Supporting Migrant Youth: What the Research Tells Us 8th Annual Academic Success Institute 3-6-10 SCCOE

1. Supporting Migrant Youth: What the Research Tells Us 8th Annual Academic Success Institute 3-6-10 SCCOE Margaret Gibson, ggibson@ucsc.edu Professor of Education & Anthropology University of California, Santa Cruz

2. Research from Four Studies Region 2, High school Class of 1981 & Class of 1995 (1980-1983 and 1992-1995) Region 11, High school Class of 2002 (1998-2002) Regions 11 & 16: Interviews with 13 MEP resource teachers (1998-2002 and 2004-2005)

3.  Focusing on: The roles of MEP staff members in supporting migrant students during high school. The school engagement and achievement patterns of migrant high school students. Peer influences on school performance patterns.

4. High School Graduation Rates for Migrant Students? Difficult to track: due to students’ mobility and inconsistent eligibility for MEP. The U.S. Department of Education estimates only 45% to 50% finish high school (U.S. Department of Education, Office of Migrant Education, 2005, but findings are out of date).

5. Profile of the HHS Class of 2002

6. 9th Grade Quartile Ranking: Class of 2002

7. Migrant students, HHS Class of 2002: “A-F” semester classes passed by end of 10th grade

10. Graduation Rates at HHS, Class of 2002 . .

11. HHS Class of 2002: Mexican-descent students’ graduation rates by migrant status and 9th grade quartile

12. Mexican-descent students’ high school graduation by migrant status & English proficiency in 9th grade (HHS Class of 2002)

13. 

14. If you go [to a club], you feel shy and you don’t speak your mind, because you don’t feel comfortable sharing your ideas. And then it’s better not to attend the next meeting. Maybe they don’t speak English very well, so they don’t want to say something embarrassing. We feel we won’t be included or liked... but when I was in cheerleading, I felt totally included and liked by everyone in my team. On participating in clubs and sports

15. On participating in class Question: How would you feel if you were in a class where you didn’t know anyone? “I am more quiet; I just talk about schoolwork. I don’t talk about what I do in my free time.... I don’t really talk that much.” [migrant, male, officer in the MSA] “When we do group work in math, sometimes I’m the only Mexican girl and I think, ‘No, I don’t want to ask a question,’ because they’re going to think, ‘Oh, she’s the only one. She’s the only one that’s asking questions.’” [migrant, female]

16. The many hats of MEP teachers (quotes from our interviews) “Sometimes you’re a teacher, sometimes you’re a counselor, sometimes you’re a social worker, and sometimes you’re a health consultant. It’s so rewarding and the beauty of this job.” “You are mostly like an advisor …not a counselor, not a teacher. You’re an advisor for students. You are providing guidance to students in many areas. Not only academic, but life, and sometimes friendship.”

17. Peer influences “If… you hang around people that are doing well in school, you’re gonna have a tendency to do well…. If you hang around people that are the opposite, you might do bad.”

18. Factors Contributing to Academic Disengagement Feelings of not belonging Mistrust of teachers Peer influences Missing connections

19. Advisors are advocates and brokers “The migrant teachers communicate with the base teachers and then the teachers at least have a better understanding. So having the advocacy there…. Students know that they are not alone and that there is support for them.” “I think that students feel safe enough with the migrant staff to tell them (when they’re leaving for Mexico).

20. Advisors also are role models “We are like the uncle who got the education.” “They know that we didn’t eat from a silver spoon… and they know that this is what they can do. That’s it’s not impossible. “When kids come in and tell me, ‘Oh no, I can’t do it because of this or because of that,’ I go, ‘I’m the last person you can tell that to because I know. I’ve been there. And if I did it, you can do it.”

21. Why do you participate in MSA? You feel you belong, because there are people that you know and that even speak the same language you do MSA has a type of environment where they make students feel comfortable (non-migrant student) It unites all Mexicans in order to make a difference in this school Most importantly the advisors give you so much support All the members make you feel as family

22. Student voices “They are like the symbol that you can do it, too. When I see them, I think: ‘They did it. Why can’t I do it?’” “[They] would help me a lot and give me advice…. You can tell right away when a person cares for you. “Even if it is the smallest little thing, they are there, and they are there to motivate you. “If they weren’t the same race, you would have a lot more trouble trying to talk to them.”

