Academic literature on the topic 'Ethnic minority group parents'

This study reports on a randomized controlled pilot intervention study examining the effectiveness and feasibility of a low-intensity (i.e. three sessions), low-cost, parent advocacy intervention. The intervention study employed community-partnered research methods and targeted a low-income community of mostly Latinx, immigrant-origin parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. The study was designed to test a parent-to-parent advocacy mentorship program in order to increase parent’s special education advocacy knowledge and empowerment. The educational intervention was delivered in Spanish to Spanish-speaking parents. Results indicated significantly increased in parent’s knowledge in the immediate intervention group, but this knowledge did not lead to greater sense of parent’s empowerment. Increases in knowledge about special education rights of their children are the first step toward advocating for services for their children. While parents from low-income, racial/ethnic minority backgrounds, particularly Latinx parents, can significantly increase their advocacy skills with a low-intensity, low-cost program, they may need more support in changing their self-perceptions of empowerment and advocacy. Lay abstract Persistent racial and ethnic disparities in obtaining an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and services have been documented for Latinx children and other racial/ethnic minorities. This study reports on an educational intervention examining the effectiveness and feasibility of a low-intensity (i.e. three sessions), low-cost, parent advocacy for Latinx and other minority parents of children with autism. Results indicated significantly increased parental knowledge and in the immediate intervention group, but this knowledge did not lead to greater empowerment. While parents from low-income, racial/ethnic minority backgrounds, particularly Latinx parents, can significantly increase their advocacy skills with a low-intensity, low-cost program, they may need more support in changing their self-perceptions of empowerment and advocacy.

This paper describes a 1960s “War on Poverty” parent group education program that brought together three national private voluntary agencies with federal funding by the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO). Project ENABLE (Education Neighborhood Action for a Better Living Environment) sought to direct professional efforts to help/empower the poor and societal members of ethnic minority groups. Group education as a preventive modality was used to strengthen parents’ problem solving skills in their roles both as parents and as community leaders. The author describes his group leadership role together with that of the indigenous case aides who helped direct/enable the collective power of a group of poor Spanish speaking Mexican origin families living in barrios (neighborhoods) of a major metropolitan southern city. Project ENABLE embraced a strengths-based perspective characteristic of social work’s historical empowerment traditions. Despite its brief existence, Project ENABLE functioned as a demonstration program in 62 communities across the United States. Ironically, its prevention focus and demonstration nature served to undermine its ability to compete with other OEO initiatives like Head Start and job training programs. The author cites a combination of historical and logistic factors that contributed to the short life and ultimate demise of a once promising outreach program.

The 1990s Yugoslav wars avoided armed conflicts in Vojvodina, the multiethnic Northern province of Serbia,but the war still bears its consequences. Some argue that the province avoided escalation partly because of the relatively high rate of ethnic intermarriages in the Yugoslav era, which acted as bonds and bridges between the Serbs and ethnic minorities. The 1990s state-funded (Serbian) nationalist propaganda did have detrimental effects on Vojvodinian ethnic minorities which are facing high emigration rates since the 1990s. Ethnic minority millennials might be the group most adversely affected by the 1990s wars, facing open nationalism, alienation, and sidelining. One milestone event in the lives of intermarriage-born millennials was the choice of language instruction (majority or minority) when enrolling in elementary school and secondary school as well. The research aimed to investigate the education element of the many-faceted framework shaping the decisions of parents and the effects those decisions had on millennials and their identity construction. The analysis was based on semi-structured interviews conducted with millennials born into (Serbian – Hungarian) intermarriages and/or exhibiting high levels of acculturation. The findings show that the respondents who enrolled in elementary school in Serbian departed from the ethnic minority group, and even if they cultivated the ethnic minority language, it became a tool for further career advancement, not a bond with their minority group. Interviewees who enrolled in elementary school in a minority language preserved a stronger bond with the ethnic minority group and essentially built an ethnic minority identity. Both groups, regardless of the language of instructions, faced nationalismfuelled incidents during their schooling, which inevitably made them more insecure and vulnerable.

