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Lived experiences of Puerto Rican university students displaced to South Florida after Hurricane Maria

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Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 18. Januar 2021
Multicultural Learning and Teaching
Aus der Zeitschrift Multicultural Learning and Teaching Band 18 Heft 2

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to document the experiences, services, and programs provided to displaced university students from Puerto Rico and to offer recommendations to educational and community agencies regarding effective integration after a natural disaster. Through in-depth semi-structured interviews, this qualitative phenomenology study consisted of collecting oral histories of six displaced university students from Puerto Rico who relocated to Southwest Florida after Hurricane Maria. The analysis of the data indicated three themes, including (1) trauma after hurricane, (2) challenges and needs during relocation, and (3) conflicting feelings about the homeland and the United States. Although immediate, basic needs were met soon after relocation, in-depth, social-emotional needs, such as dealing with trauma and becoming acculturated in the new culture, remained unanswered. Recommendations are provided to higher education administration, professionals in education, and community agencies.

Keywords: displaced; Hurricane Maria; phenomenological study; Puerto Rican students
Corresponding author: Hasan Aydin, Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Culture, College of Education, Florida Gulf Coast University, 10501 FGCU Boulevard South, Fort Myers, FL 33965, USA, E-mail:

  1. Compliance with Ethical Standards Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Appendix A: Qualitative interview protocol and questions for college students

Study: Displaced Puerto Rican students and families’ experiences and needs in Southwest Florida after Hurricane Maria

Demographics

Interview Date:

Interviewer:

Interviewee (Pseudonym)

Gender:

Age:

Marital status:

Job:

Which languages do you speak?

Language spoken at home: Spanish/English

The purpose of this study is to (1) document the experiences, services and programs provided, and existing needs of displaced students and (2) offer recommendations to educational and community agencies regarding the effective integration after trauma. This project has strong connections to the psychological wellness of displaced students after the trauma following a natural disaster. This study consists of collecting oral histories of displaced university students with children in schools who relocated to Southwest Florida after Hurricane Maria through focus group and individual interviews.

We are asking you to participate in this study, as you are currently a student at Florida Gulf Coast University. To maintain confidentiality and protect your identity, we will assign you a code (or pseudonym name) to be referenced during the interview. Thus, other than you and us, no one will know your identity, and all interview recordings and transcripts will remain secure in my possession in a locked office. This interview will take no more than 30–45 min of your time.

Interviewee will read and sign the consent form.

Begin and test the voice-recording device.

Research questions

  1. What were the experiences of Puerto Rican university students who were displaced by Hurricane Maria and relocated to Southwest Florida?

  2. What programs and services were made available to support this population in Southwest Florida following Hurricane Maria?

  3. Currently, what are the needs and challenges for these university students in Southwest Florida educational institutions?

Section A: interview questions for students

  1. Please, tell us about your experiences during Hurricane Maria.

  2. Please, tell us about the relocation to SWFL. What was the reason? What needs did you have when you arrived in SWFL?

Challenges

  1. What challenges did you experience during your relocation?

  2. What was the most challenging experience as you settled down in SWFL?

  3. Are there any potential challenges and barriers that you currently experience? Tell us about them.

University-specific questions

  1. What services did you receive at the university and/or in the community? Who provided assistance?

    1. What types of assistance, supports, and services has XXX University provided to you during enrollment after Hurricane Maria?

    2. Did you experience any challenges with your classes as a result of your relocation to XXX University?

    3. How would you describe your adjustment to XXX University?

    4. Were there any language-related issues for you at XXX University?

Family

  1. Please tell us about yourself and your family’s current situation.

  2. Current situation and Future

  3. What assistance or guidance do you need currently? Please describe them.

  4. What plans do you have for the next 12 months?

  5. Is there anything else you would like to tell us about that we haven’t asked?

Section B

  1. Please tell us about yourself and your family’s current situation.

  2. Are there any potential challenges and barriers that you currently experience? Tell us about them.

  3. What assistance or guidance do you need currently? Please describe them.

  4. What services or assistance could make your child’s experience improve?

  5. What plans do you have for your family for the next 12 months?

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Received: 2020-08-13
Accepted: 2021-06-02
Published Online: 2021-01-18

© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial Comment
  3. Executive editor’s comments: sustaining our multicultural world
  4. Research Articles
  5. Lived experiences of Puerto Rican university students displaced to South Florida after Hurricane Maria
  6. Some analogical methods of teaching English as a second foreign language
  7. Creating equitable access and opportunity: predictors of success for college freshmen who participate in a Living Learning Community
  8. Using the Church to maximize the potential of learners with special needs
  9. Strategizing assessment to support emerging bilingual students: a focus on the home language
  10. A systematic review of culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy using confidence intervals
  11. Investigation of Iranian and Turkish English language teachers’ views, perspectives and experiences of teaching cultural content in English courses
  12. Using flexible grouping instruction to create culturally relevant PK-12 learning communities for culturally and linguistically diverse learners with exceptionalities
https://doi.org/10.1515/mlt-2020-0010
Schlagwörter für diesen Artikel
displaced; Hurricane Maria; phenomenological study; Puerto Rican students

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial Comment
  3. Executive editor’s comments: sustaining our multicultural world
  4. Research Articles
  5. Lived experiences of Puerto Rican university students displaced to South Florida after Hurricane Maria
  6. Some analogical methods of teaching English as a second foreign language
  7. Creating equitable access and opportunity: predictors of success for college freshmen who participate in a Living Learning Community
  8. Using the Church to maximize the potential of learners with special needs
  9. Strategizing assessment to support emerging bilingual students: a focus on the home language
  10. A systematic review of culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy using confidence intervals
  11. Investigation of Iranian and Turkish English language teachers’ views, perspectives and experiences of teaching cultural content in English courses
  12. Using flexible grouping instruction to create culturally relevant PK-12 learning communities for culturally and linguistically diverse learners with exceptionalities
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