Early reading achievement of children in immigrant families: is there an immigrant paradox?

This article examines whether longitudinal reading trajectories vary by the generational status of immigrant children as they begin formal schooling through the 3rd grade. The results of the hierarchical linear model indicated that 1st and 2nd generation children (i.e., those born in a foreign country and those born in the United States to foreign-born parents, respectively) had higher achievement scores at the spring of kindergarten than did 3rd generation children. Yet, controlling for race/ethnicity and maternal education fully reduced the 1st generation advantage. In addition, 1st generation children grew in reading achievement at a faster rate than did 3rd generation children. Controlling for a host of proximal and distal factors that included demographic, race/ethnic, family, and school characteristics somewhat reduced the association between generational status and rate of growth. First and 2nd generation children continued to increase their reading scores at a faster rate than did 3rd generation children. It is likely that additional factors not measured in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Kindergarten cohort, such as selection, cultural, or motivational factors, would be useful in further explaining the immigrant advantage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).     

Deconstructing Canada’s discourse of immigrant integration

The term “integration” is commonly used in Canada’s immigration discourse to refer to the desirable way by which newcomers should become members of the receiving society. Policy-makers, immigration critics, and academics adopt different languages and conceptual tools to articulate integration, but the subtext of their discourse is similar. This paper deconstructs the integration discourse in policy statements, immigration debates, and academic writings. The analysis shows that the discourse endorses a conformity model in assessing immigrants and a monolithic cultural framework that preaches tolerance in the abstract but remains intolerant toward cultural specificities deemed outside the mainstream. The subtext is unequivocal: Becoming similar to Canadians is integration and maintaining cultural difference is opposite to integration. The paper advocates a more inclusive approach toward integration.     

Are cognitive differences between immigrant and majority groups diminishing?

A review is given of scores on various cognitive measures, comparing groups of ethnic Dutch and non‐Western immigrants using a large number of datasets. The research shows that there are large group differences in school results, work proficiency, and g for Turks, Moroccans, Surinamese, Netherlands Antilleans, and Indonesians from the Moluccans compared with ethnic Dutch. However, South‐East Asians score higher, and persons with one immigrant and one ethnic Dutch parent score only slightly below the mean of the Dutch. When comparing first‐generation disadvantaged immigrant groups with later generations the data show substantial improvements for g, a remarkable stability of educational differences for younger children, and a clear improvement in educational achievement at the end of primary school. Indirect data on intergenerational improvements in work proficiency appear suggestive of a trend of closing gaps. Some of the data reflect higher cognitive capacities over time, and this enhances integration of immigrants into Dutch society. Causes of group differences and improvements in mean level of g are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Country-specific or convergent? A typology of immigrant policies in Western Europe

This article raises the question as to whether European immigrant policies are shaped by country-specific traditions of nation-state building or whether, on the contrary, they are converging toward the same policy goals. On the basis of four case studies of 30 years of policy development (United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the Netherlands), the authors develop a broad typology of immigrant policies in Western Europe. This typology shows that in the shadow of the debate on different “integration models”, Western European countries have implemented a whole range of similar immigrant policies. However, in policy fields touching the core of historically established notions of how state and society should relate to each other—notably the struggle against discrimination and the opening of public institutions to immigrants—significant differences persist.     

Relationships between demographic variables and immigrant parents’ perceptions of assimilative adolescent behaviours

This research examined relationships between parental age, education, family size, length of residence in Canada, dyad type (same-sex parent-adolescent dyad versus opposite-sex parent-adolescent dyad) and immigrant parents’ perceptions of assimilative behaviours that adolescents are likely to display as a result of their involvement in the Canadian school system. An ethnically mixed sample of 36 parents and their adolescents responded to a questionnaire that solicited ratings of the degree of acceptability of prototypical assimilative adolescent behaviours. Analysis of Variance indicated that the match or mismatch between the sex of the parent and adolescent did not affect behavior ratings. Multiple Regression Analyses revealed that parental education was the only variable that significantly predicted parental approval or disapproval of adolescents’ behavioral shifts towards Western norms.     