Background and Purpose: The prevalence of youth obesity has increased dramatically in the United States, becoming a severe concern in Hawai`i and disproportionally impacting Filipino youth. The main study objective was to describe the influence of parents and friends on adolescents’ dietary, physical activity, and sedentary behaviors. Methods: We collected quantitative and qualitative data from two classrooms in Hawai`i, from ethnic minority adolescents (N=42; 11th and 12th graders) and their parents (N=31). Participating adolescents were 86% female with a mean age of 16.5 + .6 years, and their parents were 77% female with a mean age of 45.9 + 6.9 years. The majority of participants described themselves as Filipino American. Self-report data were collected via adolescent surveys and follow-up group discussion, as well as individual adolescent-led parent interviews. Quantitative data were descriptive, and qualitative data were conceptualized into underlying themes based on the targeted health behavior and the source of influence (parents and friends). Results: The majority of students reported parents as the dominant influence on their dietary and sedentary behaviors; however, friends were reported as the principal influence on adolescents’ physical activity levels. Parents’ reported a strong dietary influence via home availability, but minimal influence on adolescents’ physical activity. Conclusion: Home food availability and reduced television time are prime targets for family-based interventions among ethnic minority Hawai`ian populations.

AbstractThis article examines Vietnamese ethnic minority students’ language practices under the influence of external interventions from a language management perspective. It focuses on the ways the students engage with various levels of interventions in their language practices. The study mainly draws on a group of college-age minority students’ experiences and perspectives collected through semistructured interviews. Findings suggest that the students, in making decisions to use their ethnic language and Vietnamese, the mainstream language, responded to interventions by the school and the ethnic community by adapting to the latter's language policy, while reinterpreting to conform to/deviate from interventions by other individuals such as their parents, their teachers, or their peers. In that process of managing their language practices, they reframed their identity in which both maintenance and transformation orientations were active. Implications related to minority language policy and language maintenance are then suggested. (Language management, individual language management, language practices, language choice, language policy, language maintenance, ethnic minority)*

Ethnic–racial identity (ERI) development is important for ethnic–racial minority youth because of its association with their positive adjustment. Guided by Garcia Coll’s ecocultural framework and using survey data from 729 Black college students, we examined the associations between relationships with parents (i.e., disrespect, psychological control, nurturance, and connection), ethnic–racial socialization (ERS), and ERI in hopes of understanding ways to promote ERI formation. Findings from two multiple group models suggested that, among men, nurturance from mothers and fathers was associated with ERI and these associations were mediated by ERS. For women, connection with mothers was associated with ERI through ERS and nurturance from fathers was indirectly and positively associated with ERI through ERS. Contrary to our hypothesis, disrespect from fathers was positively associated with ERI via ERS, but only for women. Findings suggest that both ERS and the parent–child relationship are important for ERI formation among Black emerging adults.

Intergroup attitudes of Muslim immigrant youth and native youth in the Netherlands were examined in relation to perceived parental socialization. Our aim was to gain insights into parent-child (dis)similarity in antagonistic and egalitarian attitudes and to understand differences between these two groups in this respect. Data come from qualitative interviews with 22 Turkish Dutch, Moroccan Dutch, and native Dutch youth (aged 16-22) who were prone either to intergroup antagonism (i.e., held hostile and negative attitudes toward out-groups) or to egalitarianism (held egalitarian attitudes). Interviews were analyzed using the constant comparison method. Results show that in the majority youth group, egalitarianism as well as intergroup antagonism were quite comparable across two generations. The attitudes of Muslim minority youth diverged more from those of their parents and appeared to be related to the pedagogic relationship between parents and children. Minority youth prone to antagonism perceived a lack of adequate parental responses to their negative experiences in the context of Islamophobia. Egalitarian minority youth reported that their parents were quite sensitive to their communications about perceived exclusion and that they responded with advice and support. Findings are discussed with reference to the social learning theory and the ethnic socialization strategies identified by Hughes et al.

