Thank you to everyone for an interesting and thought-provoking Dialogue
with the Experts on Education and Immigrant Girls. You presented a number
of opinions and experiences related to this topic, and shared a range of
strategies. We have attempted in the summary below to highlight some of
the main issues and strategies that were mentioned. In our efforts to be
reasonably brief, however, we have undoubtedly missed some important
points. Though the official dialogue has closed, we strongly encourage
those interested to continue this conversation by forwarding further
messages. Our gratitude to all of our distinguished panelists, and to our
subscribers for a stimulating conversation.
Issues
Who are immigrant girls?
* Many myths exist. Mainstream U.S. culture often associates immigrants
with non-Whites and non-English speakers, even though the majority of
immigrants speak English as a native language, or speak it well upon
arrival.
* We cannot generalize across cultures nor within the same cultural
groups. Issues change when immigrants come "voluntarily" or
"involuntarily" (as refugees), and if they are planning to stay in the U.S.
or return to their home country. There are hierarchies and obstacles in
home countries that affect peoples' experiences in the U.S.
* Racism plays a large role in closing doors and raising obstacles for
many immigrants, and Black immigrants, especially, from a number of
countries, face multiple discrimination here. This issue was raised
particularly with respect to Haitian immigrants in certain parts of the
U.S.
* Latinos/as are the fastest growing population in the U.S. Latinas are
currently the largest group of girls of color in the United States.
What issues do immigrant girls face in the educational realm of their
lives?
Maintenance of a strong cultural identity is linked to high educational
achievement, while increased time in the U.S. in linked to diminishing
achievement. Family support and encouragement can be vital to whether
girls achieve academically.
* Acculturation should be seen as a two-way process (requiring
adaptation/negotiation from both the individual and the system (school),
and "additive." The goal is development of a "rich cultural repertoire
that has been made possible through efforts by the student and by the
school.
* Immigrant girls often perform difficult balancing acts between family
expectations and school/U.S. expectations, between assimilation and
pressures to avoid "selling out."
* Girls can have differing expectations by their families based on their
gender?in some cases expectations that they will marry young and start
their family; heavy family responsibilities in terms of household chores,
including child and elder care; and families' opinion that girls need to be
protected more than boys.
* One teacher-participant sees generational differences in immigrant
populations, with younger girls and women more easily speaking of high
personal goals and desires.
Immigrant girls also have special issues fitting in with their peers when
the dominant school culture does not accommodate and respect their culture
and/or language.
* Immigrant students may face harassment from other (nonimmigrant)
students
* Immigrant girls may be more isolated from peers and limited from
participating in after-school academic and social activities than immigrant
boys. High-performing immigrant girls may face additional isolation if her
peers are isolated in lower tracks, and may receive criticism from them for
selling out.
* Girls may feel pressure to rebel against or turn their backs on their
cultural roots and their family in order to fit into the dominant culture.
Many issues are related to attitudes and efforts of school personnel.
While schools can and sometimes do have a strongly negative affect on
immigrant girls' educational achievements, schools and even individual
teachers can also have a strongly positive effect on self-esteem,
expectations, and achievement.
* There is a lack of diversity among school personnel. The vast majority
of teachers are white, and many schools do not have even one teacher of
color, much less teachers who match students' cultural/linguistic
backgrounds.
* Many teachers focus on behavior and attendance with females of color
rather than academic achievement, holding lower expectations of immigrant
girls than for nonimmigrants. Students whose native language is other than
English are routinely placed in lower educational tracks where instruction
is often of lower quality.
* Latinas/os have the highest dropout rates (in some regions 50-60% for
Latinos/as with limited English proficiency) and this high rate is not
diminishing as quickly as it is for some other groups.
* Immigrant girls many times outperform immigrant boys in terms of GPA
and higher educational aspiration. They may also have a stronger sense of
focus on their education than their male peers. Sometimes girls form
supportive groups of girls from similar cultural/linguistic backgrounds
that give them the support to set high goals.
Strategies
Schools
Institutions need to work with rather than against families and
communities, recognizing the strengths and contributions immigrants bring.
* Often families need greater understanding by all family members of how
continued education will benefit not only their daughters but the whole
family and community. Family support and understanding is vital to girls'
educational success. Supporting other family members' efforts to pursue
further education, learn English, and reach out to the outside community
also supports girls' achievement.
* One panelist mentioned her success in gaining family support for
girls' education by targeting, and enlisting the support of, fathers. She
met directly with fathers and attended events in the immigrant communities
to gain the trust and respect that allowed girls' participation in
activities.
The school community (teachers, administrators, counselors, staff,
students, and parents) needs to make a significant effort to understand and
be sensitive to cultural and linguistic backgrounds of girls and their
families. They need to show openness to diverse populations. They also
need to make adaptations to promote a sense of belonging and respect.
* Home cultures and student interests need to be integrated into the
school curriculum, and students need to see themselves and role models
(adults or older girls) like themselves as part of the educational
environment. Students may resist this, however, if it is seen as tokenism.
* Involving young people from similar cultural/linguistic backgrounds as
mentors or buddies is can be effective.
After-school tutoring or homework help sessions can help encourage
students. School or church sponsored after-school activities can also help
make parents feel more comfortable about their daughters' participation
outside of school. But outreach and good. relationships with the families
are vital, since some families will not allow daughters to participate in
out-of-school activities.
Bilingual education and/or other language services (native-speaking
teachers, aides, and other school personnel) are vital for many immigrant
students.
* But not all immigrant students need it?some schools automatically
assign immigrant and/or bilingual students to classes for non-English
speakers even though their English is good enough to participate in English
classes. Individual assessments of each child's possibilities are needed.
* Schools need to provide the support for immigrant students to study
challenging academic subjects while they learn/improve their English.
Teachers can make a big difference in a student's life and education/career
path.
* Several participants spoke about how important teacher's support was
for them in overcoming the obstacles created by other
teachers/administrators/counselors and family's fears regarding further
education.
* One participant suggests individual education plans for each student,
to ensure that their individual needs and potentials are focused on.
* Be careful about interpreting behavior only through a dominant
cultural lens?for instance, what a teacher sees as shyness or unwillingness
to participate in classroom discussion may be a culturally taught desirable
behavior in their homes. One panelist encourages participation in
different ways, for instance asking students at the beginning of class to
write down their comments on topics or readings so they can read them out
loud later in class. Or open up communication by e-mail with students.
Research
Data needs to be disaggregated among groups as well as between groups, as
well as by gender and class. For example, between Whites, Indians, and
Blacks among Latino populations.
We need to have a much broader and more flexible way to define program
success and effectiveness than simply test scores. Increasing attendance
rates is very important, as are a multitude of other measures. Focusing
solely on test scores discourages the development and implementation of
effectively programs for immigrant girls and/or their school communities.
Sundra Flansburg
Director
WEEA Equity Resource Center
<sflansburg@edc.org>
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