Integration Of Immigrant Children Research Articles

Babylon by Bus? The dispersal of immigrant children in England, race and urban space (1960s–1980s)

ABSTRACTThe history of forced dispersal of immigrant children in England, which affected mostly non-Anglophone Asian pupils in areas such as Southall (West London) and Bradford (West Yorkshire) in the 1960s and 1970s has only very recently elicited the interest of historians. Mobilising archival material as well as interviews with formerly bussed pupils, this paper seeks to contribute to the ongoing debate on the education and integration of immigrant children in Britain. This it does by appraising dispersal policies from the point of view of State and bureaucratic simplifications wherein the Department of Education and Science urgently introduced some policies to assuage white fears of an immigrant takeover locally (Southall). It focuses on perceptions of “tax-payers rights”, at the heart of white autochthonous appreciations of the education system itself but which was largely denied to immigrant parents. Lastly, it analyses the extent to which, for the bussed pupils, racism on the playground was a lived norm, before studying the way how memories of bussing have shaped the interviewees’ identities in the long term.

Проблемы адаптации мигрантов в Испании в исследованиях зарубежных социологов

This article presents the results of studies of the process of adaptation of migrants in Spain by foreign sociologists. These results will be of interest to Russian scientists and politicians involved in the preparation of documents on the implementation of state policy and legal regulation in the field of integration of migrants into the Russian social space. The article shows the application of various migration theories existing in world science in the social environment of Spain. Particular attention is paid to the “Grow in Spain. Integration of immigrant children” longitudinal study project, implemented under the supervision of Alejandro Portes, one of the authors of the theory of segment assimilation. The effectiveness of longitudinal surveys of the second generation of migrants, carried out in the USA, has been confirmed. The process of adaptation is being considered in dynamics through the example of different generations of migrants and representatives of different cultures. The article shows factors identified by Spanish sociologists, which determine the process of adaptation and further integration. Particular attention is paid to access to education and the labor market, as well as to the absence of discrimination, the nature of resettlement, the information environment and the extent to which positive and negative ethnic and racial stereotypes are prevalent. The results of the surveys are examined separately by Spanish sociologists, as well as the significance of the ethnic and confessional affiliation of migrants arriving to the country, and the reasons causing difficulties for them in adaptation related to ethno-cultural differences. The article examines the Spanish experience of integration of the second generation of immigrants with regard to direct contact with the local population and the information space of the host community.

The educational performance of immigrant children at Czech schools

The integration of immigrant children into the education system is a process that is accompanied by serious debate, especially in advanced countries, which have large shares of immigrants and a long history of immigration. The poorer educational outcomes of foreign-born children are largely explained there through their socio-economically disadvantaged background compared to the native-born population. This article examines whether the observations for those countries also apply to the Czech Republic—a country with a relatively short immigration history and immigration flows from different source countries than those in Western Europe. Regression analyses conducted on PISA 2012 data focusing largely on the maths skills of 15-year-olds reveal that the performance of immigrant children in Czech schools roughly compares to that of their counterparts in Western Europe. While their PISA outcomes were lower than those of Czechs, this was because immigrant children have poorer conditions at home or in the classroom.

Shaping Occupational Possibilities for Norwegian Immigrant Children: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Elementary school education is a key occupational arena for the integration of immigrant children. In this study conducted in Norway, questions about how best to support the education of immigrant children arose partly due to their poorer performance in primary school testing. A critical discourse analysis of the construction of the problem of the educational gap between Norwegian and immigrant children was conducted drawing on a sample of 20 newspaper articles published in 2012 about educational matters in Oslo. The analysis deconstructed how issues related to immigrant children's performance were problematized, with particular foci on how occupation was drawn into solution frames and the occupational possibilities promoted for immigrant children and their families. Three problematizations of the educational gap were identified, with each locating the problem in a different rationale, specifically, linguistic deficiency, parental deficiency and spatial segregation. Within each problematization, although contrasting political rationalities emphasized individual or social solutions, occupations forwarded as means to address the gap and promote integration were narrowly defined in ways that focused on assimilation into Norwegian ways of doing and de-valued difference. Concerns are raised regarding the implications of this narrow framing of occupational possibilities for identity, well-being, and occupational marginalization of immigrant children and families.

