making migration work

PEABODY JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, 85:535-551,2010 RoutledgeCopyright @ Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

ISSN: 0161-956X print 1 1532-7930 online Taylor&Francis Group

DOE: 10.1080/0161956X.2010.518053

Making Migration Work

Marcelo M. Su6rez-Orozco and Carola Sudrez-Orozco

New York University and the Institute for Advanced Study

Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj

New York University

Schools the world over are being transformed by growing numbers of immigrant-origin children.

As schools face the challenge of educating linguistically, culturally, and racially diverse students,

globalization imposes yet another set of demands on education. In this article we examine the varied

pathways taken by immigrant-origin children. We outline some of the most critical contributors

shaping their transition to new countries with a specific focus on education and schooling and explore

some promising practices in a variety of national contexts and domains of immigrant life.

The world is on the move. As we enter the second decade of the 21st century the lives of much

more than a billion people are shaped by the experience of migration: 214 million as transnational

migrants (see Figure 1), approximately 740 million as internal migrants, and millions more as

immediate relatives left behind (United Nations Development Programme, 2009).

Although mass migration is reshaping economies and societies the world over, many facets of

inmigration remain overlooked, misunderstood, or neglected. The dominant approaches to the

scholarly study of mass migration tend to privilege labor factors; economic variables; demographic

forces; and in recent years border controls, undocumented immigration, and immigration qua

security (M. Sudrez-Orozco, Suftez-Orozco, & Qin, 2005). Although these approaches have

generated some scholarly consensus, important aspects of mass migration remain unexplored.

Labor and economic variables are powerful vectors structuring mass migration, yet reducing

migration to workers mechanically summoned and dismissed at the whim of the business cycle

profoundly neglects one of the more complex and defining issues of our times. Immigration is

never solely about workers-it is about human beings.The most fundamental and indivisible unit of migration is the family-variously conceived

and structured in different regions of the world. Although at the manifest level immigration is

often driven by labor, demographic, and economic variables (inter alia, segmented economies

and wage differentials), at the latent level immigration's enduring root is the family. Immigration

is an ethical act of, and for, the family. Immigration typically starts with the family, and family

Correspondence should be sent to Marcelo M. Sudrez-Orozco, Immigration Studies @ NYU, New York University,

726 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10003. E-mail: mso3 @nyu.edu

536 M. M. SUAREZ-OROzCO, c. SUAREZ-OROZCO, AND C. SATI_-BAJAj

Global Migration 1990-2010

220-

210-(0

200

.0 190-

180

017017

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

YearFIGURE 1 Growth of global migration. Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

bonds sustain it. Immigration will profoundly change families as well as the societies in whichimmigrants settle.

The children of immigrants are the fruit borne of immigration (C. Sudrez-Orozco & Su9rez-Orozco, 2002). These children are a fast-growing sector of the youth population in nearly everyimmigration-dependant country today, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, the Nether-lands, Spain, and Sweden. In the United States, the country with the largest number of immigrantsin the world, approximately one fourth of all youth are of immigrant origin (16 million in 2010),and it is projected that by 2040 more than one third of all children will be growing up in immi-grant households (Hermindez, Denton, & Macartney, 2007). The transition of immigrant originchildren to their new societies is a topic of scholarly interest and policy relevance. The socialand educational outcomes of immigrant youth will vary substantially depending upon the spe-cific constellation of incoming resources and the settlement context. Given the dramatic changesthat have taken place in the geography of immigration in recent years, understanding the con-texts of reception has never been more critical. This article is a contribution to this neglectedprobleinatique in the field of migration studies.

Schools in cities and suburbs, large and small, from Nashville to Naples, from Barcelonato Beijing, from Sydney to Toronto, are being transformed by growing numbers of immigrant-origin children (Meier & Morehouse, 2008). Just as schools face the challenge of educatinglinguistically, culturally, and racially diverse students, the process of globalization imposes yet

MAKING MIGRATION WORK 537

another demand on education. Schools today must nurture ever more complex skills, competen-

cies, and sensibilities in students to equip them to engage in the globally linked economies and

societies of our time, and prepare them to become globally conscious and competent citizens

facing increasingly complex problems and choices in the public and political spheres (Cheng,

2007; Hugonnier, 2007; Levy & Murnane, 2007). Nearly all high-income countries in the world

today are encountering an unprecedented responsibility and opportunity to, educate large and

growing numbers of diverse immigrant-origin students to higher levels of proficiency at a time of

economic upheaval and cultural malaise (M. SuArez-Orozco & Sattin-Bajaj, 2010). To effectively

support these students' academic achievement and development, educators require a firmer grasp

of the cultural psychology of immigration, the vicissitudes of immigrant academic language

acquisition, a greater degree of pedagogical flexibility, cultural competency, and responsiveness

than has been previously demanded of them.In this article we examine the varied pathways taken by immigrant-origin children. We outline

some of the most critical contributors shaping their transition to new countries with a specific focus

on education and schooling and explore some promising practices in a variety of national contexts

and domains of immigrant life. Although there is a considerable range of supports to facilitate

immigrantfamilies' integration, here we highlight a few examples of particularly successful efforts

related to immigrant children's education in diverse settings. The specific programs described

in this article were studied as part of a larger project identifying novel integration strategies

currently implemented in various countries across the globe (see C. Sufrez-Orozco, Su6rez-

