Anthony T. Vang

Hmong-American students are refugees and children of refugees who have
immigrated to the United States since 1975. There is very little written about
Hmong-Americans, let alone Hmong-American students. When the Vietnam
War ended in 1973, many Hmongs in Laos were unwanted or persecuted by the
communist Laotian government because of their support for the United States
during the war. Hence, the mass exodus of the Hmongs began. The United
States became the primary recipient of the Hmong refugees. Once in the United
States, the majority of these Hmongs settled in California, Minnesota, and
Wisconsin. Half of the California Hmongs live in the San Joaquin Valley
( Trueba, et al., 1990). In fact, Fresno, California has the largest concentration of
the Hmongs outside of Laos ( Trueba, et al., 1993).

This chapter briefly reviews Hmong-American history and illuminates the
challenges and difficulties in cultural adaptation and school adjustment which
Hmong-American parents and students face, as well as the impact of various
sociocultural factors on the education of Hmong students. In addition, this
chapter provides concrete suggestions for educators to help Hmong-American
students succeed.

The Hmong people are a unique group, who, with some dialectic differences,
share a unique language and culture. There are about seven million Hmong
people scattered around the world. Many of them live in China, North Vietnam,
Laos, Thailand, Burma, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the United
States. The Hmong people have been known by the Chinese and others in Asia
as "Miao" or "Meo," which is considered a derogatory name by the Hmongs.
Hmong means "free people or human being" ( Yang, 1992).

In Laos, the vast majority of Hmong children had limited access to

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