A Study on Social Integration of Immigrant Children in Germany : Immigrant Parents’ Role in their Children's education

A Study on Social Integration of Immigrant Children in Germany : Immigrant Parents’ Role in their Children's education

Ценностная составляющая системы образования по Франции

The article examines which way the values in the educational system of France have been changing at various stages of its formation, particularly since 1980s. It refers to the problem of the immigration influence on the ongoing reforms in the school system. Special attention is paid to the problem of educational secularism and school reform during the presidency of François Hollande. The questions about the role of morality, the relationship between tradition and innovation in the school system are researched in the paper. In particular, the Charter of secularism prepared by Vincent Peillon is analyzed. Specifically the forms of enrolment and integration of immigrant children in schools and teaching them the French language are considered, from 1970s up to the present day. The teaching of French language acts as the main mechanism for the newcomers' integration. Changing forms of the immigrant children's adaptation are the convincing proof. Modern France faces a certain contradiction. On one hand, belonging to the most liberal countries continuing the tradition of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, it actively protects the values of freedom, openness to the world ideas, cultural interaction, etc., which is reflected primarily in the educational system. On the other hand, the real interpenetration of traditions and customs of different cultures which became possible due to the liberal migration policy begins to affect certain foundations, such as the secular character of the education system, equal rights for women and other, proper for the "traditional France". In conclusion, the interdependence between some problems of the modern French school and the immigration policy is stated in the article. This conclusion may be extended to the countries which accept a great number of the migrants. The experience of France, where the forms of the immigrant children integration are well functioning, becomes more and more demanded, also in Russia.

Segmented Assimilation, Transnationalism, and Educational Attainment of Brazilian Migrant Children in Japan

The process of international migration has recently become increasingly complex and diverse in many countries. In attempts to understand the complicated conditions for international migration, two important branches of theory have emerged: the segmented assimilation theory and theories of transnationalism. The segmented assimilation theory has emphasized that the trajectories of assimilation depend on the characteristics of the immigrants and the social environments for receiving these immigrants (Portes et al., 2005). The impact of transnationalism on educational attainment among immigrant children must also be considered, because recent technological developments in communication and transportation have enabled migrants to move regularly across borders and maintain their ties with people in the sending community (Tsuda, 2003). However, transnational activities among immigrants have not been conducted outside the local settings of immigrant communities (Itzigsohn and Saucedo, 2002). To understand the conditions for immigrants and their offspring, two important immigration theories must therefore be considered. These theoretical arguments, although useful in understanding immigrants in different settings, have been premised mainly on the experience of immigrants in the US. For instance, the model of downward assimilation in the segmented assimilation theory rests on the unique history of race relations in the US (Boyd, 2002). Widespread poverty and a high incidence of crime have been observed in American inner-city ghettos. While some immigrants in Europe reside in more deprived areas, these places have not been as seriously deprived, in terms of their social problems, as their US counterparts (Thomson and Crul, 2007). Furthermore, the segmented assimilation theory appears to neglect the national context within which immigrant children are accepted (Portes and Rumbaut, 2001). In contrast, research on immigrant children in European countries has revealed that national variations in educational systems can explain differing patterns of integration among immigrant children (Thomson and Crul, 2007). However, little is known about the integration of immigrant children in Asian countries, several of which have recently accepted large numbers of immigrants from other countries (Tsuda, 2006). The research on the educational attainment of immigrant offspring in Japan may contribute to the further development of immigration studies because the national context for the reception of immigrants differs widely between Asian and European countries (Skrentny et al., 2007).

Integration of Immigrant Children into Inter- ethnic Friendship Networks: The Role of ‘Intergenerational Openness’

Social network data from class-based interviews of N = 257 10-year-old students in N = 4382 directed dyads show that the propensity for being friends is moderately affected by ethnic heterogeneity. However, the likelihood of acquaintanceship among children’s parents is strongly reduced in ethnically heterogeneous dyads. This has been referred to as ‘intergenerational openness’ of networks in the work of J.S. Coleman. It will be shown that intergenerational openness has a strong negative association with mutual invitations to birthday parties, which are assumed to play an important role in the process of cross-generational social integration. Accordingly, intergenerational openness indicates a ‘gap in social integration’ between generations and corresponds negatively with the social integration of immigrant children.