Orozco, & Sattin-Bajaj, 2009, for the published report; see also http://www.academicwebpages.

com/preview/pathways/). We began by developing broad categories integration, including (a)

Orientation to the New Society, (b) Educational Efforts Oriented towards Parents, (c) School-

based Practices Oriented towards Children & Youth, (d) After-school Activities for Children

& Youth, and (e) Efforts towards Improving Perceptions of Immigrants. Then, for each of the

five categories, we created more narrow domains of focus and investigated strong exemplars of

practice. We reviewed the existing research and evaluations in the field that identified promising

policies and programs for new immigrants. When possible, we relied on the previous work of

well-reputed institutions such as the Bertlesmann Foundation, the Migration Policy Institute,

Eurydice, Metropolis, and others to point us in the direction of exemplary programs. Eventually,

we consolidated the existing reviews into a comprehensive list of promising practices and, in

some cases, conducted interviews and site visits in different countries to develop more detailed

understandings of the work of certain organizations. Some of the programs included in our

larger study have been widely recognized and received major international awards for exemplary

practice with immigrants; others are smaller scale projects in the initial stages. The study was not

meant to serve as an exhaustive review of all programs available to immigrants or as an evaluation

project; instead we hoped to sketch a general panorama of the areas of support currently available

and highlight a sample of successful approaches.The programs we chose to feature for this article represent some of the most innovative

practices in the educational domains of immigrant integration. These programs are found in

countries that share the experience of receiving large numbers of immigrant families yet differ

quite dramatically in terms of history of immigration; formal immigration and integration policies;

cultural, religious, linguistic, and ethnic traditions; and, perhaps most important, the geographic,

cultural, educational, and religious backgrounds of the immigrants they are receiving. Canada, for

538 M. M. SUARBz-ORoZCO, C. SUAREz-OROZCO, AND C. SAT=IN-BAiAJ

example, is a country founded on immigration and has some of the most progressive integrationpolicies and wide-ranging supports available to immigrants. The United States, on the other hand,has no formal immigrant integration policies despite its long history as a country of immigrants.'Instead, states, local governments, and community organizations are left to respond to new arrivalswith limited federal support, guidance, or oversight. As a result of its selective immigration policy,however, immigrants to Canada are some of the most highly skilled and highly educated peoplein the country, whereas family reunification drives the majority of authorized immigration to theUnited States-a population that is less highly selected in terms of educational background. Inthis article we highlight a forward-thinking language policy implemented in schools in BritishColumbia, a heritage language program in New York City for Francophone youth, and a parenteducation and engagement program in Texas that has demonstrated some strong results.

We also chose to profile a program in Austria and one in the Netherlands. These programs dealwith essential yet frequently overlooked aspects of immigrant families' integration experiences.In Austria, a country that has a more limited history of receiving immigrants, families fromTurkey, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans have been settling in unprecedented numbers in recentdecades after a temporary guest-worker program led to more permanent residence. Initiatives likethe "Moms Learn German" program, sponsored by the Viennese government, are emerging withincreasing regularity despite the highly politicized nature of immigration policies and politicsin that country. Finally, the Netherlands represents an interesting country falling somewhere inthe middle of the spectrum historically and politically: not founded on immigration like theUnited States and Canada, but more experienced at hosting newcomers than Austria given long-standing guest-worker programs and, more important, its relations with the former colonies.Large numbers of immigrants primarily from Turkey, Morocco, and the former Dutch coloniesnow compose nearly one third of the population in some Dutch cities. Moreover, immigrantchildren now make up approximately half of primary school children in the largest four citiesin the Netherlands (Ladd, Fiske, & Ruijs, 2010). The youth mentoring program profiled nextrepresents an important step by community organizations in the Netherlands to respond to poorschool completion rates and other troubling academic trends among immigrant-origin youth.

