• Countries of Origin
• Poland
• India
• Taiwan
• Philippines

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User Profile (cont.)

• All participants could use 3 or more languages,
  including English.
• Other languages used
• Semar, Tagalog, French, Russian, Hindi, Punjabi,
  Urdu, Mandarin, Taiwanese, Japanese, Polish
• Participants reported varying levels of ability
  in speaking, reading and writing in each
  language.
• When asked to describe their reading, writing and
  speaking abilities in English prior to taking the
  citizenship class, all reported having some
  advanced ability

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User Profile (cont.)

• Time in the United States
• Over 15 years 3 participants
• 5 years 1 participant
• 1 year 1 participant
• Immigration Status
• Permanent Resident 4 participants
• Employment Visa 1 participant

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User Profile (cont.)

• Employment status
• 4 participants considered themselves employed
• Work schedule
• 3 participants reported their schedule as being
  8-5 or 9-5 Monday through Friday or Sunday
  through Friday
• Residency
• 4 participants considered themselves to be
  residents of Bellevue
• Transportation
• 4 participants drive to class regularly or
  occasionally
• 2 participants sometimes walk or ride the bus to
  class

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User Profile (cont.)

• No participants had children under the age of 18
  in their home
• 3 participants reported having college-aged
  children at home
• No participants reported having any other member
  of their family to care for in their homes
• No participants found that their household
  members interfered with their schedule in any way

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User Profile (cont.)

• All participants reported having access to a
  computer with an internet connection
• 4 participants reported that they were highly
  comfortable using a computer to find citizenship
  information 1 participant reported little comfort

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Methodology
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Methodology

• Ethnographic approach
• Collected data from interviews with five
  volunteer class participants
• Observed the citizenship class
• This approach allowed the interviewers an
  opportunity to shape an understanding of the
  experience and world views of the people studied
  so that a fuller appreciation of the particular
  information needs of the participants could be
  realized
• Bates, Marcia J. An Introduction to
  Metatheories, Theories and Models. Theories of
  Information Behavior. Ed. Karen Fisher, et al.
  (2005) 1-24.

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Methodology (cont.)

• Interview schedule was shaped by Dervins theory
  of sense-making goal was to understand the
  process that the participants go through to
  overcome gaps in information regarding
  citizenship.
• Dervins emphasis on time, affect, power, and
  culture gave credence to the range of questions
  asked regarding individuals age, family,
  educational and work backgrounds, results of
  prior searches for citizenship information and
  feelings regarding the class as well as the
  information derived from the class
• Tidline, Tonyia J. Dervins Sense-Making.
  Theories of Information Behavior. Ed. Karen
  Fisher, et al. (2005) 113-117.

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Methodology (cont.)

• Interview Schedule
• 53 closed- and 32 open-ended questions, designed
  to be brief and suitable for non-native English
  speakers.
• Questions designed as a means to understand a
  variety of aspects of the information needs of
  the participants for the purpose of articulating
  an information system that addresses the needs of
  immigrants preparing to take the U.S. citizenship
  exam
• Conducted after the sixth of eight sessions in
  the current cycle of the course curriculum

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Methodology (cont.)

• Content of Interview Schedule Questions
• Respondents feelings of satisfaction with course
  content and scheduling
• Physical environment of course location
• Transportation to and from the course location
• Advertising for the course
• Concerns about language barriers
• Anxieties regarding the citizenship exam and
  interview
• Concerns about how the course content was
  presented

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Analysis of Results
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Analysis of Results

• Data analyzed using the qualitative methodology
  suggested in gatekeeper study
• Content analysis approach
• Participants responses led to creation of
  categories used to analyze and organize results
• Data coded into three categories
• How participants sought out and felt about
  information regarding U.S. citizenship before
  taking the class
• Participants feelings of satisfaction with
  citizenship information provided in the class
• Participants feelings regarding a future design
  of the citizenship class

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Participants Information Behavior Regarding
Citizenship Prior to Taking the Citizenship Class

• Participants reported having some to little
  knowledge of the citizenship process
• Most participants had sought out information on
• The citizenship process
• Content of the material on the citizenship exam
• U.S. Government
• U.S. History
• English
• Sources of information
• Other citizenship classes
• Colleagues
• Friends
• School
• Libraries
• Soap Operas
• Television
• Internet
• Participants felt that most sources were of
  little use, with the exception of books and the
  internet

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Participants Information Behavior Prior to
Taking the Citizenship Class (cont.)

