Policy Blog
Main | Sunlight Foundation and Citizenship »
September 14, 2006
Worthington Focus Groups
When we started the Immigration and Higher Education study committee, we thought we'd dig up facts the way we usually do: gather the data, do a literature review, and rely on the knowledge and insights of our committee members to identify the relevant questions and develop policy solutions. But it turned out that there simply aren't many data available about immigrant students in Minnesota.
So we decided to do something a little different. Over the summer, Citizens League staff and members of the committee have been conducting focus groups with immigrant students and parents around the state (although mostly in the Twin Cities). We've been asking them about their experiences in high school and higher ed -- and their advice and suggestions about how things could be done differently.
This past weekend, I went to Worthington to meet with members of the Nobles County Integration Collaborative, Nobles County Community Action and a youth group called Dynamic 507. These were especially helpful conversations, coming close to the end of the study committee process -- and they raised issues that hadn't come up in previous groups. For example, more than in previous conversations, the Worthington groups talked about language as a particular challenge -- especially the ways in which learning English hindered students' success in other subjects. One mother said that her son was doing math at a 4th grade level in Mexico, but when they moved to Minnesota he ended up in a 2nd grade class because he didn't speak much English.
The focus groups, overall, have been tremendously helpful -- and they are a way to engage a wider group of people in the work of our study committees. We're learning how to do them better, and I hope that we continue to use them in future policy work.
(It was FOGGY both days I was in Worthington, so I couldn't take any nice southwestern Minnesota prairie shots - but here's what Lake Okabena looked like last Sunday.)
Posted by Victoria Ford at September 14, 2006 2:51 PM