This study examines the influence of perceived discrimination on the health and behaviour of ethnic minority immigrant children in British Columbia, Canada. Using data from the New Canadian Children and Youth Study, we examine perceived discrimination experienced by the parent, family, and cultural group in Canada to test the influence of micro-, meso-, and macrolevels of discrimination on children. Families from 6 ethnic backgrounds participated in the study. Parents’ perceptions of the child’s health and six behavioral scales (hyperactivity, prosocial behaviour, emotional problems, aggression, indirect aggression, and a general combined behaviour scale) were examined as outcome variables. After controlling for ethnicity and background variables, our findings suggest that perceived micro- and macrodiscrimination has the greatest influence on the health and behaviour of our immigrant child sample. Variation among ethnic groups provided the largest explanation of health and behavioural discrepancies in our study.

Successive Annual Reports of the Special Educational Needs Tribunal (SENT) have shown low usage of the Tribunal by minority ethnic families. As a Specialist Lay Member of the Tribunal I was allowed access to the first five years data so that more detailed analysis could explore this position and consider possible causes and possible remedial steps that could address this low usage. As an Educational Psychologist I am alert to the whole issue of educational entitlement particularly for cultural and ethnic minorities and this thesis seeks to explore the whole area of redress and its use. To begin this study I consulted the President of the Tribunal, the Secretary of the Tribunal and Officers from three Local Education Authorities (LEAs) on the issues they thought were relevant to appeal rates. Following these discussions I drew up a list of questions that I used as the basis for discussions with the SENT Midlands and Wales User Group, this meeting expanded the potential areas for investigation and set some of the parameters for the literature review and statistical analysis. The research questions focus on whether this low appeal rate should be a cause for concern or whether it is a reflection of the lower level of needs of these groups or whether some of the other contributory factors highlighted by my discussions may be influencing the appeal rate. In the absence of a substantive theory a framework of influences is described. The data were made available as hard copy, it was manually entered into SPSS and analysed using Models to identify key factors related to appeal rate. The data was then matched against National Statistics on the parameters highlighted by the discussions, levels of Statements of Needs, achievement, language and deprivation. Two Local Education Authorities are used as exemplars and examined for Statements of Needs, achievement, language and deprivation to see if a more detailed exploration could reveal more information on the factors highlighted by my discussions. The main outcomes of this study were to clarify the profile of minority ethnic access to the SENT and identify the appeal rate of each of the DfES ethnic categories: just under 12% of the pupil population in England are members of minority ethnic groups, the three black categories form 3.7% and their appeals from all LEA's total 2.6%: the Asian subcontinent, excluding Chinese, forms 5.8% and their appeals for all LEA's total 2.1%. Using these combination figures more clearly shows the marked under-representation at appeal to the SENT. It is particularly interesting to note the appeal rate of the Pakistani group; in the ten separate regional listings there are eight regions from which no appeals have been registered from this group despite them forming the highest percentage ethnic minority group in Yorkshire and the West Midlands and this aspect needs more exploration. This study also highlights difficulties using the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) categories where misdiagnosis and inadequate categorisation may be linked to problems with test materials and their use with the various cultural and ethnic groups particularly in relation to Speech and Language problems and Emotional and Behavioural difficulties. Further work needs to be done within the whole field of redress gaining a picture of parental views within targeted Local Education Authorities (LEAs). Educational Psychologists need to question, more closely, diagnoses of language problems and design early interventions to improve spoken and written English, they also need to work more closely helping schools devise the Pastoral Support Programmes necessary for pupils at risk of exclusion improving the parental partnership and assisting the individual pupils with their attitude and motivation.

Attitudes toward mental illness and the willingness to seek psychological treatment for their children among ethnic minority group parents were investigated. Participants consisted of black, Hispanic, Native American and Asian parents. All parents were given the Terrell and Terrell Cultural Mistrust Inventory, Cohen and Struening Opinions About Mental Illness Scale, Reid-Gundlach Social Services Satisfaction Scale, Fischer-Turner Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Help Scale, and Ahluwalia Parents' Psychological Help-Seeking Inventory. A multiple regression model was used to explore the purpose of this study. Parental mistrust level, ethnicity, education, income level, and opinions about mental illness served as predictor variables. The criterion variables consisted of scores on the Social Services Satisfaction Scale and Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale. The results indicated that the most significant predictor of psychological help-seeking was parental cultural mistrust level. Parents with higher cultural mistrust levels were less likely to seek help. Education was also predictive of black and Native American parents' help-seeking attitude and willingness to seek psychological help for their children. Black and Native Americans with lower levels of education were less willing to seek treatment for their children than members of those ethnic groups with higher levels of education. Ethnicity was also related to parental willingness to seek help for their children. Hispanic and black parents expressed more willingness to seek help than Native American and Asian parents. Finally, parents' opinions about mental illness were found to be significantly related to help-seeking attitude. Parents with positive opinions about mental illness were more likely to utilize professional psychological help than those parents with negative opinions about mental illness. Some clinical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