Immigrant-origin youth arrive in new destinations with distinct social and cultural resources:Typically they bring optimism (Kao & Tienda, 1995), high aspirations for education (C. Sudrez-Orozco & Sudrez-Orozco, 1995), meta-cognitive advantages afforded by a dual frame of reference(Sommer, 2004), skills for developing relationships to help them negotiate unfamiliar territories(Siissmuth, 2007), and the abilities needed to navigate across difficult circumstances. Optimism,high aspirations, dedicated hard work, positive attitudes toward school, and the ethic of familysupport for learning contribute to the fact that some immigrant youth in some countries educa-tionally outperform their native-born peers of comparable backgrounds (Kasinitz, Mollenkopf,Waters, & Holdaway, 2008; Portes & Rumbaut, 1996,2001; C. Su6xez-Orozco, Su6rez-Orozco,& Todorova, 2008). All too many immigrant youth, however, encounter a myriad of challenges,among them economic stressors, language difficulties, family separations, underresourced neigh-borhoods, segregated schools, undocumented status, and xenophobia. These students frequentlystruggle to gain their bearings in an educational system that too often puts them on a path tomarginality, anomie, and frustrated ambitions.

llrorically, the truly muscular policies supporting immigrant origin youth in place today originate with the greatstruggles for civil rights spearheaded by African American leaders and codified in the Civil Rights Act.

SMAKING MIGRATION WORK 539

Today, immigrant youth are departing from multiple points of origin and arriving in mul-

tiple destinations across the globe. Some of the new countries of immigration have negligible

experience receiving immigrants. Yet other countries facing large-scale immigration today have

the long-view on immigration. Seemingly everywhere, newcomer immigrants are adding novel

threads of cultural, linguistic, religious, and racial difference to the social tapestry of their new

societies. In New York City, Berlin, and London, diversity defines the demographic, social,

and cultural spheres. In New York City, half the children in schools originate in immigrant

homes-representing a breathtaking 190 countries and territories and speaking more than 170

distinct languages. In Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague, two thirds of all children in schools

come from immigrant-origin homes; in Paris one third of children are of immigrant origin; and

in Copenhagen one fifth are of immigrant origin. Some are the children of educated professional

parents (such as Indians in California), whereas others may have illiterate parents (such as Kurds

in Norway). Some received excellent schooling (such as the children of migrants from Hong

Kong in Vancouver), whereas others left educational systems that were in shambles (such as the

children of migrants from Somalia in Stockholm). Some escaped political, religious, or ethnic

persecution (such as Iraqi children in Jordan); others are motivated by the promise of better jobs

and better educational opportunities (such as Uzbek children in the Russian Federation). Some

are documented migrants, whereas others are unauthorized young migrants (there are perhaps 2

million such children in the United States today; see Gonzalez, 2009). Some join well-established

communities with robust social supports (such as Cubans in Miami), whereas others move from

one migrant camp to another, forcing students to change schools frequently. The pathways and

outcomes of immigrant youth will vary greatly as a function of their incoming resources and the

receiving context in the new society.In the past two decades, a growing number of cities, towns, and even entire countries that

had no previous history incorporating immigrant students and families into their! communities,

neighborhoods, and schools have experienced a virtual explosion in the number of immigrant-

origin residents. In the United States, for example, between 2000 and 2007, the largest growth in

the foreign-bom population took place in the so-called new destination states of South Carolina

(63.8% growth), Arkansas (60.7% growth), Nevada (57.2% growth), Tennessee (56.9% growth),

and Alabama (56.4% growth; Terraza & Batalova, 2008). Proportionally the Southern states have

experienced the most dramatic change: the growth of its Latino origin population (two thirds

of them immigrants or the children of immigrants) tells the story of how this new migration is

changing the region (see Tables 1 and 2).

TABLE 1

Hispanic Population by Region, 2006

Rank Region Population Size

1 West 18,864, 823

2 South 15,376,215

3 Northeast 6,102,314

4 Midwest 3,977, 686

Note. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates, July 1, 2006.

540 M. M. SUAREZ-OROZCO, c. SutAREZ-OROZCO, AND C. SAnTIN-BAJAJ

TABLE 2Percentage of Population Change, 2000 to 2006

Rank Region U.S. Population Hispanic Population

1 West 9.3% 21.8%2 South 8.5% 31.2%3 Northeast 2.0% 15.1%4 Midwest 2.7% 26.1%

Total 6.1% 24.3%

Note. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates, July 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006.

But the Southern United States is not unique in this regard. Across the Atlantic, Spain isanother illustrative case of mass migration to new destinations. In the past 25 years, Spain hastransitioned from a country of net emigration to one of rapidly growing immigration, emerging asa preferred destination for many immigrants, particularly from South America, Eastern Europe,and Africa (Arango, 2004). The foreign-born population in Spain is one of the fastest growingin Europe, comprising approximately 12% of the total Spanish population in 2009 (InstitutoNacional de Estadfsticas, 2009).

CONTEXTS OF DEVELOPMENT

The academic trajectories of all youth, immigrants included, are determined by their own agency,efforts, and talents, and very importantly by the contexts in which they develop (Bronfenbrenner &Morris, 1998). In particular, theirproximal family, school, and neighborhood contexts in combina-tion with individual characteristics are linked to widely different academic and social trajectories.The academic trajectories and performance of immigrant-origin students are determined by analchemy of family background variables, neighborhood factors, the character and quality ofschools they encounter, second language acquisition challenges, student engagement, and rela-tional supports. Taken together these factors serve to bolster or, conversely, undermine academicadaptation and success.