23.  What the students say about MSA It is a club where you feel safe, and most importantly the advisors give you so much support. You feel you belong, because there are people that you know and that even speak the same language you do. It unites all Mexicans in order to make a difference in this school. All the members make you feel as family.

24. Role Models “When kids come in and tell me, ‘Oh no, I can’t do it because of this or because of that,’ I go, ‘I’m the last person you can tell that to because I know. I’ve been there. And if I did it, you can do it.”

25. Migrant Advisors’ Roles Close, caring relationships Role models, mentors, advocates, trusted friends Bridge or liaison between home, school, and community Promote a positive sense of identity as Mexicans and as academically oriented Explicit academic guidance Link students to other resources in the school Encourage students to think about their future

26. A bridge between home and school “[We] take the two worlds and set the sides together, but never compromising what is… in the best interest of the migrant family.” “We’re like the bridge. We connect the school with the community.”

27. Importance of the MEP office/space “The door is always open.” A place to congregate A kind of refuge, a safe space “A place where someone would listen” A hub of student activity

28. Relatedness “Those students who experience a sense of relatedness behave differently from those who do not. They have more positive attitudes toward school, class work, teachers, and their peers. They are more likely to like school, and they are also more engaged. They participate in more school activities, and they invest more of themselves in the learning process.” [K. Osterman, 2000, p. 343]

29. Research on social networks For over 30 years, social scientists have posited that the achievement gaps between rich and poor students are related not only to economic differences but also to differences in the amount of access students have to the sorts of relationships in school that enable them to obtain the resources needed for school success (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977; Coleman, 1988; Stanton-Salazar, 2004).

30. Research on belonging “Those students who experience a sense of relatedness behave differently from those who do not. They have more positive attitudes toward school, class work, teachers, and their peers. They are more likely to like school, and they are also more engaged. They participate in more school activities, and they invest more of themselves in the learning process.” (Osterman, 2000, p. 343)

31. Research on caring Scholars who have examined caring in an educational context contend that it is at the heart of successful teacher-student relationships and that it can make “the difference between positive school experiences and frustration or alienation” (Chaskin & Rauner, 1995, pp. 667-668; see also Noddings, 1992; Valenzuela, 1999).

32. Dropout research: High schools that “beat the odds” Connecting with and engaging students Engaging parents and community to support school efforts Providing interventions and supports to students at risk of dropping out Creating a culture of accountability and high expectations (Socias et al., 2007)

33. Other “best practices” identified in early intervention literature: Mentors and role models who build on the cultural background of students share a common language and history become friends to the students. serve as cultural brokers promote family involvement offer strong counseling form supportive peer networks offer intensive academic instruction

34. Research on effective early intervention programs Close relationships with a key adult or agent “who monitors and guides the student over a long period of time” can prove pivotal to success in school for low-income youth of color. (Gándara and Bial, 2001).

35. Some limitations Advisor to student ratios too high Restrictive eligibility requirements Physical space inadequate Dropout rates still high Spaces of non-belonging in school Low a-g course completion Larger system-wide, systemic changes needed Advisor roles need to be institutionalized

36. Recommendations Decrease the MEP advisor-student ratios Provide physical ‘safe’ spaces Greater attention/support to 9th grade. School climate Support for a-g courses Pathways to college for ELs System-wide, systemic changes Institutionalize Advisor roles

37. Additive acculturation Research shows that academically successful immigrant and migrant youth are aided in navigating across cultural borders by an additive view of acculturation (Gibson, 1988, 1997). Those who learn how to become skillful border crossers have an advantage in school both socially and academically.

38. Multicultural Navigators We need to provide all students with role models and mentors – such as the MEP advisors – who can demonstrate through their own lives how to move competently and comfortably within multiple cultural worlds without compromising their identities. Such individuals may be called “multicultural navigators” (Carter, 2005).

39. Acknowledgments Our thanks to all the Migrant Education staff members and students who have contributed their time, ideas, and voices to this research. The research was made possible through generous grants from the Spencer Foundation (MG #199900129) and the U.S. Department of Education/OERI (#R305T990174).