Building Welcoming and Inclusive Schools for Immigrant and Refugee Students: Policy, Framework and Promising Praxis

Author(s):  
Linyuan Guo-Brennan ◽  
Michael Guo-Brennan
2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dina Birman ◽  
Nellie Tran ◽  
Winnie Chan

2021 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-318
Author(s):  
ADRIANA VILLAVICENCIO ◽  
CHANDLER PATTON MIRANDA ◽  
JIA-LIN LIU ◽  
HUA-YU SEBASTIAN CHERNG

With the increasing numbers of immigrant and refugee students across the US K–12 system, the xenophobia of the current political climate, and the effects of COVID-19 on the immigrant community, it is critical to examine schools that serve immigrant students and their families. Drawing on case studies of two public high schools that exclusively serve immigrant students, authors Adriana Villavicencio, Chandler Patton Miranda, Jia-Lin Liu, and Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng examine how educators frame the current political context and how this frame informs their collective approach to engaging with and supporting families. The study finds that these schools shifted norms of parental engagement by proactively forging relationships with families, cultivating alliances with community partners, and mediating within families around challenges related to work and higher education to benefit the communities they serve. In so doing, these school actors have shifted the norms of parental engagement to center the perspectives, voices, and experiences of immigrant families.


Author(s):  
Alina Slapac ◽  
Sujin Kim ◽  
Sarah A. Coppersmith

This chapter examined a cohort of 12 in-service teachers' and three administrators' views in regards to areas of successes, challenges, and priorities in working with immigrant and refugee students and their families as a result of three professional development (PD) sessions that were offered as part of a federal grant-based research project. Qualitative data included field notes through participant observation of group discussions, informal conversations with the participants, PD activity materials, online reflective surveys after each PD session, a background and demographic checklist, and a final questionnaire of overall learning. The results showed the participants' growing sensitivity towards their students' and families' contexts, including academic and social supports, with a desire to promote and implement more linguistically and culturally responsive strategies within their practices and school districts.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-65
Author(s):  
Sam P.E. Hopp

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores are a leading international measure of achievement. This study reviews German 2015 PISA data and imputes scores on income and time in nation to provide comparisons between native, immigrant and refugee students. This quantitative study uses cultural capital to explain the association of independent variables to PISA scores for students, revealing an unexpected negative linear relationship between those variables. The results and significance of this study may assist those involved in policy for refugee populations and inform the strategies of test protocols and measures in a new global student paradigm.


2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-38
Author(s):  
Kendra J. Garrett ◽  
W. Randolph Herman

As a result of changes made in U.S. immigration policies in 1965, the number of immigrants and refugees entering the country has exploded, and many of them are now enrolled in baccalaureate social work programs. Social work educators have a dual responsibility to provide help and support for these foreign-born students while upholding the standards of the profession and preparing students to pass licensing examinations. Departments must discuss needs, expectations, challenges, and policies regarding academic requirements. Classroom strategies that ensure individual learning styles are enhanced by context-rich classroom exercises, a liberal use of writing, and a sensitive use of paraphrasing and collaborative learning. Advisors need to be aware of community resources available. Institutions should provide language and economic supports and culturally sensitive counseling centers. Baccalaureate social work educators must examine the unjust economic and social policies and lead the way in addressing barriers placed in the way of immigrant and refugee students.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-413
Author(s):  
Anna Katarzyna Wozniczka ◽  
Per-Åke Rosvall

Through a cross-national analysis of Iceland and Sweden, we investigate How are the two countries’ national and local educational systems ensuring access to education and social inclusion of immigrants and refugees? How do immigrant and refugee students talk about their agency in their classrooms, schools, and peer communities in rural contexts? Our analysis builds on fieldwork including classroom observations and interviews with immigrants (Iceland) and refugees (Sweden) aged 12–16 years, their teachers, and school principals, in four compulsory schools. The concept of ecology of equity is used to investigate power relations with regard to place and agency. The analysis also includes investigation of the politics of the teaching profession in response to students’ diversity. Findings show that although some students describe that they do not feel “othered,” the majority, especially refugee students in Sweden, do feel excluded from their peers. The Icelandic and Swedish rural schools are on their own in tackling issues of working with these students, despite the fact that their practices may lead to reinforcing inequalities between schools and regions of the two countries. In this sense, the approach of the two countries does not reflect the ideals of the Nordic welfare system.


2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shukri Nur ◽  
Mohamed Nur-Awaleh

This paper explored school principals’ responses in addressing the perceived educational needs of Somali immigrant/refugee students; and explored how school principals might seek to create culturally responsive and inclusive schools that build a partnership with Somali families. This qualitative exploratory study combined aspects of convenience and purposeful sampling to learn about how the school principals addressed the needs of the Somali immigrant students; and the extent to which they sought to create inclusive schools and build partnerships with the Somali families. We conducted interviews with a total of three school principals in three different schools who served these students and their families. This study shows that in the initial contact with Somali students, the school principals had very little awareness and experience in dealing with Somali refugee and immigrant students who continue to face challenges in adjusting into their schools. To address the educational needs of Somali students requires an approach that transcends the provision of ESL classes. It also requires a transformative leadership approach that advocates for the needs of both the students and the parents and seeks to establish multicultural and mentoring  programs which could play a role in better meeting the educational needs of all students.


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