Information Needs of Korean Immigrant Mothers in the United States for Their Children's College Preparation

Abstract

This study aims to understand the information needs of Korean immigrant mothers in the United States for their high school children's college preparation. A content analysis was conducted for the messages posted to a "motherhood" forum on the MissyUSA website. In total, 754 posts were analyzed in terms of a child's grade, college preparation stage, type of post, and topic of post. The study found that there is a range of information needed at different stages in a child's education. Many of the demonstrated information needs showed similarities to those of other immigrant groups, but there were also community-specific themes, such as an emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and standardized tests. The forum was mainly used for factual questions, not emotional support. We concluded that the findings of the study would help researchers in understanding immigrant information needs for the college application process and how information professionals and educators could combine the needs of different ethnic groups to create customized services for them.