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MOVING STORIES: THE CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY OF IMMIGRANT YOUTH

MOVING STORIES: THE CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY OF IMMIGRANT YOUTH. C AROLA S UÁREZ -O ROZCO, Ph.D. M ARCELO S UÁREZ -O ROZCO, Ph.D. Co-Directors Immigration Studies @ NYU NYU Steinhardt School of Education www.nyu.education/immigration/ Boston College -- October 5th, 2005.

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MOVING STORIES: THE CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY OF IMMIGRANT YOUTH

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  1. MOVING STORIES: THE CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY OF IMMIGRANT YOUTH CAROLA SUÁREZ-OROZCO, Ph.D. MARCELO SUÁREZ-OROZCO, Ph.D. Co-Directors Immigration Studies @ NYU NYU Steinhardt School of Education www.nyu.education/immigration/ Boston College -- October 5th, 2005

  2. Why Do People Migrate? The largest emigration wave in history is structured by globalization's emerging regime.Transnational labor recruiting networks, wage differentials, and family reunification (“Love and Work”), and War, are behind new migratory practices that cannot be easily contained by the state. Globalization is predicated on the 1) internationalization of production and distribution of goods, services, and consumption that is fueled by growing levels of international trade, foreign direct investment, and capital market flows; 2) the emergence of borderless information and communication technologies that stimulate the traffic of data, symbols, and desire and that place a premium on knowledge intensive work; and 3) ever growing, uncontainable waves of world-wide migration. These phenomena give an unprecedented momentum to today’s global order.

  3. We are all Exceptionalists Now or Why All the Families of the Post-Industrial World are Unhappy the Same Way • 175 Million Immigrants & Refugees Worldwide. • Leicester, England, will be the first European City with non-white majority. Frankfurt today is roughly 30% immigrant; Rotterdam is 45% immigrant. Amsterdam will by yr. 2015 be 50% immigrant. Sweden has 1 million immigrants. China alone has over 150 million internal immigrants. • Since 1990 about a million new immigrants per annum have come to the US – There are well over 34 million immigrants, the largest number in history (larger than the entire Canadian population) but proportionally less than in the previous eras of large-scale immigration.

  4. World Migration Projections

  5. Immigrants Admitted to the United States 1821-1996 Adapted from INS, 2000

  6. Foreign Born Population • It grew by 57 % between 1990 and 2000 • Over 18 million are now from Latin America • 8.5 million are now from Asia • 9 of the top 10 leading countries are Latin American or Asian • More than 30% of the foreign born population now is Mexican & 53% is of Latino origin • More than 50 % of the foreign born settled in 3 states – CA, TX, NY

  7. Percent Distribution of Foreign Bornby World Region of Birth: 2003 Source: Current Population Survey Other Regions 8.0% Europe 13.7% Latin America 53.3% Asia 25.0% Source: Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2003

  8. Latinos are now the nation’s largest ethnic group • If we add Puerto Rico and count undocumented immigrants to the US, there are now over 43 million Latinos in the US – more than there are people in Spain, Colombia, Argentina and any other Spanish speaking country – except for Mexico • One in six babies born today have a Latina mother • By 2050 the US will have over 100 Million Latinos • The Latino GDP at 600 billion dollars is now larger than the GDP of Spain and Mexico. By 2010 it will reach a trillion dollars.

  9. NEW DIVERSITY • Economic Backgrounds • Some are amongst the most educated and affluent • Others have limited education and are the ‘working poor’ • Linguistic backgrounds • Over 199 countries in New York Public Schools • Over 90 languages in Los Angeles Public Schools • Five Top Languages: Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog • Ethnicity, Race, & Color • Nearly 80 % are of color

  10. CHILDREN OF IMMIGRATION: The Best of Times/ The Worst of Times • Immigration Research & Theory is largely focused on Adults • One in Five Children in the U.S. is the Child of an Immigrant • Fastest Growing Sector of U.S. Child Population • Social Adaptation • Three Pathways • Some Outperform Native Born • Some Overlap with Native Born • Some Achieve Below Native Born • Princeton-Prison/Yale/Jail