Family Background

Parental Education

Immigrants arrive in new countries with varied levels of human capital. On one end of thespectrum, we find families from highly educated, upper status urban backgrounds (see Table 3).In the United States today, immigrants represent one fourth of all physicians, 40% of engineers,and one third of people with doctorates (Roberts, 2010).

The children of such skilled migrants will typically arrive with high levels of literacy and well-developed study skills. Their parents are well equipped to guide them in how to study, access,and make meaning of data and information and can provide resources including additional


TABLE 3

Educational Attainment of Principal Foreign Nationalities in 2000

Country Total % College % High School % Immigrated

of Birth Persons Graduatesa Graduatesa 1990-2000

Total Native-born 250,288,425 24.4 83.3

Total foreign-born 31,133,481 24.1 61.8 42.4

Above U.S. averageIndia 1,027,144 69.1 88.2 54.9

Taiwan 325,234 66.7 93.6 35.8

Nigeria 135,791 57.8 93.5 54.0

Iran 285,176 50.6 86.4 26.6

Pakistan 229,206 50.5 81.5 57.0

Hong Kong 201,358 50.4 84.4 33.8

Former Soviet Union 618,302 47.3 84.0 69.7

Philippines 1,374,213 45.7 86.8 35.4

Korea 870,542 42.9 86.1 37.4

Japan 346,453 42.7 90.6 50.0

China 997,301 41.6 68.4 48.8

Near U.S. averageUnited Kingdom 567,240 36.6 90.2 27.8

Canada 820,713 33.6 82.5 29.9

Brazil 209,612 32.2 79.9 65.3

Germany 705,110 26.8 83.5 18.8

Ireland 153,311 23.6 78.4 22.3

Peru 275,111 23.1 80.4 46.7

Poland 472,544 22.1 73.1 36.7

Colombia 515,206 21.8 72.0 45.1

Greece 166,023 19.8 59.1 9.7

Vietnam 991,995 19.2 61.6 44.7

Cuba 870,203 18.7 59.0 26.6

Jamaica 554,897 17.8 72.1 31.4

Below U.S. average

Italy 476,033 13.9 54.0 8.6

Haiti 422,841 13.7 62.3 39.7

Ecuador 292,246 12.8 61.4 46.7

Cambodia 137,365 10.4 48.5 16.5

Dominican Republic 685,952 9.5 48.1 42.7

Honduras 281,428 8.1 43.7 57.0

Portugal 175,812 7.8 44.2 11.7

Laos 205,931 7.6 47.2 21.0

Guatemala 480,004 6.1 36.9 49.6

El Salvador 815,570 5.0 34.7 40.4

Mexico 9,163,463 4.2 29.7 48.6

Note. Source: Portes & Rumbdut, 2006, from United States&2000 Census, 5% Public Use Microdata Sample.aPersons aged 25 years or older.

books, magazines, journals, a home computer, Internet access, a printer, and tutors. In contrast

there are immigrant youngsters whose parents have little or no formal education. These children

may arrive having missed critical years of academic instruction and often cannot read and write

adequately in their native language. Such varied experiences and backgrounds will have important

542 M. M. SUAREZ-OROZCO, C. SUkREZ-0ROZCO, AND C. SATrIN-BAjAJ

implications for the transition to their new countries. It is not surprising, then, that youth arrivingfrom families with lower levels of education tend to struggle academically, whereas those whocome from more literate families and with strong educational skills typically flourish (Friedman,2010).

Poverty

Poverty has long been recognized as a significant risk factor for poor educational outcomes.Children raised in circumstances of socioeconomic deprivation are vulnerable to an array ofissues including difficulties concentrating and sleeping, anxiety, and depression as well as aheightened propensity for delinquency and violence (Luthar, 1999). Poverty frequently coexistswith a variety of other factors that augment risks such as single parenthood, residence in neigh-borhoods plagued with violence, gang activity, and drug trade as well as school environmentsthat are segregated, overcrowded, and understaffed. Poverty is also associated with high rates ofhousing mobility and concurrent school transitions. Concentrated poverty is highly disruptive toeducational engagement and performance.

There is evidence that large numbers of immigrant-origin students in many contexts sufferfrom the challenges associated with poverty. The United States offers a worrisome example. In2006, the poverty rate for Latino students in the United States (28%) was nearly double of that ofWhite children (16%). For immigrant Latino families, poverty reached much higher percentages.Fully 35% of foreign-born Latino students in the United States lived in poverty compared to 27%of native-born counterparts. Immigrant children are more than four times as likely as native-bornchildren to live in crowded housing conditions, and 37% of Latino immigrant families reportdifficulties affording food (Hemdndez et al., 2007). Similar patterns of immigrant poverty canbe found in other countries of immigration. Poverty and other heightened stressors have negativeimplications for educational outcomes for immigrant origin youth.

