Stories of Young Migrants' Cross-Cultural Educational Transitions

<p>New Zealand society can benefit socially, culturally and economically when migrants feel as if they belong and are included. Given that Aotearoa/New Zealand is becoming increasingly multicultural, it is important that the education system meets the needs of migrants and makes them feel that they are included. Previous research has shown that this is not always the case – that migrants do not always feel that they belong at school in New Zealand. Much of the literature that has investigated migrants’ educational transition experiences has conceptualised “belonging” and “identity” as fixed states. This research took a different approach and used a narrative inquiry method underpinned by social constructionism. The purpose of this research was to contribute to our understandings of migrants’ transitions into the New Zealand education system. The study had three aims. The first was to investigate the stories young migrants told about their transition to secondary school in New Zealand; the second was to look at how belonging and inclusion were narrated by the participants; the third was to examine how the education system could better develop a culture of inclusion. Seven young migrants who moved to New Zealand when they were secondary school age took part in this research. The participants were from countries in South East Asia, East Asia and the Pacific Islands. Their stories were gathered through narrative interviews. The interviews were initially analysed individually and were presented as summaries. Next, analysis across the interviews was conducted, with a particular focus on looking at how the stories were performed. Based on my interaction with the stories, I described three of the stories as “opening up” stories and four as “closing down” stories. Those who told “opening up” stories had many connections to people and opportunities to tell their stories. They positioned themselves as belonging at school. Those who told “closing down” stories appeared to have had fewer opportunities to share their stories with others compared to those who told “opening up” stories. These individuals positioned themselves as socially isolated. The way the participants’ stories were performed in the interviews was also related to the previous storytelling opportunities the participants had access to. Some of the stories participants told about their lives in their home countries became unavailable to tell in the New Zealand context and, as a result, these stories had to change when they migrated. This study suggests that, in order to tell new stories, migrants need opportunities to interact with other New Zealanders to create and practise new storylines. Furthermore, New Zealanders also need to be able to tell new stories about themselves and find ways to connect with migrants in order to promote a culture of belonging. A relational view of identity and belonging is presented, in which these are conceptualised as negotiated processes that can occur through stories. It is suggested that it would be beneficial if spaces within the education system were created in order to allow new possible storylines to emerge which support a culture of belonging.</p>

Stories of Young Migrants' Cross-Cultural Educational Transitions

<p>New Zealand society can benefit socially, culturally and economically when migrants feel as if they belong and are included. Given that Aotearoa/New Zealand is becoming increasingly multicultural, it is important that the education system meets the needs of migrants and makes them feel that they are included. Previous research has shown that this is not always the case – that migrants do not always feel that they belong at school in New Zealand. Much of the literature that has investigated migrants’ educational transition experiences has conceptualised “belonging” and “identity” as fixed states. This research took a different approach and used a narrative inquiry method underpinned by social constructionism. The purpose of this research was to contribute to our understandings of migrants’ transitions into the New Zealand education system. The study had three aims. The first was to investigate the stories young migrants told about their transition to secondary school in New Zealand; the second was to look at how belonging and inclusion were narrated by the participants; the third was to examine how the education system could better develop a culture of inclusion. Seven young migrants who moved to New Zealand when they were secondary school age took part in this research. The participants were from countries in South East Asia, East Asia and the Pacific Islands. Their stories were gathered through narrative interviews. The interviews were initially analysed individually and were presented as summaries. Next, analysis across the interviews was conducted, with a particular focus on looking at how the stories were performed. Based on my interaction with the stories, I described three of the stories as “opening up” stories and four as “closing down” stories. Those who told “opening up” stories had many connections to people and opportunities to tell their stories. They positioned themselves as belonging at school. Those who told “closing down” stories appeared to have had fewer opportunities to share their stories with others compared to those who told “opening up” stories. These individuals positioned themselves as socially isolated. The way the participants’ stories were performed in the interviews was also related to the previous storytelling opportunities the participants had access to. Some of the stories participants told about their lives in their home countries became unavailable to tell in the New Zealand context and, as a result, these stories had to change when they migrated. This study suggests that, in order to tell new stories, migrants need opportunities to interact with other New Zealanders to create and practise new storylines. Furthermore, New Zealanders also need to be able to tell new stories about themselves and find ways to connect with migrants in order to promote a culture of belonging. A relational view of identity and belonging is presented, in which these are conceptualised as negotiated processes that can occur through stories. It is suggested that it would be beneficial if spaces within the education system were created in order to allow new possible storylines to emerge which support a culture of belonging.</p>

Predominant Challenges of COVID-19 to Students’ Personal Learning Endeavors: Illustrative Case Study in a Philippine University

