Nancy Foner and Joanna Dreby’s research on immigrant families provides a powerful framework for understanding the cultural, emotional, and generational tensions Ghanaian American teens navigate daily. Although their study focuses broadly on immigrant families, the themes they document; generational dissonance, conflicting, discipline norms, academic pressure, family expectations and evolving identity, parallel the lived experiences of many Ghanaian American youths.
How do Ghanaian Americans describe handle being “Too African” especially in school settings.
Ghanaian American teens often experience being labeled “too African” in school environments because their behaviors, accents, or home expectations contrast with mainstream American norms. The article’s discussion of generational dissonance helps explain these tensions: immigrant parents often “hold up an idealized version of traditional values and customs as a model, even when these values and traditions have undergone considerable change since they left the home country.” For teens, the discipline, formality, and respect emphasized at home can seem out of step with U.S. school culture, where informality and individual expression are the norm. This mismatch causes peers to perceive Ghanaian teens as “overly strict,” “too proper,” or culturally different, reinforcing feelings of being foreign or out of place.
Do my parents think I am “Too American?”
At home, the same teens may be criticized for acting “too American,” especially when they adopt behaviors learned in school or through peer interactions. Foner and Dreby note that conflict often arises when “children’s learning of American ways outstrips their parents,” creating frustrations for adults who fear cultural loss. Parents’ intense academic expectations, very common in many Ghanaian and other African immigrant households, can amplify tension when teens internalize more relaxed U.S. attitudes toward schooling or career choice. When children question rules, pursue independence, or challenge traditions, parents often interpret these behaviors as Americanized disobedience, deepening the feeling that teens no longer fully belong at home.
Where does culture factor into this?
Language and discipline are among the clearest markers of identity tension. Immigrant parents may see strict discipline, respect for elders, and formal manners as essential cultural foundations, while teens absorb American norms where “childrearing norms are generally more permissive.” Schools often view Ghanaian or African parenting styles, especially directness or strictness, as overly harsh, leading teens to soften their cultural behaviors to fit in. Religious and cultural practices, such as church involvement or communal responsibility, further highlight differences: while vital in Ghanaian homes, these practices may feel separate from the secular, individualistic school environment. These contracts reinforce the sense of switching identities depending on the setting.
Diving more into Intersectionality: race, gender, immigrant generation etc.
First-generation adolescents may feel a stronger pull toward Ghanaian norms due to direct ties to the homeland, while second-generation youth often face more internal conflict about authenticity or acceptance. Gender expectations influence how independence, discipline and respect are interpreted within the family, often placing different pressures on boys and girls. Finally, as Black youth in America, Ghanaian Americans navigate racialized stereotypes and structural inequalities that overlay their cultural negotiations. These intersecting identities interact to produce a uniquely complex form of belonging that is continually negotiated across home and school contexts.