Asthma is a serious respiratory disease that is affected by environmental and psychological variables. Asthma education programs are used to reduce the morbidity associated with asthma and to teach people how to better manage their illness so that they might have a higher quality of life. Although much research has examined the effectiveness of asthma education programs within the Caucasian community, no research has been done to see if asthma education programs are effective in the Hispanic community. This study examined the effects of an asthma education program directed towards three Spanish-speaking parents of children, 7–17 years old, who were diagnosed with asthma. Participants were recruited from local health clinics with written advertisements and were given a monetary reward for their participation in the study. This study was a series of AB designs with staggered baselines, as well as pre and post testing. The pretests and posttests include translated checklists that measure knowledge, self-efficacy, symptoms, problem behaviors, and quality of life of caretakers of children with asthma. Data were also collected on the number of doctor visits and asthma attacks. Treatment consisted of a 2-hr asthma education intervention in Spanish for the parents and caretakers of asthmatic children. It was expected that symptoms, number of doctor visits, number of asthma attacks, and problem behaviors would decline and that knowledge, self-efficacy and quality of life would increase for each of the participants. Only parent knowledge of asthma management techniques increased significantly after the implementation of the treatment. Implications of the study are discussed.

This study explores the contexts and learning experiences of a group of minority ethnic group learners as higher education students in the University of Dundee. The research serves a scoping purpose, aiming to examine the influences, values, attitudes, behaviours and policies that affect the learning experiences of these bilingual minority ethnic group students in the monocultural and monolingual Scottish educational system. An initial exploration of these factors lays the foundation for the further aim of appraising the ways in which ethnicity, cultural values and bilingualism contribute to the learning profile of such students. Quantitative data were obtained from public domain statistical records, and qualitative data from a pilot postal questionnaire, focus group meetings and single or paired interviews. Research literature underpinning and informing the study draws from various fields including anthropology, bilingual education, demography, cognitive psychology, education, language acquisition, linguistics and sociology. The voices of the students combine to provide a powerful commentary of their experiences and this gives rise to the emergence of several themes in this research. A key theme, the importance of identity, is one that is woven through this work. Changing emphases can be observed in the developing Ethnic, Academic and Global modes of Self as these mutate in response to tensions that arise for the students as they straddle the dichotomy of heritage and educational cultures. The difference that distinguishes resident bilinguals from dominant ethnic group students can be seen in their differing language profiles. Problematic aspects of learning at university can apply to all learners, but such difficulties seem to be accentuated in the case of resident bilinguals. The acquisition of academic literacies is one such problematic area and, while both resident bilingual and dominant ethnic group students can be challenged in these areas, this can be in subtly different ways.

