Filipino American Phenomenon: Community-Based Organization Influence on Ethnic Identity, Leadership Development, and Community Engagement

Abstract

ABSTRACT Filipino American Phenomenon: Community-Based Organization Influence on Ethnic Identity, Leadership Development, and Community Engagement By Third Andresen University of Washington Chair of Supervisory Committee: Professor Geneva Gay College of Education This study examined the effects of the Filipino Youth Activities (FYA) on Filipino American youth's ethnic identity, civic engagement, and leadership. This study has five main purposes. These include exploring the role of a community organization in developing the ethnic identity, cultural competence, community engagement, personal efficacy of participants, and critical consciousness of Filipino American youth participants. The FYA was the intended inquiry. Nineteen individuals participated in the study including founders, staff, and former FYA program participants from different generations participated in the study. Data in this study were collected from archives, documents, interviews, and demographic questionnaires. Documents and publications included playbill or programs, letters, scrapbooks, and other historical information on goals, images, and programs retrieved from the Filipino American National Historical Society archives located in Seattle's Central District. The entire interview was transcribed verbatim. A codebook was created marked around categories and themes. Codes were labeled for assigning units of meaning to the descriptive or inferential information compiled during the study. The findings revealed that the FYA positively affected participants in many ways, including acquiring cultural knowledge and providing leadership development, modeling, and developing anti-racist skills. However, these influences were not universal, such some participants encountered problems with FYA such as being excluded and feeling marginalized in some FYA events and routines, and perceiving the dominant leadership styles as excessively restrictive. The data showed that FYA participants in the 1960s and 1970s shared similarities and differences in social, racial, and educational experiences with the 1980s and 1990s participants. Participants from the 1960s and 1970s thought that racial discrimination was obvious; it was important for them to learn how to negotiate through life obstacles and succeed. The 1980s and 1990s participants experienced less intense racism and were much more optimistic about the resources available to them and their abilities to counter it. Some participants also perceived that the founders and administrators exhibited many leadership attributes that scholars suggest are necessary for effective organizational development. Others countered that the dominant leadership style was very rigid and discouraging. This study contributes to the growing scholarship on community-based organizations and Filipino Americans. It offers some helpful guidance for other researchers interested in conducting studies of other organizations within the Filipino American community and in other locations, as well as organizations in other ethnic communities. Several recommendations and limitations, and further significance of this study and its findings were presented as well.