Undocumented Status

There are an estimated 45 to 50 million unauthorized immigrants in the world today (UnitedNations Development Programme, 2009). Beyond that millions of illegal immigrants are livingwithin the boundaries of their own countries; such is the case in China. Millions of immigrantchildren live in new countries, including Spain, Sweden, and the United States, without properdocumentation. In the United States, for example, more than 1 million children and youth areunauthorized immigrants and an additional 4 million children are U.S.-bom citizen children ofunauthorized migrants (Gonzalez, 2009; Passel & Cohn, 2009). Research suggests that undocu-mented youth often arrive after multiple family separations and traumatic border crossings (C.Sudrez-Orozco, Todorova, & Lonie, 2002). Immigrant children and youth in households withunauthorized members often experience fear and anxiety around being separated from familymembers if they or a relative are apprehended or deported (Chaudry et al., 2010). Such psy-chological and emotional duress can take a heavy toll on the academic experiences of childrengrowing up in these circumstances. Further, although unauthorized youth may in some settingslegally have equal access to basic education, they may not have equal access to health, social


services, or jobs. in some countries undocumented students with dreams of graduating from high

school and going on to college may find that their legal status stands in the way of their access

to postsecondary educational opportunities (Gonzalez, 2009; M. Suarez-Orozco, 2009). Thus,

immigrant students who are unauthorized or who come from unauthorized families suffer from

particular burdens.

School Factors

Segregation is a persistent feature in many advanced postindustrial societies with large numbers

of immigrant youth including Germany, Sweden, and the United States. Many immigrant origin

students attend segregated schools where the majority of their peers are other immigrant students.

Immigrant segregation often involves race, poverty, and linguistic isolation-the so-called triple

segregation. Triple segregation is inexorably linked to negative educational outcomes including

academic underperformance, linguistic isolation, in many cases reduced school resources, lower

achievement in standardized tests, greater levels of school violence, and higher drop-out rates

(Orfield & Lee, 2006).

Second Language Learning

Although some immigrant children, like Ecuadorians in Spain and Jamaicans in the United

Kingdom, speak the same language at home as in school,' many immigrant youth the world

over are second-language learners, such as Somalis learning Swedish, Turks learning German,

or Brazilians learning Japanese. Many are receiving suboptimal if not erratic bilingual and

second-language instruction (McAndrew, 2007). Research has established that it takes 5 to 7

years of optimal academic instruction to develop academic second-language skills comparative

to native-born samples (Cummins, 1991). Yet for many immigrant students, robust educational

infrastructures for second-language acquisition and adequate supports are rarely in place. In the

United States the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress data showed that 71% of

English language learner students scored "below basic" in fourth-grade reading (and only 6% of

them scored "at or above proficient"). Moreover, 75% of English language learner students scored

"below basic" in eighth-grade reading (and only 3% scored "at or above proficient") (National

Center for Education Statistics, 2009, pp. 60-69).

The Program for International Student Assessment study quantified the comparative position

of immigrant youth across 17 countries, showing that language-minority immigrant youth are on

average 1 year behind their peers in various measures of academic achievement. In a number of

European countries of immigration, for example, immigrant-origin children are currently being

placed into the lowest academic and vocational tracks before they have sufficient time to learn

the academic language needed to keep up with their peers (Crul, 2007).

Second-language acquisition issues can mask the actual skills and knowledge of immigrant

youth in both oral and written displays. With more time to develop academic language skills, and

more flexibility between educational tracks, however, some immigrant students have been shown

to sustain high-achievement trajectories (Jaffe-Walter, 2008). The nearly exclusive focus on

learning the majority language and performance on high-stakes tests developed for and normed

544 M. M. SUAREZ-OROZCO, C. SUAREZ-OROZCO, AND C. SAaTIN-BAw

on native-born speakers (Menken, 2008) has led researchers and policymakers to neglect theimmense opportunity immigrant youth have to contribute to a multilingual and multiculturalsociety in the age of global interdependence. As a consequence of this neglect, immigrants inmany settings lose their native language competencies by the second generation in the new society(Portes & Schauffler, 1994).

In what follows we offer a glimpse of some programs and practices that show promise inpromoting the successful transition of immigrants to new societies. We examine policies for newlanguage learning and programs designed to promote heritage language preservation, parental

education, and engagement strategies as well as youth mentorship initiatives. These programs, allof which are operating within different political, social, and cultural contexts, reveal the impor-tance and potential power of orchestrated local-level efforts to positively impact the educationaltrajectories, development, and civic engagement of immigrant youth and families. Ultimately,however, we know from the strong correlation between national contexts and immigrant youth'soutcomes that it is necessary for national policies to bolster these and other noncoercive inte-gration practices to achieve effective, long-term immigrant incorporation into social, cultural,political, and economic life.

