Youth invisible work: the sociocultural and collaborative processes of online search and brokering between adolescents and English-language learning families
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-01-2022-0004 |
| Published date | 15 July 2022 |
| Date | 15 July 2022 |
| Pages | 330-350 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services |
| Author | Jason Yip,Wendy Roldan,Carmen Gonzalez,Laura R. Pina,Maria Ruiz,Paola Vanegas |
Youth invisible work: the
sociocultural and collaborative
processes of online search and
brokering between adolescents and
English-language learning families
Jason Yip
The Information School, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Wendy Roldan
Department of Human-Centered Design and Engineering,
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Carmen Gonzalez
Department of Communication, University of Washington,
Seattle, Washington, USA
Laura R. Pina
Department of Human-Centered Design and Engineering,
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA, and
Maria Ruiz and Paola Vanegas
The Information School, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Abstract
Purpose –This study aims to investigate the collaborationprocesses of immigrant families as they search
for online information together. Immigrant English-language learning adults of lower socioeconomic status
often work collaboratively with their children to search the internet. Family members rely on each other’s
language and digitalliteracy skills in this collaborative processknown as online search and brokering (OSB).
While previous work has identified ecological factors that impact OSB, research has not yet distilled the
specific learningprocesses behind such collaborations.
Design/methodology/approach –For this study, the authors adhere to practices of a case study
examination. This study’s participants included parents, grandparents and children aged 10–17 years. Most adults
were born in Mexico, did not have a college-degree, worked in service industries and represented a lower-SES
population. This study conducted two to three separate in-home family visits per family with interviews and online
search tasks.
Findings –From a case study analysis of three families, this paper explores the funds of knowledge,
resilience, ecological supportand challenges that children and parents face, as they engage in collaborative
The authors would like to acknowledge their community partner, the Latino Educational Training
Institute (LETI), and all the families and children who participated in this research. The authors
would also like to thank Dr Lori Takeuchi and Dr Vikki Katz for their intellectual guidance and
mentorship. This work was financially supported by a Google Faculty Research Award, a University
of Washington Royalty Research Fund Award, a National Science Foundation Graduate Research
Fellowship and a National Science Foundation CAREER Award: #1941679.
ILS
123,7/8
330
Received11 January 2022
Revised28 May 2022
16June 2022
Accepted17 June 2022
Informationand Learning
Sciences
Vol.123 No. 7/8, 2022
pp. 330-350
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-01-2022-0004
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2398-5348.htm
OSB experiences. This study demonstrates how in-home computer-supported collaborative processes are
often informal,social, emotional and highly relevant to solving informationchallenges.
Research limitations/implications –An intergenerationalOSB process is different from collaborative
online information problem-solving that happens between classroom peers or coworkers. This study’s
research shows how both parentsand children draw on their funds of knowledge, resilience and ecological
support systems whenthey search collaboratively, with and for their family members, to problem solve. This
is a case study of three families workingin collaboration with each other. This case study informs analytical
generalizationsand theory-building rather thanstatistical generalizations about families.
Practical implications –Designers needto recognize thatchildren and youth are using the same tools as
adults to seek high-level critical information. This study’s model suggests that if parents and children are
negotiating informationseeking with the same technology tools but different funds of knowledge, experience
levels and skills, the presentationof information (e.g. online search results, informationvisualizations) needs
to accommodate different levels of understanding. This study recommends designers work closely with
marginalized communities through participatory design methods to better understand how interfaces and
visualscan help accommodate youth invisible work.
Social implications –The authors have demonstratedin this study that learning and engagingin family
online searching is not only vital to the development of individual and digital literacy skills,it is a part of
family learning. Whilecommunity services, libraries and schools have a responsibilityto support individual
digital and information literacy development, this study’s model highlights the need to recognize funds of
knowledge, family resiliency and asset-based learning. Schools and teachers should identify and harness
youth invisiblework as a form of learning at home. The authorsbelieve educators can do this by highlighting
the importanceof information problem solving in homes and youth in their families. Libraries and community
centers also play a criticalrole in supporting parents and adults for technical assistance(e.g. WiFi access) and
informationresources.
Originality/value –This study’s work indicates new conditions fostering productive joint media
engagement (JME) aroundOSB. This study contributes a generative understanding thatpromotes studying
and designingfor JME, where family responsibilityis the focus.
Keywords Children and families, Information problem-solving, Internet searching,
Joint media engagement
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Socioeconomic status (SES) inequalities are increasing among the US families (Islam and
Safavi, 2019), leadingto increased pressure for families with lower-SES backgroundsto find
ways to manage their well-being. Adult family members rely on their children to
collaboratively care for critical family needs, depending upon youth’s invisible work, such
as youth working multiple jobs (Lerman, 2000), being caretakers (Hafford, 2010) and
translating (Guan et al.,2014). In the digital era, information communication technologies
(ICTs) are integrating into the livelihoods of families. Specifically, ICTs now play a larger
role in collaboration among diverse families, such as digital media brokering (Katz, 2014),
children teaching parents how to use technologies (Correa, 2014) and families using social
media for transnational communication (Garg and Sengupta, 2019). ICTs generally allow
families easier access to digital information, but obtaining and interpreting reliable
information can alsobe challenging (Pina et al., 2018).
Today, approximately 8-million US children have at least one immigrant parent who is
an English-language learner (ELL) (Zong et al.,2018). Lower-SES immigrant parents often
rely on their children’s languageand digital literacy skills to address family needs (Gonzalez
et al.,2020;Eksner and Orellana, 2012;Katz, 2014). Adults and children work together to
search the internet, in a collaborative information problem-solving process we call online
search and brokering (OSB) (Pina et al., 2018;Yip et al.,2016). Children’s responsibilities
extend beyond traditional chores to acting as the primary problem-solver when searching
Youth
invisible work
331
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