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic created psychological chaos, social distress, and emotional disturbances to the students worldwide which affected their pursuit to focus on their learning goals. This article examines the psychosocial, educational, and other related challenges of the current crisis which threaten the space for learning heuristics and personal well-being of university students. Methods: The study applied an illustrative case study design to describe the real-life situations of the students in from a state university in the Philippines during the early stages of a phenomenal health event in history. Results: Result indicates that COVID-19 posits detrimental effects to the students’ educational cycles and psycho-social well-being as they felt drowned, trapped, and annihilated at the arrival of COVID-19. Aside from the psychological dilemma, students also deal with emotional, virtual, social, technical, and educational-related challenges. Conclusions: The educational momentum of these particular students declined due to unprecedented educational transitions, decreased motivation for their studies, complexities experienced in the emergency online learning environments, and multiplex health and digital issues.

Barns övergång från förskola till skola

The aim of this study was to investigate the parents’ perspectives of children’s transitions from preschool to school (preschool class and recreation centre) in two Swedish municipalities. The aim was also to investigate the importance of transition activities from the parents’ perspectives. In this study, a transition is understood as a mesosystem, a discontinuity and a non-linear process. A questionnaire with close-ended questions in paper form was constructed and distributed to the parents with the help of the heads and teachers. 131 parents, whose children had recently moved from preschool to school, received the questionnaire, while 70 parents answered it. The data was statistically analysed. The results showed that i) the parents, with few exceptions, experienced children’s transitions as safe and well-functioning, ii) about half of the parents felt some concern or concern in conjunction with the children’s transitions, iii) the parents of children in need of extra support and/or extra stimulation and challenges felt some concern or were concerned more often and iv), overall, the parents considered transition activities to be important. The study has relevance for staff working in preschools and schools, heads and teachers in training, researchers and others interested in educational transitions and transition activities.

Smooth, Staggered, or Stopped?

Year on year, incremental progress is the gold standard of education. While policies are in place to address any possible anticipated interruption in overall learner journeys, smooth transitions through an individual’s schooling career are a key aim for education programs the world over. New analysis from a longitudinal study of South African youth suggests that just under half of all learners are following this smooth type of pathway through schooling, with the rest following three other distinct progression routes. This chapter provides the first in-depth look at what young people are doing, how they move through the education system, and how background and school-level characteristics influence those pathways. The study attempts to look beyond the predictable pattern of “achievement begetting achievement” and demonstrates that educational expectations matter and that the school attended need not. Together, the results paint a complex picture of educational transitions where advantage operates but so too does the notion of “beating the odds.”

Young Adult Development at the School-to-Work Transition

School-to-work (STW) pathways and transitions are key developmental processes in young adulthood. During this time, young adults face multiple choices and challenges. Young Adult Development at the School-to-Work Transition describes pathways for students to successfully transition to the work environment. The book examines social, economic, cultural, familial, contextual, and personal factors that shape the processes involved in the school-to-work transition. Internationally renowned scholars in the fields of developmental psychology, applied psychology, counseling, and sociology have contributed chapters focusing on theory, research, and application related to school-to-work and educational transitions. The book also gives attention to groups who have particular transition needs, including young adults with disabilities and special needs, cultural minorities, international students, and migrants.

A primer on gathering and analysing multi-level quantitative evidence for differential student outcomes in higher education

A significant challenge currently facing the higher education sector is how to address differential student outcomes in terms of attainment and continuation gaps at various stages of students’ transitions. Worryingly, there appears to be a ‘deficit’ discourse among some university staff in which differential outcomes are perceived to be due to student deficiencies. This may be exacerbated by institutional analyses placing an over-emphasis on the presence of the gaps rather than the causes. The purpose of this primer is to provide advice about how institutions can carry out far more nuanced analyses of their institutional data without requiring specialist software or expertise. Drawing on a multi-level framework for explaining differential outcomes, we begin with guidance for gathering quantitative data on explanatory factors for attainment and continuation gaps, largely by linking sources of internal data that have not previously been connected. Using illustrative examples, we then provide tutorials for how to model explanatory factors employing IBM SPSS Statistics (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) to perform and interpret regression and meta-regression analyses of individual- and group-level (aggregated) student data, combined with data on micro- and meso-level factors. We propose that university staff with strategic responsibilities could use these approaches with their institutional data, and the findings could then inform the design of context-specific interventions that focus on changing practices associated with gaps. In doing so, institutions could enhance the evidence-base, raise awareness, and further ‘embed the agenda’ when it comes to understanding potential reasons for differential student outcomes during educational transitions.