Programming That Embraces Language Development

More school districts and school leaders are recognizing the value of promoting and preservingnative language fluency while developing students' reading, writing, and oral communicationskills in a new language (see the various studies in Meier & Morehouse, 2008; see also Christensen& Stanat, 2007). Numerous examples of innovation in the realms of new and heritage languageinstruction and promotion exist in widely divergent contexts. Next we profile two particularlypromising models. These policies and practices demonstrate that it is both possible and necessaryto teach academic language and skills to second-language learners and that it can be done withoutundermining or eradicating the language competencies they already possess.

In British Columbia, Canada, the Ministry of Education has implemented a program fornew language development that is being recognized and lauded by experts across a range offields (see Christensen & Stanat, 2007). In the primary grades, language instruction focuseson immersion with students receiving up to 6 hr per week of systematic language support. Atthe secondary level, new immigrants participate in a three-phase preparation program dividedinto reception, transition, and integration before they move to mainstream instruction. At eachlevel of schooling, teachers receive specialized training to prepare them to provide high-qualityacademic and language instruction. Rather than marginalize second-language learners and treattheir language development as an unwanted burden or afterthought, educators and policymakersin British Columbia have fully embraced the task. By designing a systematic, research-basedapproach that understands language learning to be at the heart of student academic progress andproviding a comprehensive set of resources to support this process, the Ministry of Educationhas set a high standard for the education of immigrant-origin children that deserves to be furtherstudied and emulated (for other exemplary programs in Canadian education for immigrants, seeLacey, 2008, and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2003).

The vitriolic debates surrounding second-language learning all too often drown out reasonablediscussions related to the value of maintaining heritage languages. Yet governments and immigrant


communities alike are increasingly dedicating resources to this very worthy goal. In New York

City, a partnership between the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the New York City

Department of Education teaches French language, literature, and culture to immigrant students

of Francophone backgrounds enrolled in New York City public schools. The French Language

Heritage Program, started in 2005, was created to develop students' proficiency in French

reading comprehension, writing, and oral expression. Although focused on language skills, the

program also works to support immigrant students' ethnic identity formation in the context

of a multicultural, multiethnic environment. The program includes among its main objectives

helping participants succeed academically in other languages by equipping them with skills and

confidence in their native language.

Programming That Supports the Social 'Contexts of Learning

Healthy social support networks are linked to better adjustment and psycho-social outcomes.

Interpersonal relationships provide a number of functions. Social companionship, a basic hu-

man need, serves to maintain and enhance self-esteem as well as providing acceptance and

approval. Instrumental social support provides individuals and their families with tangible aid

(such as running an errand or making a loan) as well as guidance and advice (including schooling

information, job, and housing leads). These instrumental supports are particularly critical for

disoriented immigrant newcomer youth.

The Immigrant Family and Motivation

For many immigrants, social relations play a critical role in initiating and sustaining motivation

in a new land. Although for mainstream nonimmigrant students achievement is often motivated

by an attempt to gain independence from the family, immigrant students are typically motivated

to achieve for their families (Fuligni, 1997; C. Su6rez-Orozco & SuArez-Orozco, 1995). Family

cohesion; family supports and resources; and the maintenance of a well-functioning system of

supervision, authority, and mutuality are perhaps the most powerful factors shaping the well-being

and future outcomes of children. For immigrants, extended family members-grandparents,

godparents, aunts, uncles, older cousins, and the like-are often critical sources of tangible

instrumental and emotional support.Families can support children's schooling with their resources and by maintaining a value

of education and establishing a standard of expectation. Families establish expectations about

appropriate behaviors and attitudes vis-h-vis school authorities and peer interactions. They can

also actively scaffold children as they complete school assignments. Immigrant parents who work

long hours, lack financial resources, and may have limited schooling are at a distinct disadvantage

in this regard. Immigrant parents may be unable to tangibly support their children in ways that are

congruent with the new country's cultural models and material expectations. Many come from

traditions that revere school authorities and expect parents to keep a distance from the day-to-day

workings of their child's education. Moreover, some parents may lack knowledge about what is

expected of them or what they can do as parents to assist their children academically. As a result,

546 M. M. SUAREZ-OROZCO, C SUiAREZ-OROZCO, AND C. SATrIN-BAJAJ

the field is ripe for conflicts, misunderstandings, and lost opportunities for collaboration betweenschools and immigrant families.

Community-based organizations in many countries have recognized the existence of con-siderable home-school barriers and have implemented initiatives designed to address them byinforming immigrant parents of their rights, responsibilities, and expected roles. For example,AVANCE-El Paso is a branch of a national program that works to equip low-income parents withskills and resources to support their children's development in the early years. Recently recog-nized with a prestigious E Pluribus Unwn Award by the Migration Policy Institute's NationalCenter on Immigrant Integration Policy, the AVANCE-El Paso program currently operates in 16schools in El Paso and southern New Mexico where it works with predominantly immigrantfamilies. Families participate in adult literacy classes and receive parenting education, and theimpact on student outcomes has been remarkable. Although the majority of AVANCE-El Pasoparticipants are considered "economically disadvantaged,' the children have shown higher stan-dardized test scores, better high school graduation rates, and higher college eurollment rates thantheir peers in the district.