‘Children at our school are integrated. No one sticks out’: Greek‐Cypriot teachers’ perceptions of integration of immigrant children in Cyprus

Increasingly social scientists, including education theorists, find themselves having to fight an almost invisible racism that is masked by the racist undertones of the dominant discourse and practice of colorblindness. A continuous emphasis on colorblindness gives precedence to the role of race, diverting attention away from other forms of discrimination which can become the basis for exclusion. I would argue that for such acts of marginalization, difference‐blindness may have more explanatory power. This paper discusses Greek‐Cypriot teachers’ perceptions of the integration of immigrant children in a Greek‐Cypriot public primary school through the framework of difference‐blindness. The discussion shows that despite their good intentions, teachers utilized a difference‐blind ideology to rationalize practices of social exclusion of non‐Cypriot students in what was considered an ‘integrated’ school environment.

Territories of integration: the children of immigrants in the schools of the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon

This article presents the responses given in several schools of the 1st Cycle of the Basic Education Level (children aged 6 to 10 years) of the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon relating to the issue of integration of immigrant children and children of immigrant descent. The goal was to establish the relationship between the geographical context where the school is located and the features of their immigrant population with the kind of responses on integration offered.

What a Difference Immigration Policy Makes: A Comparison of PISA Scores in Europe and Traditional Countries of Immigration

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to evaluate the importance of different immigration policies associated with corresponding migration backgrounds, command of national languages and intergenerational mobility, for the PISA school performance of teenagers living in European countries (France, Finland, Germany, United Kingdom and Sweden) and traditional countries of immigration (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US). Econometric results show that the influence of the socioeconomic background of parents differs strongly across nations, with the highest impact found for Germany, the UK and US, whereas intergenerational transmission of educational attainment is less likely in Scandinavian countries and in Canada. Moreover, for all countries our estimations imply that for students with a migration background a key for catching up is the language spoken at home. We conclude that educational policy should focus on integration of immigrant children in schools and preschools, with particular emphasis on language skills at the early stage of childhood.

Transatlantic Dialogue on Integration of Immigrant Children and Adolescents

Young immigrants will significantly influence the course of European and North American societies in coming decades. Demographic studies on either side of the Atlantic reveal growing populations of foreign-born children and young second-generation immigrants. In the United States children of immigrants make up 20 per cent of all youth. In Europe the second generation of Turkish immigrants alone totals 4 million. The integration of these young newcomers merits the attention of national governments not only because they number so many and will represent a large sector of society for such a long period but also because they are highly impressionable. Just as a positive experience early in life can increase the likelihood that they will become effective citizens in adulthood exclusion can lead to feelings of resentment and anger. International migration scholars and professionals gathered for two days in May 2004 to discuss the most promising policies to help young immigrants make the complicated transition to their new homelands. Experts from England Germany Italy France the Netherlands Poland Sweden Slovenia Canada and the United States explored the nature of some of the greatest challenges the responsibilities of national governments to help young immigrants overcome them and the best policies for doing so. (excerpt)

What a Difference Immigration Law Makes: PISA Results, Migration Background and Social Mobility in Europe and Traditional Countries of Immigration

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the importance of social class, migration background and command of national languages for the PISA school performance of teenagers living in European countries (France, Finland, Germany, United Kingdom, and Sweden) and traditional countries of immigration (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US). Econometric results show that the influence of the socioeconomic background of parents differs strongly across nations, with the highest impact found for Germany, the UK and US, whereas social mobility is more likely in Scandinavian countries and in Canada. Our empirical results imply that for students with a migration background a key for catching up is the language spoken at home. We conclude that educational policy should focus on integration of immigrant children in schools and preschools, with particular emphasis on language skills at the early stage of childhood.

PISA Results: What a Difference Immigration Law Makes

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the importance of social class, migration background and command of national languages for the PISA school performance of teenagers living in European countries (France, Finland, Germany, United Kingdom, and Sweden) and traditional countries of immigration (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US). Econometric results show that the influence of the socioeconomic background of parents differs strongly across nations, with the highest impact found for Germany, the UK and US, whereas social mobility is more likely in Scandinavian countries and in Canada. Moreover, for all countries our estimations imply that for students with a migration background a key for catching up is the language spoken at home. We conclude that educational policy should focus on integration of immigrant children in schools and preschools, with particular emphasis on language skills at the early stage of childhood.