As a result of increasing numbers of immigrants, Poland is currently in the process of transition from a predominantly mono-lingual/cultural to multilingual/cultural country. Consequently, a ...constantly rising number of foreign students is joining Polish schools, who face the need to adapt to new social and institutional settings. In response to this demographic trend, the main aim of this paper is to point to the role of different factors recognised as facilitating in the process of school adaptation in the case of immigrant students in the Polish educational system. The research participants, 23 Polish teachers of English, in semi-structured interviews, described over 60 cases of multilingual children they used to work with. Out of these, the accounts describing primary school learners who had adapted well to new educational environments were selected for qualitative analysis, conducted with the aid of NVivo Software. In this case study, the stories of four successful adaptations have been selected to illustrate the importance of factors recognised in the analysis as those which favourably assist the process of school adjustment. These include: (1) the individual dispositions of the newcomer, (2) the behaviours of their classmates, (3) the supportive actions of teachers, (4) parents’ engagement and assistance.
Using data from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 2009 Cohort, this study investigated the school readiness trajectories of 2,908 Head Start children from Head Start to kindergarten. ...Multilevel growth curve models examined differences by immigrant-origin status and the moderating role of enriching experiences. Research Findings: Immigrant-origin children demonstrated lower language and math skills at Head Start entry. However, the differences narrowed over time by accelerated gains in skills. Also, moderation analyses suggested that higher levels of enriching experiences, including community-based activities and family history/ethnic heritage talk, could potentially contribute to the school readiness of immigrant-origin children. Practice or Policy: Findings underscore that family resources may have implications for alleviating unequal opportunities and outcomes for immigrant-origin children, in particular.
This meta-analysis of 14 studies investigated the overall effects of parental influence indicators (i.e., parental psychological engagement, behavioral involvement, and socioeconomic status ...(SES)/educational level) on the achievement-related motivation of 5453 immigrant students. The meta-analysis further examined immigrant students' motivation as a mediator of the relationship between parental influences and student achievement. Potential moderators of the effects were also considered. The findings showed that parental influence indicators (i.e., psychological engagement, r = .22 CI0.16, 0.27, behavioral involvement, r = .23 CI0.14, 0.32, and SES/educational level, r = .07 CI0.02, 0.11) had the overall small effect on immigrant students' achievement-related motivation. School level had a small moderation effect on the relationship between parental psychological engagement and achievement-related motivation. Immigrant students' achievement-related motivation had a small mediation effect in the relationship between parental influences and student achievement (r = .10 CI0.06, 0.14). Parents' psychological engagement and behavioral involvement exerted a stronger effect than parental SES/education level, highlighting the importance of proximal parental influences on immigrant children's achievement-related motivation and achievement.
•Proximal parental engagement and involvement had small effects on immigrant students' achievement-related motivation.•Distal influence of parent's SES/education had a very small effect on immigrant students' achievement-related motivation.•School level moderated the relationship between parental engagement and immigrant students' achievement-related motivation.•Immigrant students' motivation had a small mediation effect in the relationship between parental influences and achievement.•Findings highlight the importance of proximal parental influence on immigrant students' educational outcomes.
This paper provides on-the-ground accounts of epistemic violence against Black immigrant children in mathematics classrooms. From a critical feminist perspective, we introduce Dotson’s notion of ...silencing as an enactment of epistemic violence. According to Dotson, one way to enact epistemic violence is to damage a particular group’s ability to speak and be heard. A successful act of communication depends on the audience’s willingness and ability to “hear” the speaker. Therefore, denying this reciprocity in communication is a form of epistemic violence. Using this conceptualization, we conducted a secondary data analysis from a larger study aimed at enhancing teachers’ knowledge and abilities to implement problem-solving teaching. We identify and characterize three practices of silencing Black immigrant students in Chilean mathematics classrooms that damage their agency as knowers and doers of mathematics. Beyond language issues, we show that silencing is a form of anti-Black onto-epistemic violence that prevents Black immigrant students from being recognized as legitimate subjects of knowledge in mathematics classrooms.