• Most participants had no anxieties about the
  citizenship process
• One participant described worries concerning the
  citizenship interview and fears about things she
  might not yet know
• Most participants believed that the citizenship
  class would satisfy many of their needs regarding
  the content of the citizenship exam
• One participant had hoped to learn more about the
  eligibility requirements for U.S. citizenship
  (which the course does not cover)
• The participants beliefs were based on flyers
  they saw on display at BRL that advertised the
  citizenship class.

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Participants Satisfaction With the Citizenship
Course

• Generally reported high satisfaction with
• Class setting and schedule
• Instructors teaching style
• Content covered in the course
• Class materials
• Visual aids were so useful that 3 participants
  reported a desire to have the instructor use more
  in future class sessions
• One participant commented that visual aids are
  especially helpful to students for whom English
  is not a native language
• 2 individuals found an audio clip of Martin
  Luther King, Jr.s I Have A Dream speech to be
  inspiring and wanted to learn more about him

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Participants Satisfaction With the Citizenship
Course (cont.)

• Participants generally reported few anxieties
  about the process of becoming citizens
• One respondent found that she became worried
  about the administrative process of becoming a
  citizen after taking the course
• Another participant reported that he was now
  worried about the residency requirements for
  citizenship

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Participants Satisfaction With the Citizenship
Course (cont.)

• Satisfaction with topics covered in the course
• Learned enough about U.S. History to pass the
  citizenship exam, but desired even greater
  coverage beyond the courses scope
• Material learned that was incidental to the
  specific content of the citizenship exam
• Geography
• Tricks on how to memorize things
• One student reported that she learned that she
  should open her mind to learning more things in
  the U.S.
• Another student commented that he learned a lot
  more about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his beliefs

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The Citizenship Class as an Information Ground

• Participants commentary on learning from one
  another in class suggests that the citizenship
  class may have functioned as what Karen Fisher
  described as an information grounds a
  temporary social setting in which incidental
  information flows in multiple directions
• Participants reported learning from one another
  through questions and comments in class

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Participants Suggestions Regarding the Design of
Future Citizenship Classes

• Responses focused on activities and class
  materials, course length, and barriers to course
  enrollment
• Activities and class materials
• More visual and audio aids
• Same amount of handouts
• Use of the internet to look up answers to
  questions
• PowerPoint slide presentations with video
• Course length
• 2 participants felt that the cycle should be
  lengthened
• Several participants were unaware of the
  eight-week cycle
• Barriers to course enrollment
• Language barriers
• Transportation barriers
• Schedule limitations
• Shyness

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Results - Conclusions

• Student profile
• Educated
• Have good skills with the English language, both
  written and oral
• Successfully sought out a resource that will fill
  the information gap needed in order to take the
  citizenship exam
• Limitations on what information the class
  provides, and to whom
• Civics class only no information on the actual
  requirements of the citizenship process
• No information about eligibility requirements or
  the application process
• Class seems to attract only those adult students
  who have strong English reading, writing and
  speaking skills

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The Information System
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Dervins Sense-Making Approach to Information
Seeking

• Individuals experience situations in which they
  encounter gaps in their knowledge that can be
  bridged by information to serve a particular
  use
• This fits the process by which study participants
  sought out and found the BRL citizenship class
• A majority of study participants found that as
  they attained the information needed to become
  citizens, they had new gaps in information
  about U.S. History that they wanted to bridge

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The Information System

• Design based on the results of the BRL study,
  Dervins concept of sense-making, and Fishers
  notion of information grounds
• These provide insight into the information needs
  of future students seeking to attain U.S.
  citizenship

