ElmCore Journal of Educational Psychology October, 2014 | Page 25

Science-Fellows®
involved in these activities and used them as a means
of creating social networks.
Coping Strategies of High Achieving Kenyan
Students
Many students indicated that a major
challenge they faced was in the area of academics.
Although participants were academic achievers as
demonstrated by their history of achievement, they
faced academic challenges like under-preparation for
college, lack of effective study skills, and the highly
competitiveness of the Ivy League colleges. As a
result, students had to re-evaluate themselves to figure
out what they needed and to come up with the
solutions to their problems through a change of
strategy that required increased effort and
determination. While in high school, the students
coped by seeking help from their teachers, parents,
and increased effort in studying. When they got into
college some students who used to excel on tests and
exams without studying had to learn how to study.
Some adjusted to not getting perfect grades in all their
classes despite the hard work they put in their studies
and they lowered their grade expectations for college.
Some who never used study groups while in high
school realized the need for them in college and
sought out such groups. They also initiated some study
groups when they anticipated that course content
would be challenging.
Implications of the Study
High-achieving Kenyan students exhibited
the characteristics of high-achieving students from
other groups. They came from college-educated parent
homes where education was valued and emphasized.

REFERENCES
Adams, C. R., & Singh, K. (1998). Direct and indirect
effects of school learning variables on the
achievement of African-American 10th
graders. The Journal of Negro Education,
67(1), 48-66.

ElmCore® Journal of Educational Psychology

They also shared characteristics with other immigrant
students struggling to adapt to American culture while
maintaining their ethnic identity and heritage. The fact
that all the students in the sample held on to their
Kenyan identity could indicate that it was an integral
part of their academic success. Immigrants students
could retain their cultural heritage as social capital that
can help facilitate academic achievement, as shown in
the findings of Gibson (1989). Gibson (1989) found
that immigrant students in his study learned to
accommodate mainstream culture to the extent that
such culture aided their adaptation; but, at the same
time they chose to preserve their ethnic cultures rather
than subscribe to total assimilation into the
mainstream culture. High-achieving immigrant
Kenyan students believed that their upbringing and the
Kenyan identity helped them to succeed in school.
The findings of this study have implications
for American colleges and how they educate minority
and immigrant students specifically from Kenya.
There is a need for American colleges to embrace
multiculturalism in the education system if their
mission is to adequately educate all students. This is
especially important as the population of students
from Africa in American colleges is projected to
increase (Kao & Thompson, 2003). Colleges and the
American society need to appreciate the multicultural
identities of immigrant students and educate them on
the best ways of negotiating through such identities.
Preparing students for a multicultural society would
also prepare them for a multicultural globalized world.
It is possible to educate the students about how to
negotiate multiple social contexts and at the same time
educate the instructors and the society in general to be
more accepting of multiculturalism in the American
academic institutions.

Ainsworth-Darnell, J. W. & Douglas B. D. (1998).
Assessing the oppositional culture
explanation for racial/ethnic differences in
school performance. American
Sociological Review.
Aronson, J. & Steele, C. M. (1995). Stereotype threat
and the intellectual test performance of

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