This thesis looks at the role of discrimination and ethnic group identity as explanations of political behaviour of ethnic minorities in Britain. Chapter 2 examines vote choice and partisanship, arguing that a group utility heuristic explains the high level of support for the Labour party among ethnic minorities. I provide individual-level evidence of this heuristic by showing that ethnic minority voters support the Labour party to the extent that they are (i) conscious of the experiences of their ethnic group members with regards to discrimination, and (ii) believe that the Labour party is the best political party to represent their interests. These two attitudes mediate the effects of group-level inequalities. Chapter 3 asks whether Muslims are alienated from mainstream politics by Islamophobia and British military intervention in Muslim countries. I find that perceptions of Islamophobia are linked with greater political alienation, to a greater likelihood of non-electoral participation, but also to a lesser likelihood of voting. Likewise, disapproval of the war in Afghanistan is associated with greater political alienation and a greater likelihood of some types of non-electoral participation. I also provide strong evidence that Muslims in Britain experience more religious discrimination than adherents of other minority religions. Chapter 4 considers the interaction between the extreme right and ethnic minority political attitudes and behaviour. I find evidence that the extreme right British National Party (BNP) increases voting for the Labour party, at the expense of minor parties and abstention. Surprisingly, the BNP effect also benefits the other main parties. Although they do not benefit in increased vote share, Liberal Democrat and Conservative party and leader evaluations are more positive where the BNP stood and performed better in 2010, which I suggest is due to the electoral contrast provided by the BNP. Chapter 5 looks at the mobilisation effect of ethnic minority candidates on ethnic minority voters. I find a positive mobilisation effect of Pakistani and Muslim Labour candidates on Pakistani and Muslim voters, conditional on someone trying to convince the respondent how to vote. I also find a demobilisation effect of Labour Muslim candidates on Sikh voters.

This study focuses on the impact of parental native language proficiency on the ethnic identities of 30 biculturals. By completing a questionnaire, the individual's father's and mother's native language proficiencies are measured, as well as the salience of both of the individual's ethnicities. Approximately 43% of the participants are more proficient in the parental native language that corresponds to their salient ethnic identity, 23% identify with the ethnicity that corresponds to the less proficient native language, and 33% identify equally with both their parents' ethnicities, are equally proficient in their native languages, or both. The main implication of the study is, that language is an important but not sufficient ethnic identity marker. The results suggest that the salient ethnic identity is likely to be that of the more proficient parental native language. Other factors such as the father-figure effect, country of residence, multilingualism, and age are also determined influential.

Retirement provision is an important aspect of financial decision making that can influence the financial quality of life experienced by individuals in old age, regardless of their ethnic group. However, individuals belonging to the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) group are more financially vulnerable in retirement than other groups, such as the White British. Previous research indicates that labour market disadvantages, low socio-economic status, and the inadequate access to financial resources are contributing factors that limit their ability to save effectively for retirement. This thesis investigates these issues further by examining the economic position of the BME group and the socio-cultural factors that positively influence or inhibit their retirement provision. This investigation is essential as many of the first generation of BME migrants, some of whom have provided migrant labour to the British economy since the Second World War, are entering the retirement stage, and are at a risk of financial difficulty due to low pension income. Although there are variations in the migration pattern and age structure of the BME group, individuals within this group are less likely to have occupational and private pension coverage. The term ‘BME group’ is used throughout this thesis to refer to individuals from African, Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds, since they represent the largest numbers of BME individuals in the UK. With increased individual responsibility for pension provision, this thesis explores the retirement phenomena of the BME group in three interrelated empirical chapters. The first empirical chapter uses secondary data to examine the labour market characteristics and income of the BME group at the aggregate level. With the access to retirement resources being significantly dependent on income and labour market position, these characteristics of the BME group are explored in relation to those of the White British group. The findings in this chapter substantiates much of the existing debate regarding the homogeneity of BME individuals based on their low level of income, under-representation in full-time employment and low levels of occupation. As a result, the ability of some BME individuals to save in the new workplace pension scheme may be compromised. The second empirical chapter uses secondary data to investigate further the socio-economic characteristics of the BME group at the dis-aggregated level. With limited research highlighting the relative importance of heterogeneity among BME sub-samples, the findings in the second chapter raises important implications in terms of the ability of some BME sub-samples to make provisions for their retirement given the significant levels of heterogeneity that exists in the socio-economic characteristics of the BME group. This indicates that stratified approaches to retirement provision may exist due to the possession of different levels of economic, social and cultural capital. The third empirical chapter utilises primary data to explore the retirement strategies of the five BME sub-samples at the dis-aggregated level. It provides an alternative perspective on the issues faced by the BME group and aids in further explanation of the findings in the two previous empirical chapters. The findings in the third chapter present new evidence in the form of various interrelated factors that inhibit the ability of BME individuals to make provisions for retirement. The findings presented throughout the thesis have generated a better understanding of the ways in which social structures and various forms of social, economic and cultural capital contribute to social stratification within the BME group, thus influencing their disposition towards certain retirement provision. The findings indicate that while some BME individuals have adequate retirement provisions, there are others who face financial difficulty in old age. By highlighting the socially constructed nature of ‘retirement provision’ and the economic, social and cultural factors inhibiting effective retirement provisions, from the perspective of the BME people, this thesis contributes to the ongoing debate regarding the characteristics and circumstances of BME individuals in the UK. Based on the findings presented, policy implementations may be developed to promote social inclusion, social equity and better retirement saving among this group.