• Also based on human themes and concepts that
  emerged from our study
• Information dissemination within a large
  community
• Time and space considerations
• Language
• Group sharing of information
• Artifacts
• Technology
• Identity
• New information needs

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Information Dissemination

• All of the study participants learned of the
  course through flyers posted at BRL
• A broader marketing strategy is needed to reach
  immigrants who are not already users of BRL

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Marketing Strategy

• Display of Flyers
• Local grocery stores
• Community centers
• Buses
• The Bellevue Transit Center
• Local churches
• Local employers to disseminate to their employees

• Advertisements
• Local community newspapers
• In particular, foreign language newspapers
• Brief advertisement or short investigative report
  on local television and radio stations

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Time and Physical Space of Class

• All participants reported high satisfaction with
  the current time, duration, and setting of the
  class, so the new system would continue to offer
  classes at BRL on Mondays at 7 p.m.
• User profile revealed individuals who work a
  standard 40-hour work week and do not have young
  children at home propose adding a class that
  meets on Saturday mornings, coordinated with
  BRLs childrens story hour, to reach out to
  those with young children or those who work on
  weeknights

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Language

• Observations of the class as well as
  participants reported abilities with English
  suggest that the current citizenship class draws
  students with a good command of the English
  language.
• Proposed that an additional class be offered for
  individuals with beginner-to-intermediate English
  skills, to meet one hour prior to the advanced
  English citizenship class, and taught by an
  instructor with ESL training.
• Class will place more emphasis on learning to
  speak, read, and understand English in terms of
  the citizenship interview and exam
• Back-to-back scheduling will allow participants
  to stay for the next class if they wish to have
  more practice.

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Information Grounds

• A comfortable environment in which information
  can be easily shared, between instructor and
  students or between the students themselves, is
  important and should be encouraged
• Instructors will be trained to encourage and
  guide general discussion, questions and
  commentary amonst students

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Teaching Resources

• The Citizenship Coordinator will maintain a
  website of teaching resources so that instructors
  can develop course content to match students
  needs
• Instructors will participate in the development
  of a knowledge database of strategies and
  materials that can be shared with future
  instructors
• Instructors will be encouraged to continue
  developing worksheets, printed notes, pictures,
  audio clips, and maps, which will be added to the
  knowledge database
• Effective organization and maintenance of these
  materials will provide a wealth of tools to
  instructors which can be accessed through a
  laptop and projected to the class

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Class Website

• Purpose to take advantage of students
  technology skills and address their other
  information needs
• Website contents
• Class artifacts for viewing, listening and/or
  printing
• Class schedules
• Contact information
• Up-to-date list of citizenship requirements
• Links to important resources

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Identity formation development of further
information needs

• Participants indicated a desire to learn more
  about U.S. History and U.S. Government
• To foster the development of an American citizen
  identity and to satisfy students further
  information needs
• the website will include suggested books and
  films on historical and governmental topics
• A citizenship display at BRL that attractively
  presents books, music, film and periodicals may
  be of interest to people who wish to learn more
  about American history and government and will be
  suggested to BRL
• Instructors can use audio and video files from
  the class website to play distinctly American
  music or movies of iconic images in American
  history

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Implications for Future Research
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Diversity

• Other nations
• Different age
• Education levels
• Employment background
• Family background

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Barriers

• Future interview schedules might be written and
  delivered in multiple languages
• Determining how non-users, or immigrants actively
  seeking out citizenship but not enrolled n a
  citizenship class, gather the information that
  they need for the citizenship exam

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Longitudinal studies

• Conducting multiple interviews with individuals
  at different stages of the naturalization process
• Help researchers determine what information and
  processes helped immigrants who succeeded in
  becoming U.S. citizens, and what information and
  processes did not help
• Help identify what strategies or other issues
  prevented immigrants from becoming U.S. citizens

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Conclusion
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Conclusion

• No information system can be perfect for all
  users across time
• Periodic studies should be conducted after the
  new system has been implemented to determine
  whether it still meets the needs of the
  immigrants who enroll in the class.
• System should be as dynamic as the users and the
  information
• In Dervins language, it should change to
  bridge the information gap of the immigrants