This qualitative biographical study explored the life experiences of a female Karen youth who moved to the United States as a pre-teenager, entering a medium-sized Texas rural public high school as a freshman. Perceptions of English Learners are that they are ill-prepared for achieving success in rigorous academic subjects taught in United States public schools. Refugees are considered to have more difficulties because of the trauma associated with their pre-immigration violent environments, which often involve little or no organized education in the native country or in refugee camps. The biographical design allowed the Karen student who achieved academic success at a Texas public high school, in which every student must pass state-mandated academic exams in order to graduate, to recount the influences, personality characteristics, and context that she understood to be significant in contributing to her academic success.
","abstract_html":"<p>This qualitative biographical study explored the life experiences of a female Karen youth who moved to the United States as a pre-teenager, entering a medium-sized Texas rural public high school as a freshman. Perceptions of English Learners are that they are ill-prepared for achieving success in rigorous academic subjects taught in United States public schools. Refugees are considered to have more difficulties because of the trauma associated with their pre-immigration violent environments, which often involve little or no organized education in the native country or in refugee camps. The biographical design allowed the Karen student who achieved academic success at a Texas public high school, in which every student must pass state-mandated academic exams in order to graduate, to recount the influences, personality characteristics, and context that she understood to be significant in contributing to her academic success.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Whitbeck, Katherine P."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Education","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Secondary Education and Educational Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Patrick M. Jenlink","Dr. Bryan S. Bailey","Dr. Pauline M. Sampson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-05-12T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2018-05-12T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:15Z","subjects":["Karen English Language Learner","Female Karen Refugee","Academic Success of Asian ELLs","ELL in East Texas High School","Biographical Study of Karen Female","ELLs passingState-Mandated Tests","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/166","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Patrick M. Jenlink","Dr. Bryan S. Bailey","Dr. Pauline M. Sampson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Whitbeck, Katherine P."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-05-12T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Secondary Education and Educational Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Karen English Language Learner","Female Karen Refugee","Academic Success of Asian ELLs","ELL in East Texas High School","Biographical Study of Karen Female","ELLs passingState-Mandated Tests","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/166"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This qualitative biographical study explored the life experiences of a female Karen youth who moved to the United States as a pre-teenager, entering a medium-sized Texas rural public high school as a freshman. Perceptions of English Learners are that they are ill-prepared for achieving success in rigorous academic subjects taught in United States public schools. Refugees are considered to have more difficulties because of the trauma associated with their pre-immigration violent environments, which often involve little or no organized education in the native country or in refugee camps. The biographical design allowed the Karen student who achieved academic success at a Texas public high school, in which every student must pass state-mandated academic exams in order to graduate, to recount the influences, personality characteristics, and context that she understood to be significant in contributing to her academic success.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A BIOGRAPHICAL STUDY OF A FEMALE KAREN REFUGEE WHO EXPERIENCED ACADEMIC SUCCESS IN A TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Patrick M. Jenlink","Dr. Bryan S. Bailey","Dr. Pauline M. Sampson"],"dc:creator":["Whitbeck, Katherine P."],"dc:date.available":["2018-05-12T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This qualitative biographical study explored the life experiences of a female Karen youth who moved to the United States as a pre-teenager, entering a medium-sized Texas rural public high school as a freshman. Perceptions of English Learners are that they are ill-prepared for achieving success in rigorous academic subjects taught in United States public schools. Refugees are considered to have more difficulties because of the trauma associated with their pre-immigration violent environments, which often involve little or no organized education in the native country or in refugee camps. The biographical design allowed the Karen student who achieved academic success at a Texas public high school, in which every student must pass state-mandated academic exams in order to graduate, to recount the influences, personality characteristics, and context that she understood to be significant in contributing to her academic success.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/166"],"dc:subject":["Karen English Language Learner","Female Karen Refugee","Academic Success of Asian ELLs","ELL in East Texas High School","Biographical Study of Karen Female","ELLs passingState-Mandated Tests","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education"],"dc:title":["A BIOGRAPHICAL STUDY OF A FEMALE KAREN REFUGEE WHO EXPERIENCED ACADEMIC SUCCESS IN A TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Secondary Education and Educational Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:15Z"}