<p> Latinx adolescents reveal the highest risk for depression across multiple ethnic groups; therefore, it is critical to reduce the burden of mental illness among Latinx adolescents. The purpose of this psychoeducational curriculum is to enhance support for Latinx parents with adolescents who are affected by clinical depression. The curriculum was specifically designed to increase Latinx parent&rsquo;s understanding on how depression impacts adolescents, provide tools and strategies to cope with the impact of depression, and increase awareness of community resources. The goal of the curriculum is to teach parents strategies to strengthen interpersonal relationships and help their adolescents cope with depressive symptoms. The curriculum will include group discussions and homework assignments to increase participants&rsquo; likelihood of using the tools and strategies at home. A facilitator&rsquo;s guide is also included to assist with the implementation of the curriculum.</p><p>

How ethnically diverse are the social networks of adolescents in Europe? The present study finds that ethnic majority youth in England, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden have very few ties to ethnic minority peers, either in the neighbourhood or at school. The networks of ethnic minorities are more mixed, because the groups to which they belong are smaller in size. Such structural opportunities for meeting members of other groups also plays a key role in understanding why some ethnic minority groups—being smaller in size—are more ‘open’ than other groups. Next to opportunities, also in-group preferences appear important. Both majority and minority groups exhibit a preference to befriend peers from their own ethnic group. Possibly, parents play a role in overcoming these ethnic boundaries. Findings suggest that having more ethnically mixed personal networks and more-positive attitudes towards other ethnic groups is transmitted from parents to their children.

The Tay people are an ethnic minority of Vietnam. Tay literature has many unique facets with relevance to cultural identity. It plays an important part in the diversity and richness of Vietnamese literature. In this study, Tay literature in Vietnam is analyzed through a cultural perspective, by placing Tay literature in its development from its birth to the present, together with the formation of the ethnic group, and historical and cultural conditions, focusing on the typical customs of the Tay people in Vietnam. The researcher examines Tay literature through poems of Nôm Tày, through the works of some prominent authors, such as Vi Hong, Cao Duy Son, in the Cao Bang province of Vietnam. Cao Bang is home to many Tay ethnic people and many typical Tay authors. The research also locates individual contributions of those authors and their works in terms of artistic language use and cultural symbolic features of the Tay people. In terms of art language, the article isolates the unique use of Nôm Tay characters to compose stories which affect the traditional Tay luon, sli, and so forth, and hence the use of language that influences poetry and proverbs of Tay people in the story of Vi Hong, Cao Duy Son. Assuming a symbolic framework, the article examines the symbols of birds and flowers in Nôm Tay poetry and the composition of Vi Hong, Cao Duy Son, so to point out the uniqueness of the Tay identity. The above research issue is necessary to help us better appreciate the cultural values preserved in Tay literature, thereby, affirming the unique cultural identity of the Tay people and planning to preserve and develop these unique cultural features from which emerges the risk of falling into oblivion in modern social life in Vietnam. In addition, this is also a research direction that can be extended to Thai, Mong, Dao, etc, ethnic minorities in Vietnam.

