Txawj kaab lig kev cai, ntse lug ntawm kev kawm ntawv: ecological factors that influence Hmong educational success

This phenomenological study was conducted to bring together a better understanding of the socio-cultural aspects regarding the home, school and community to the Hmong student experience. Two core theories, Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory of Development (1977, 1979) and Critical Race Theory (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001) woven together provided the conceptual framework to explore the contextual factors that contributed to six first-generation Hmong undergraduate students' post-secondary experience, with a particular interest in examining six Hmong parents' perception of the role they play in their students' educational journey. This study concludes that the college experience for first-generation Hmong undergraduate students may not be just one way to go about creating habitus transformation, but the only way. Thus, getting Hmong students into college could be arguably not just necessary for economic growth but for realizing America's promise where people can come and co-exist fruitfully and peacefully.