A silence that wants to be heard: suburban Korean American students in dialogue with invisibility

Abstract

Korean American students experience invisibility and silence as their culture and presence remain outwardly invisible in the mainstream culture of US high schools. This is further exacerbated by the silent response of the dominant population of the school towards these issues. Yet, to an extent, Korean American students find a sense of comfort within that invisibility; less visibility allows more silence and thus more privacy. This qualitative in-depth interview study focuses on developing understandings of Korean American students’ perceptions and negotiations of education in suburban American schools, specifically through the perceptions of two Korean American female students. When viewed through Bakhtinian perspectives of silence, this invisibility becomes prominent, lending insight into the ways invisibility and silence are both seen as problematic and openly cultivated by these students.

Keywords:

• Korean American students
• identity
• education
• Bakhtin