Aim/Purpose: This paper provides the results of the preliminary analysis of the findings of an ongoing study that seeks to examine the social media use, cultural and political awareness, civic engagement, issue prioritization, and social activism of Gen Z students enrolled at four different institutional types located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The aim of this study is to look at the group as a whole as well as compare findings across populations. The institutional types under consideration include a mid-sized majority serving or otherwise referred to as a traditionally white institution (TWI) located in a small coastal city on the Atlantic Ocean, a small Historically Black University (HBCU) located in a rural area, a large community college located in a county that is a mixture of rural and suburban and which sits on the border of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and graduating high school students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) programs in a large urban area. This exploration is purposed to examine the behaviors and expectations of Gen Z students within a representative American region during a time of tremendous turmoil and civil unrest in the United States. Background: Over 74 million strong, Gen Z makes up almost one-quarter of the U.S. population. They already outnumber any current living generation and are the first true digital natives. Born after 1996 and through 2012, they are known for their short attention spans and heightened ability to multi-task. Raised in the age of the smart phone, they have been tethered to digital devices from a young age with most having the preponderance of their childhood milestones commemorated online. Often called Zoomers, they are more racially and ethnically diverse than any previous generation and are on track to be the most well-educated generation in history. Gen Zers in the United States have been found in the research to be progressive and pro-government and viewing increasing racial and ethnic diversity as positive change. Finally, they are less likely to hold xenophobic beliefs such as the notion of American exceptionalism and superiority that have been popular with by prior generations. The United States has been in a period of social and civil unrest in recent years with concerns over systematic racism, rampant inequalities, political polarization, xenophobia, police violence, sexual assault and harassment, and the growing epidemic of gun violence. Anxieties stirred by the COVID-19 pandemic further compounded these issues resulting in a powder keg explosion occurring throughout the summer of 2020 and leading well into 2021. As a result, the United States has deteriorated significantly in the Civil Unrest Index falling from 91st to 34th. The vitriol, polarization, protests, murders, and shootings have all occurred during Gen Z’s formative years, and the limited research available indicates that it has shaped their values and political views. Methodology: The Mid-Atlantic region is a portion of the United States that exists as the overlap between the northeastern and southeastern portions of the country. It includes the nation’s capital, as well as large urban centers, small cities, suburbs, and rural enclaves. It is one of the most socially, economically, racially, and culturally diverse parts of the United States and is often referred to as the “typically American region.” An electronic survey was administered to students from 2019 through 2021 attending a high school dual enrollment program, a minority serving institution, a majority serving institution, and a community college all located within the larger mid-Atlantic region. The survey included a combination of multiple response, Likert scaled, dichotomous, open ended, and ordinal questions. It was developed in the Survey Monkey system and reviewed by several content and methodological experts in order to examine bias, vagueness, or potential semantic problems. Finally, the survey was pilot tested prior to implementation in order to explore the efficacy of the research methodology. It was then modified accordingly prior to widespread distribution to potential participants. The surveys were administered to students enrolled in classes taught by the authors all of whom are educators. Participation was voluntary, optional, and anonymous. Over 800 individuals completed the survey with just over 700 usable results, after partial completes and the responses of individuals outside of the 18-24 age range were removed. Findings: Participants in this study overwhelmingly were users of social media. In descending order, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Tik Tok were the most popular social media services reported as being used. When volume of use was considered, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and Twitter were the most cited with most participants reporting using Instagram and Snapchat multiple times a day. When asked to select which social media service they would use if forced to choose just one, the number one choice was YouTube followed by Instagram and Snapchat. Additionally, more than half of participants responded that they have uploaded a video to a video sharing site such as YouTube or Tik Tok. When asked about their familiarity with different technologies, participants overwhelmingly responded that they are “very familiar” with smart phones, searching the Web, social media, and email. About half the respondents said that they were “very familiar” with common computer applications such as the Microsoft Office Suite or Google Suite with another third saying that they were “somewhat familiar.” When asked about Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Blackboard, Course Compass, Canvas, Edmodo, Moodle, Course Sites, Google Classroom, Mindtap, Schoology, Absorb, D2L, itslearning, Otus, PowerSchool, or WizIQ, only 43% said they were “very familiar” with 31% responding that they were “somewhat familiar.” Finally, about half the students were either “very” or “somewhat” familiar with operating systems such as Windows. A few preferences with respect to technology in the teaching and learning process were explored in the survey. Most students (85%) responded that they want course announcements and reminders sent to their phones, 76% expect their courses to incorporate the use of