Goodwin Professors Study Connecticut’s Polish-American Community
Dr. Lisa Wisniewski remembers the smell of the Polish food at New Britain’s annual Little Poland Festival. Dr. John Kania cherishes the tradition of coming together with family for a special meal before going to church on Christmas Eve. For both Goodwin University professors, these memories are closely connected to their strong sense of their Polish-American identity, a sense of kinship and tradition that informs research they have recently undertaken into the educational goals and outcomes among members of Connecticut’s thriving Polish-American community.
Dr. Wisniewski explains that, although a lot of scholarly work has been done around the history and immigration patterns of the Polish community in the United States, little work has been done to understand the attitudes about educational attainment among this community.
Dr. Wisniewski, who teaches Sociology, and Dr. Kania, who teaches English, discovered that they shared similar experiences growing up in the Polish diaspora communities in Connecticut and Massachusetts, even though they grew up in very different decades (Dr. W. is a millennial; Dr. K. is a boomer). Their discussions about their memories and experiences made them want to learn more. “What resources were available in the community for college?” asks Dr. Wisniewski. “What conversations were family members having about college? We found that there were limited resources, and we wanted to look into this further.”
Students from the Polish diaspora community are well represented at Goodwin University. One of the first international students at Goodwin was from Poland! In addition, the experiences of college students from this community are similar to those of first-generation college students. Dr. Wisniewski and Dr. Kania have learned that many first-gen students need specific supports to help them first get into college and then stay in college and get a degree. Their work continues to inform their understanding of these students’ experiences and allows them to provide resources to help them navigate the challenges of attending college. Their research also helps Dr. Wisniewski and Dr. Kania to minimize barriers that make it difficult for some of their students to complete their college degree.
In 2021, Dr. Wisniewski and Dr. Kania presented their research at the World Education Research Association (WERA) Conference. They also presented their work at a conference held by the European Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction, and they have authored a chapter about their research in a book about minority communities in the United States. These achievements, however, represent only the first steps of their efforts to deepen their understanding of the Polish Diaspora Communities in New England. Dr. Kania explains that, “while we have learned much through our work with the Polish communities in New Britain and Worcester there is still so much to be done. There are Polish communities in many other cities and towns in New England, including a new community in Salem, Massachusetts.”
Dr. Wisniewski and Dr. Kania’s research has allowed both professors to explore the rich heritage shared by Connecticut’s Polish-American community, while simultaneously enabling them to help the members of this community achieve their educational dreams for the future.