In this article the co-authors draw from three separate ethnographic studies in the U.S. South to expand the literature about how teachers understand and apply multiculturalism specifically when ...working with newcomer undocumented immigrant youth. The co-authors identify an implementation gap between what is known about critical multicultural education and how it is put into practice by educators, specifically in regions that can be characterized as constrained policy contexts. Findings from collective analyses of data across all three studies add to multicultural education literature by directly addressing the ways in which policies govern the everyday lives of newcomers and inform the practices of their teachers. Key findings that represent generative dispositions and practices among teachers of newcomer students were strategic teacher empathy and sociopolitical awareness. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for practice and future research.
This mixed-methods study examines school social workers' perceptions of immigration enforcement on the lives of immigrant students. The article builds upon previous sociological and education ...research about how the contexts of reception impact immigrant mobility, immigration enforcement, and the role of school-based personnel support for immigrant students. The paper examines the relationship between 517 school social workers' perception of the effects of immigration enforcement and their actions to improve equity for immigrant students. Relationships are compared using multiple regression analysis with and without state fixed effects. Findings reveal significant differences across some of the key constructs and relationships. Implications are discussed for school social workers in U.S. schools as they continue to promote equity for immigrant students.
With increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in today’s classrooms, a growing body of research continues to explore the varied ways in which digital tools and multiple modalities can tap into ...emergent bilingual students’ academic and linguistic strengths. To understand the empirical landscape of this growing research, the authors systematically reviewed the literature on emergent bilinguals and digital multimodal composition in secondary classrooms. Through an inductive approach, the authors analyzed 70 studies to understand key findings and characteristics of the extant research. Five main themes of findings emerged across the research. First, a majority of studies illustrated how digital multimodal composing supports emergent bilingual students’ identity expression. With expanded opportunities to share ideas through multiple modes, students used their projects to bridge transnational identities, (re)present themselves, and communicate in empowering ways. Second, nearly half of the studies emphasized how the integration of digital multimodal projects can reshape classrooms by challenging language ideologies, transforming the classroom as a locus for social justice, and expanding temporal and spatial boundaries as students compose for multiple audiences. Third, many studies demonstrated how emergent bilinguals develop as designers and leverage the unique semiotic resources of multiple modes when composing. Fourth, approximately a third of the studies showed how multimodal composition offers emergent bilinguals opportunities to expand their existing linguistic repertoires. Finally, a quarter of the studies illustrated the potential of multiple modes to mediate learning during composing processes. The authors discuss the implications of these themes and critical new directions for future research on digital multimodal composing with emergent bilingual students.
•Nuanced differences in health and wellbeing exist across various student groups in HK.•New immigrant students report poorer wellbeing, while cross-border students are resilient.•Parent-child ...interaction associates with different outcomes for different students.•Relationship with father is especially important for new immigrant students.•Relationship with teachers and peers are influential for all three student groups.
Cross-border students are a population born out of the unique geo-political context in Hong Kong. Given the complexity of their citizenship status, they reside in the border city of mainland China but attend school in Hong Kong, commuting between two cities daily. This special arrangement creates many challenges for their health and well-being. This study aimed to investigate the health and wellbeing of cross-border students as compared to new immigrant students (those born in mainland China but have resided in Hong Kong for less than seven years) and local students, and in relation to a range of family and school factors. Drawing upon data from a cross-sectional survey with 2,180 4th-9th grade students, the results of regression analyses suggested that residency status did matter for the health and wellbeing of students, as reflected by the nuanced differences in their self-rated health status, happiness and mental wellbeing. The study also identified a series of family and school factors which were positively associated with various outcome measures, and showed different strength of effects across the three groups of cross-border, new immigrant and local students. Implications of these research findings for service development and future research were also discussed.
In response to growing concerns about the impact of harsh immigration enforcement policy since the 2016 presidential campaign, we examined its overall impact on the nation’s schools, using survey ...data completed by over 3,600 educators across the country. Our study results show that immigration enforcement is affecting all students—both those from immigrant homes and those that are not. In particular, Title I schools are the most affected by immigration enforcement. Our results also show that the higher the percentage of White students, the more educators reported immigrant students being exposed to a hostile, anti-immigrant environment. We conclude that the current policy of immigration enforcement significantly dismantles an equitable education for all students and creates a critical threat to their futures.