A different but equally promising approach to increasing meaningful parental involvementin their children's education takes the form of language courses for immigrant mothers. InVienna, Austria, the Municipal Department of Integration and Diversity launched the programMama Lei-t Deutsch or "Moms Learn German," which offers German language courses forimmigrant women in their children's schools. Funded by the local government and implementedby organizations with extensive experience teaching German, the program was conceived as away of providing language instruction to immigrant women for a small fee. By taking place attheir children's schools, the program also lays the groundwork for increased interaction betweenparents and school personnel. In addition, like many integration initiatives built around languagedevelopment, the courses do much more than just teach German skills. They provide a spacefor social engagement, and the programs include various excursions around the city to introduceimmigrant mothers to different institutions, services, and life in Vienna. The courses also covertopics such as schooling and health, and free childcare is provided (for a similar program inGermany, see http:flwww.academiewebpages.comlpreviewlpathways/modelsfgerman.html)

Communities and Community Organizations

Because no family is an island, family cohesion and functioning are enhanced when the familyis part of a larger community displaying effective social supports. When immigrants settle incohesive communities and when adults within the community are able to effectively monitor,sanction, and support youngsters' activities, they will tend to display better social adaptationsand psychological adjustment. Children who live in communities that reveal such "collectiveefficacy" are less likely to become involved with gangs and delinquency and are likely to be morefocused on their academic pursuits (Earls, 1998; Sampson, Raudenbusch, & Earls, 1997).

Youth-serving, community-based organizations can enrich immigrant communities and fosterhealthy development through the support they provide to children, parents, and families. Suchurban sanctuaries, often affiliated with neighborhood ethnic clubs, churches, religious groups,or nongovernmental organizations, provide immigrant youth out-of-school time that is not spentin isolation, unsupervised, or on the streets. These programs can provide safe havens from the


pressures of the streets. Community program staff can serve as "culture brokers" for youth

bridging the disparate norms in place in the children's homes and those in place at school. Adults

who work in community programs can provide tutoring, educational guidance, advice about the

college application process, and job search assistance-information that is often inaccessible to

immigrant youth whose parents have not navigated the academic system in the new land. Such

programs can aid in counteracting embittered school personnel and toxic schools' impact on the

educational trajectories and academic achievement of immigrant youth.

Mentoring Relationships

In nearly every story of against-the-odds immigrant success there is a caring adult mentor who

took an interest in the child and became actively engaged in his or her life (C. SuArez-Orozco

et al., 2008). Connections with nonparent adults-a community leader, teacher, church member,

or coach-are important in the academic and social adaptation of immigrant adolescents. These

youth are often undergoing profound shifts in their sense of self and are struggling to negotiate

changing circumstances in relationships with their parents and peers. Protective relationships with

adults can provide immigrant youth with compensatory attachments, safe contexts for learning

new cultural norms and practices, and information that is vital to success in schools (Rhodes &

Grossman, 2000).Mentoring relationships may have special implications for immigrant youth, as during the

course of migration, loved ones are often separated from one another and significant attachments

are ruptured (Roffman, SuArez-Orozco, & Rhodes, 2003). Mentoring relationships can giveimmigrant youth an opportunity to be involved in reparative relationships engendering new

significant attachments. In some cases, the guidance and affection of a mentor may help to. fill

the void created by parental absence. The mentor, as an adult who has been in the country longer

than the prot6g6, can also provide information about and exposure to cultural and educational

institutions and help as the adolescent negotiates developmental transitions. If the mentor is of

the same immigrant background as the prot6g6, she or he can interpret the rules of engagement of

the new culture to parents and, hence, help to attenuate cultural rigidities. Furthermore, bicultural

mentors can serve as role models in the challenging process of developing a bicultural identity,

exemplifying the ways in which elements of the ethnic identity can be preserved and celebrated

even as features of the more mainstream culture of the new country are incorporated into youth's

lives.

Peer Relationships

Peers can provide emotional sustenance that supports the development of significant psychoso-

cial competencies in youth (Gibson, G6ndara, & Koyama, 2004). Peers can specifically serve

to support or detract from academic engagement. By valuing (or devaluing) certain academic

outcomes and by modeling specific academic behaviors, peers establish the norms of academic

engagement. Peers can tangibly support academic engagement by clarifying readings or lectures,

helping one another in completing school assignments, and exchanging information (about ex-

ams, helpful tutors, volunteer positions, and college pathway knowledge). Because, however,

548 M. M. SuAREZ-oRoZCo, C. SU•REZ-OROZCO, AND C. SATTIN-BAJAJ

immigrant youth often attend segregated schools, they may have limited access to knowledgeablenetworks of peers.