  11. The Epidemiological Paradox • Birth Outcomes • Mental Health [NRC Study -- Hernandez & Charney 1998] (lower prevalence of depression, suicidal ideation, drug abuse, etc. etc. ) • Risk Behaviors [NRC Study -- Hernandez & Charney 1998] • Academic Outcomes • Aspirations & GPA • Sociological study of 5,000 highs school students in Dade County Florida & San Diego California [Rumbaut & Portes, 1995] • Schooling Behaviors, GPA, Risk Behaviors, & Mental Health • Psychological study of 20,000 adolescents from 9 high schools [Steinberg, Brown, & Dornbusch 1996] • Similar findings emerging in Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium and France [Beiser, Hou, Hyman & Tousignant 1999],

  12. Longitudinal Immigrant Student Adaptation Study • Longitudinalinterdisciplinary, & comparative • Documenting continuities and discontinuities in immigrant youth’s educational attitudes and adaptations over time • Youth originated in Central America, China, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, & Mexico • Ages 9 & 14 at beginning of study • Recruited from51 schools in 7 school districts in the Boston & San Francisco areas [Ethnographic observations occur in 20 schools] • Thirty graduate level bicultural and multi-lingual research assistants • Funded to date by the National Science Foundation, the W.T. Grant Foundation and The Spencer Foundation.

  13. Overarching Research Questions • How are immigrant youth engaged in school—cognitively, socially, and behaviorally—and how does this change over time? • What are the characteristics of the networks of social relations of immigrant youth and how are they implicated in their adaptation and their academic experience and outcomes? • Search for common denominator experiences as well as country of origin specificities

  14. Key Finding: FAMILY SEPARATIONSFrom Whom Was Child Separated During Immigration?

  15. From Whom Was Child Separated?

  16. Coming Together, Coming Apart: Classic Family Issues • The Centripetal Paradigm: ~ Complications of Reunifications ~ Parental sacrifice ~ Fiercely protective against perceived dangers of ‘Americanization’ (Instrumental and Expressive Acculturation) • The Centrifugal Paradigm: ~ Differential rates of assimilation for adults & children ~ Potentials for miscommunication secondary to language issues ~ Relative unavailability of parents (psychological & long work hours) ~Mutual Shame ~ Be careful what you wish for

  17. Challenge of Identity Formation • Synthesizing & incorporating elements of: ~ Culture of origin ~ Receiving culture - Majority - Minority ~ Imposed/ascribed identities - Social mirror - Peers ~ Global youth culture

  18. Educational Challenges to Immigrant Youth • Student’s Challenges ~ Language Acquisition ~ Interrupted Schooling • Parents: ~ Unfamiliarity with American school culture and expectations ~ Low parental education (in many cases) ~ Parents’ difficulty assisting with homework ~Little control over work schedules

  19. School Context Challenges • Poorest districts often face greatest infusions of immigrant children • Insufficient Classroom materials designed for English Language Learners • Dearth of Certified Teachers adequately trained to address these children’s special needs • Disconcerting quality of day-to day educational experiences

  20. Critical Importance of Engaging Students • Behavioral Engagement ~ Immigrant students often start out highly behaviorally engaged • Cognitive Engagement ~How do we keep students engaged intellectually when language gap makes access to content challenging? • Relational Engagement ~The importance of learning communities and mentors

  21. -.22*** Year 3 School Violence -.17*** .40*** Yr3 Relational Engagement -.12* Year 5 School Violence Year 3 English Proficiency .29*** .34*** -.13** .33*** Year 3 GPA Yr5 Relational Engagement -.13** .11* -.25*** .31*** .20*** .26*** .11* .40*** .14*** -.11* Yr3 Behavioral Engagement .80*** Year 5 GPA Year 3 Self- Efficacy .15* .25*** Year 5 English Proficiency .21*** .12+ .44*** .34*** Yr5 Behavioral Engagement .40*** Year 5 Self- Efficacy -.15**

  22. Functions of Relations • Information ~Jobs; Housing; schools… • Tangible Help ~Loans; a place to live; translation; child care Social Cohesion/Belonging • Social Cohesion • Social Control ~Standards of behavior; sanctions • Emotional Support ~Affirmation; Caring; Respect; Someone to talk to

  23. School Interventions • Supporting School Based Relationships ~ Homeroom assignments ~ Advisory groups ~ Team teaching ~ Multi-year school assignments ~ Smaller student groupings ~ After-school learning communities

  24. Fostering Robust Learning Communities • Nurture supportive relationships: ~ Between teachers and students ~ Between teachers and parents ~ Between students • Maintain high but realistic expectations • Build on strengths while recognizing transient English language limitations • Mediate learning in a variety of ways • Scaffold on all available linguistic and cultural resources • Recognize diversity as a resource for learning • Embrace immigrant children’s hopes and harness their energies

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