An insight look into the lives of Latino farmworkers in eastern North Carolina: A case study through community engagement partnership

Conference Strand

Research and Theory

Abstract

Participants will engage in a discussion about the lives of Latino migrant farm workers in the Eastern region of North Carolina, and a reflection on the lives of Latinx individuals in the U.S. Presenters will share their experiences of community engagement partnership in support of this population, their research work, and the professional implications for counselors and educators.

Description

Migrant farm workers are defined as those individuals who “travel at least seventy-five miles during a twelve-month period to obtain a farm job (Carroll et al., 2005, p. 7). Many migrant farm workers travel to the U.S. are male, Spanish-speaking, have dependents in their native countries, and work without legal documentation (Carroll et al., 2005). One sub-group of migrant farm workers are those who receive an H-2A visa, which imparts work authorization and certain additional rights and responsibilities (Arcury et al., 2015). Those rights include a guaranteed hourly wage with a corresponding 35-hour work week, housing, round-trip transportation to the U.S., and limited health coverage. This federal program was designed to address farm labor shortages and is used extensively throughout North Carolina. The limited research available on H-2A visa holders primarily examines health and safety issues such as mental health, pesticide-related illness, and worker safety. However, there is limited research that describes the daily life experiences of this group.

In this session, participants will engage in a discussion about the lives of Latino farm workers in the Easter region of North Carolina, and a reflection on the lives of Latinx individuals in the U.S. Presenters will share their experiences of collaboration and community engagement partnership in support of the Latinx community in the region, as well as their research work. Professional implications for counselors and educators will be also addressed. Aligned with the counseling theme, presenters aim to open the discussion on culture, language, social justice and advocacy, as well as sharing experiences of local partnerships and support to underrepresented populations. Results of the research study may serve as foundation for evaluation, improvement, and decision making regarding migrant workers’ experience in the U.S., quality of lives improvement, and potential benefits for the local community.

Evidence

Findings will add to the limited knowledge of the lived experiences of Latino farm workers in rural eastern North Carolina and illuminating potential ways to enhance support of this population.

Arcury, T.A., Summers, P., Talton, J., Nguyen, H., Chen, H., & Quandt, S. (2015). Job characteristics and work safety climate among North Carolina farmworkers with H-2A visas. Journal of Agromedicine, 20(1), 64-76. Doi:10.1080/1059924X.2014.976732.

Bermudez, J. M., Kirkpatrick, D. R., Hecker, L., Torres-Robles, C. (2010). Describing Latinos families and their help-seeking attitudes: Challenging the family therapy literature. Contemporary Family Therapy, 32, pp. 155-172. doi: 10.1007/s10591-009-9110-x.

Bohon, S. A. (2012). The Latino migration experience in North Carolina: New roots in the old north state by Hannah Gill. Contemporary Sociology, 41(5), pp. 631-632.

Carroll, D., Samardick, R., Bernard, S., Gabbard, S., & Hernandez, T. (2005). Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) 2001-2002. Research Report No. 9. Washington, DC: United States Department of Labor.

Crain, R., Grzywacz, J. G., Schwantes, M., Isom, S., Quandt, S. A., & Arcury, T. A. (2011). Correlates of mental health among Latino farmworkers in North Carolina. The Journal of Rural Health, 28, pp. 277-285. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-0361.2011.00401.x.

Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Hernandez, A. M., & Curiel, Y. S. (2012). Entre nosotros: Exploring Latino diversity in family therapy literature. Contemporary Family Therapy, 34, pp. 516-533. doi: 10.1007/s10591-012-9208-4.

Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, CA: Wiley.

Negron, R. (2014). Diversity, multiethnicity, and Latino social networks. Societies, 4, pp. 222-239. doi:10.3390/soc4020222.

Paulin, L. M. (2011). Winning and losing in North Carolina: Cultural citizenship struggles and lessons for Latino newspapers. Latino Studies, 9(2/3), pp. 198-218.

Price, P. L. (2012). Race and ethnicity: Latino/a immigrants and emerging geographies of race and place in the USA. Progress in Human Geography, 36(6), pp. 800-809. doi: 10.1177/0309132511427229.

Schwartz, S. J., Unger, J., Zamboanga, B. L., & Szapocznik, J. (2011). How selective is acculturation? Broadening our perspective. American Psychologist, , pp. 155-157. doi: 10.1037/a0022560.

Torres, L., Driscoll, M. W., & Voell, M. (2012). Discrimination, acculturation, acculturative stress, and Latino psychological distress: A moderated mediational model. Cultural diversity and ethnic minority psychology, 18(1), pp. 17-25.

Torres, V., Martinez, S., Wallace, L. D., Medrano, C. I., Robledo, A. L., & Hernandez, E. (2012). The connections between Latino ethnic identity and adult experiences. Adult Education Quarterly, 62(1), pp. 3-18. doi: 10.1177/0741713610392765.

Format

Individual Presentations

Biographical Sketch

Syntia Santos Dietz, Ph. D.

Dr. Santos Dietz obtained her Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education at North Carolina State University and her M.Ed. in School Counseling at the State University of New York as a Fulbright scholar. She worked as professor and program coordinator in her home country Honduras, in their school counseling program at the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Francisco Morazán.

Dr. Santos Dietz is a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and a License School Counselor in the state of North Carolina. Dr. Santos is currently working as assistant professor at East Carolina University. Her areas of interest include cultural competence development, international counseling and education, and counselor education. In addition, she serves as an editorial board member for the Professional Counselor journal and she is also a steering committee member for the International Registry of Counselor Education Programs.

Christy M. Rhodes, Ph.D.

Dr. Rhodes completed her Ph.D. in Adult Education at the University of South Florida in 2014. Prior to that, she received her MAEd in TESOL at Radford University and her BA in Political Science from SUNY Albany. She taught adult English language learners in the U.S., the United Arab Emirates, and Costa Rica.

She is currently an assistant professor of Adult Education in the Department of Interdisciplinary Professions at East Carolina University. She is an active member of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) and the National Coalition of Literacy Her areas of research include culturally responsive teaching, adult literacy education, and TESOL.

Location

ELAB 21

Start Date

2-9-2019 10:15 AM

End Date

2-9-2019 11:30 AM

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Feb 9th, 10:15 AM Feb 9th, 11:30 AM

An insight look into the lives of Latino farmworkers in eastern North Carolina: A case study through community engagement partnership

ELAB 21

Participants will engage in a discussion about the lives of Latino migrant farm workers in the Eastern region of North Carolina, and a reflection on the lives of Latinx individuals in the U.S. Presenters will share their experiences of community engagement partnership in support of this population, their research work, and the professional implications for counselors and educators.