Stichting Witte Tulp (the White Tulip Foundation) in the Netherlands recognizes the powerof mentoring relationships and supportive peer relationships to be pivotal forces in the livesof immigrant youth. What began in 1997 as a small project started in a student's home hasevolved into a large-scale educational organization with six branches located in Amsterdam andits surrounding areas. With the help of parents, teachers, and more than 150 volunteers (manywho started as prot6g,s and returned as mentors), the foundation provides intensive tutoring tomore than 600 students and organizes a range of academic, social, athletic, and artistic activitiesfor students in primary and secondary grades, nearly 60% of those who are of Turkish origin.Witte Tulp strongly emphasizes participants' development, tackling educational disadvantages andidentifying the prevention of early school dropout as key goals. It also promotes the engagement ofparents in the development of their children in a new country. With education, social engagement,citizenship, and self-fulfillment at the core of its vision, the organization relies on mentorshipand personal relationships to provide an added layer of support to immigrant-origin youth as theynegotiate multiple cultural and social worlds.

Taken together, networks of relationships can make a significant difference in immigrantyouth's lives. They can serve to help immigrant youth develop healthy bicultural identities,engender and sustain motivation, and provide specific information about how to best navigateschooling pathways. When successful, these relationships help immigrant youth and their familiesovercome some of the barriers associated with poverty and discrimination that prevent fullparticipation in the new country's economic and cultural life.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

Immigrant origin youth are the fastest growing student population in a growing number ofcountries. They often arrive sharing an optimism and hope in the future that must be cultivated andtreasured-almost universally they recognize that schooling is the key to a better tomorrow. Overtime, however, many immigrant youth, especially those enrolling in impoverished, segregated, andmediocre school systems, face negative odds and uncertain prospects. Too many leave schoolswithout developing and mastering the kinds of higher order skills, communication skills, andcultural sensibilities needed in today's global economy and society (Levy & Murnane, 2007).Their individual fortunes, and indeed the future fortunes of many high-income countries, willbe tied to successfully linking our youngest citizens to the educational and social opportunitystructure, to civic belonging, and full democratic participation in the countries of immigration.

In this article we reviewed a small sample of illustrative programs that offer a hint of whatwill be required in much greater scale and in other domains of life to ease the transitions ofnew arrivals to full participation in their new countries. Much work remains to be done to fullyembrace immigrants as human beings with all their potential and not just as needed workers.Failure on the part of leaders, policymakers, and citizens to respond to the changing demographicswith resources, intelligence, sensitivity, and a willingness to engage with newcomers would likelygenerate appalling results; the exclusion of large numbers of immigrants and their children fromfull participation and belonging in social life is likely to breed three As of despair: anomie,alienation, and antagonism.


Globalization continues to undermine national boundaries. As a global community we are at a

crossroads. With migration flows constant or growing, countries of immigration can either come

to view the arrival of new immigrants as an opportunity for cultural and linguistic enrichment,

economic growth, and demographic renewal or erect fences-physical and symbolic-that will

prevent belonging, impede cohesion, and thwart social progress. Grassroots initiatives, local

policies, and innovative practices to facilitate immigrant integration constitute an important first

step in acknowledging our responsibilities toward immigrants and the promise, hope, and energy

that they embody. However, to effectively move the agenda forward, immigrant integration

must become a concern of international prominence, one that attracts widespread attention and

initiates cross-national collaboration, spurs innovation, and mobilizes human and financial capital

to address a key issue of our time.Immigration is constitutive of the human experience: It makes and remakes the world. It is

written in our DNA, in our neo-cortex, in our bipedalism, and in our stereoscopic vision. It has left

a deepimprint in our shared archeology. In the United States and indeed in a number of other coun-

tries, it is both history and destiny. Making migration work is in everyone's interest. It is a tall order,

a worthy and unavoidable cause with too much at stake for our shared future to come up short.

AUTHOR BIOS

Marcelo M. Su6rez-Orozco is The Courtney Sale Ross University Professor of Globalization

and Education at New York University; The Richard Fisher Membership Fellow at the Institute

for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey; and Co-Director of Immigration Studies at NYU.

His forthcoming books include Educating the Whole Child for the Whole World (with Carolyn

Sattin-Bajaj) and Immigration's Echo: Family Dislocations and the New Immigrant Generation

(with Carola Sudrez-Orozco).Carola Su6rez-Orozco is a professor of Applied Psychology at NYU. Her books include

Learning a New Land: Immigrant Children in American Society; Children of Immigration; and

Transformations: Migration, Family Life, and Achievement Motivation Among Latino Adoles-

cents. She received an American Psychological Association Presidential Citation in 2006 for

her lifetime work on the psychology of immigration and became a member of the Institute for

Advanced Study in Princeton in 2009.

Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj is a doctoral candidate in International Education at New York University.

She is coeditor with Marcelo Sudrez-Orozco of the forthcoming book Educating the Whole Child

for the Whole World: The Ross Schools and Education for the Global Era (NYU Press).

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Making Migration Work

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