“Do not get me wrong—I love American culture, too”: A postcolonial narrative inquiry into the identity shaping of Filipino American adolescents using literary texts about Filipino immigrants

The more books there are about/for and written by people of color, the more opportunities for adolescents to read. More importantly, if a person of color is featured significantly in the narrative, young readers can reflect on the diversity of their lives echoed in the books. This narrative inquiry was an exploration of the ways in which the reading of literary texts about Filipino immigrants helped Filipino American adolescents shape their identities. Specifically, the inquiry examined the perceived identities of Filipino American adolescents, their postcolonial culture in relation to their identities, their perception as readers, and their response to the reading of literary texts about Filipino immigrants as they related to their identities. For sustained critical thought, the study turned to postcolonial theory. The following findings were identified: (1) The identity shaping of Filipino American adolescents through the recognition of Filipino food and words; (2) Filipino American adolescents’ efforts to balance being Filipino and American; (3) Understanding postcolonial culture through the portrayal in books; (4) Lack of access to Filipino books in classrooms and libraries; and (5) Learning Filipino history outside the classroom. Thus, as guided by postcolonial discourses in identity, cultural representation, and agency, the study analyzed the challenging issues of identity formation among Filipino American adolescents and the implication of culturally relevant pedagogy in K-12 classrooms.