Recruiting Challenges and Students’ Involvement in a Project to Understand Civic Engagement of Aging Asian Immigrants in Edmonton

Abstract

Supporting aging immigrants to fully engage in mainstream social and political life is a significant challenge for policy makers, service providers, and communities in Canada. Asian immigrants constitute the largest majority of immigrants in Canada over decades. A contextualized understanding of civic participation in aging Asian immigrants is of critical importance to support broad, active aging and social integration goals. Based on the research rationale, objectives and gaps identified in the literature review, this study will present a research project that aims to explore civic participation of aging immigrants from Asia, specifically China, India, and Philippines, living in Edmonton, Alberta. This research draws on the Civic Voluntarism Model and on Bourdieu's Theory of Practice, which views civic participation as a multi-dimensional concept influenced by individual social positions, family and community, and historical, cultural, political, and societal factors. Mixed methods research will be adopted, and will involve in-depth interviews with aging immigrants, focus group with immigrant and Canadian-born older adults, and a survey of aging immigrant participants in focus groups. This presentation will overview the research project and identify the multiple challenges in recruiting targeted participants from different ethnic groups in the initial stage and strategies adopted to solve these challenges. This presentation will inform future directions and approaches in the research of diverse ethnic aging immigrants. This presentation will also contribute to research method education and training for in undergraduate students at teaching-focused universities.

Discipline: Social Work

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Hongmei Tong