Immigration and Education by Suet-ling Pong A Syrian immigrant community in Manhattan (1890s)
Major Migration Patterns in the Early 1990s
Immigration to the US (1900-2000) Eastern European gypsies in New York
Naturalization
Naturalization Rates (1992) Immigrants become US citizens at Ellis Island (1991)
A Rising Share of Students
Generations First Generation Second Generation Third+ Generation foreign-born Second Generation U.S. born, with foreign-born parents Third+ Generation U.S. born, with native parents 1.5 Generation foreign-born, arrived at age <6
Foreign-Born Student’s Country/Region
Characteristics of Immigrant School Children? They are poor They live in ethnic enclaves and attend resource-poor schools They do not speak English They perform poorly in school and their dropout rate is high
Sharp Poverty Increases among Immigrant Children 44% 33% 17% 12%
Percentage of Children in Metropolitan Area and Central City 83% 81% 61% 58%
Nearly 3/4 of all Immigrant Children are found in 6 states
Speak a Language Other than English at Home 75% 60% 3%
Theodore Roosevelt “We have room but for one language here, and that is the English language; for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, and not as dwellers of a polyglot boarding house.”
Speak a Language Other than English at Home 75% 60% 3%
LEP students
LEP Students are Concentrated in Linguistically Segregated Schools
Characteristics of Immigrant School Children Many are poor Many live in ethnic enclaves and attend resource-poor schools Many do not speak English What is their school performance?
Latino Immigrant youth (Conchas) Low-income, US-born Latino students Baldwin High School School programs: Advanced Placement Program Graphics Academy Medical Academy General Is there a connection between ethnic perceptions and school opportunity structures?
Hmong refugees (Lee) University Heights High School (public) in Wisconsin Compare 1.5 and 2nd generations Two groups: ESL students (newcomers) Americanized students (engaged in redefining what it means to be Hmong in America) Are Hmong “model minorities”? What explains their academic success / failure?
What helps Immigrant Students? Strong family Zhou & Bankston’s study of Vietnamese youth Effective Schools no segregation of LEP students ESL, Bilingual programs programs that promote good ethnic relations communicate high expectation
Types of Minorities (J. Ogbu) Autonomous minorities Jews, Mormons Voluntary / Immigrant minorities Chinese, Cubans, Japanese, Koreans, Filipinos Involuntary / Caste-like minorities Black Americans, Native Hawaiians, American Indians, Mexican Americans
Types of Minorities (cont.) Autonomous minorities cultural reference encourages education Voluntary / Immigrant minorities dual framework of reference accommodation without assimilation Involuntary / Caste-like minorities through slavery, conquest, colonization two opposing cultural framework of reference social and psychological pressures discourage academic success