technology, 71% want their courses to have course websites, and 71% said that they would rather watch a video than read a book chapter. When asked to consider the future, over 81% or respondents reported that technology will play a major role in their future career. Most participants considered themselves “informed” or “well informed” about current events although few considered themselves “very informed” or “well informed” about politics. When asked how they get their news, the most common forum reported for getting news and information about current events and politics was social media with 81% of respondents reporting. Gen Z is known to be an engaged generation and the participants in this study were not an exception. As such, it came as no surprise to discover that, in the past year more than 78% of respondents had educated friends or family about an important social or political issue, about half (48%) had donated to a cause of importance to them, more than a quarter (26%) had participated in a march or rally, and a quarter (26%) had actively boycotted a product or company. Further, about 37% consider themselves to be a social activist with another 41% responding that aren’t sure if they would consider themselves an activist and only 22% saying that they would not consider themselves an activist. When asked what issues were important to them, the most frequently cited were Black Lives Matter (75%), human trafficking (68%), sexual assault/harassment/Me Too (66.49%), gun violence (65.82%), women’s rights (65.15%), climate change (55.4%), immigration reform/deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) (48.8%), and LGBTQ+ rights (47.39%). When the schools were compared, there were only minor differences in social media use with the high school students indicating slightly more use of Tik Tok than the other participants. All groups were virtually equal when it came to how informed they perceived themselves about current events and politics. Consensus among groups existed with respect to how they get their news, and the community college and high school students were slightly more likely to have participated in a march, protest, or rally in the last 12 months than the university students. The community college and high school students were also slightly more likely to consider themselves social activists than the participants from either of the universities. When the importance of the issues was considered, significant differences based on institutional type were noted. Black Lives Matter (BLM) was identified as important by the largest portion of students attending the HBCU followed by the community college students and high school students. Less than half of the students attending the TWI considered BLM an important issue. Human trafficking was cited as important by a higher percentage of students attending the HBCU and urban high school than at the suburban and rural community college or the TWI. Sexual assault was considered important by the majority of students at all the schools with the percentage a bit smaller from the majority serving institution. About two thirds of the students at the high school, community college, and HBCU considered gun violence important versus about half the students at the majority serving institution. Women’s rights were reported as being important by more of the high school and HBCU participants than the community college or TWI. Climate change was considered important by about half the students at all schools with a slightly smaller portion reporting out the HBCU. Immigration reform/DACA was reported as important by half the high school, community college, and HBCU participants with only a third of the students from the majority serving institution citing it as an important issue. With respect to LGBTQ rights approximately half of the high school and community college participants cited it as important, 44.53% of the HBCU students, and only about a quarter of the students attending the majority serving institution. Contribution and Conclusion: This paper provides a timely investigation into the mindset of generation Z students living in the United States during a period of heightened civic unrest. This insight is useful to educators who should be informed about the generation of students that is currently populating higher education. The findings of this study are consistent with public opinion polls by Pew Research Center. According to the findings, the Gen Z students participating in this study are heavy users of multiple social media, expect technology to be integrated into teaching and learning, anticipate a future career where technology will play an important role, informed about current and political events, use social media as their main source for getting news and information, and fairly engaged in social activism. When institutional type was compared the students from the university with the more affluent and less diverse population were less likely to find social justice issues important than the other groups. Recommendations for Practitioners: During disruptive and contentious times, it is negligent to think that the abounding issues plaguing society are not important to our students. Gauging the issues of importance and levels of civic engagement provides us crucial information towards understanding the attitudes of students. Further, knowing how our students gain information, their social media usage, as well as how informed they are about current events and political issues can be used to more effectively communicate and educate. Recommendations for Researchers: As social media continues to proliferate daily life and become a vital means of news and information gathering, additional studies such as the one presented here are needed. Additionally, in other countries facing similarly turbulent times, measuring student interest, awareness, and engagement is highly informative. Impact on Society: During a highly contentious period replete with a large volume of civil unrest and compounded by a global pandemic, understanding the behaviors and attitudes of students can help us as higher education faculty be more attuned when it comes to the design and delivery of curriculum. Future Research This presentation presents preliminary findings. Data is still being collected and much more extensive statistical analyses will be performed.