The continuance of gender culture amid change in Mexican–American immigrant Catholic contexts

The acceptance and implementation of Roman Catholic teachings on marriage, sexuality, and the family vary both at the individual and at the parish level. While overall, there is a dialectical relationship between gender and religion in the way they inform and mold each other, the majority of research has focused on how religion has shaped gender in communities. We use qualitative data from a Latino immigrant Catholic context in the United States to show the opposite movement: how a Mexican–American gender culture of machismo and marianismo shapes the religious culture in the arenas of marriage and religious authority. The process of incorporating immigrant Mexicans into the dominant culture of the United States takes place in part in these religious centers through the interaction and mixture of Latino gender norms with the therapeutic egalitarianism of the white middle class, through the mediation of priests. Through this, we suggest that there are contexts, times, and places where the gender culture of a community shapes the reception and practice of religion.     

‘Hijab envy’: the visible angst of immigrant Christians in a pluralist Canada

This article explores the predilection of Christians of immigrant background to perceive themselves as a disadvantaged group in the new reality of Canada’s growing religious diversity. The present inquiry challenges loss as the definitive emotional register for Christian engagement with Canada’s new religious minorities, demonstrating that religious minorities have elicited begrudging admiration and envy from their Christian counterparts. This inquiry insists that contemporary Canada, not ‘Christian Canada’, is the most important frame for understanding the perceptions and predilections of the Christians in this study. It argues that pluralist ideals, the policy instruments, and social practices that carry these ideals and the cultural forums that display and debate these ideals shape not only the ‘attitudes’ of young Christians, but also the regimes of visibility in which and from which they operate. While scholars impute an increasing visibility to religion, this article demonstrates that the array of affects between viewer and viewed are highly variable and context specific.     

Do relational and structural characteristics of negative school environments independently predict immigrant adolescents’ academic achievement?

A critical issue facing the majority of immigrant adolescents in U.S. public schools is persistent academic underperformance. Using data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study, this study investigates the extent to which negative social environments in U.S. public schools predict the academic achievement of immigrant adolescents. Importantly, we simultaneously examine the roles of both the relational (individual-level) and structural (school-level) characteristics of these negative social environments. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that immigrant students who are embedded in more negative relationships (e.g., having peers who discriminate against them) have lower levels of academic achievement. These predictive effects of individual-level negative social environments on academic achievement are mediated by both perceived school safety and educational expectations. Furthermore, we find double mediation effects (i.e., three-pathway mediations) via perceptions of school safety and educational expectations. The existence of these double mediation effects implies that relational characteristics strongly predict immigrant adolescents’ perceptions, attitudes, and school outcomes. Finally, we find that structural characteristics of negative social environments in U.S. public schools (i.e., total student enrollment and school-level dropout rate) also negatively predict immigrant adolescent achievement. We discuss the implications of these findings for improving immigrant adolescents’ achievements in U.S. public schools.     

Getting a foothold: Male immigrant employment integration and structural change in Sweden, 1970–1995

In this article the employment performance of native and foreign-born men in Sweden is examined in the period 1970–1995. Using longitudinal data, the relative chance of obtaining first employment during the first two years in the labour market for natives and various immigrant groups is estimated. The main hypothesis tested is to what kind and what degree structural changes in the labour market affect the employment performance of various immigrant groups. The results show that since the middle of the 1980s, there has been a change in employment performance among immigrant men, who are perceived to be culturally and linguistically less close to Sweden. It is during this period that structural changes in the labour market occurred, in particular the organizational and technological changes that demand more communicativeand interpersonal skills, that is, Sweden-specific skills.     

Is elevated risk of child maltreatment in immigrant families associated with socioeconomic status? Evidence from three sources

In this study we tested whether children from Dutch‐immigrant families are at increased risk for maltreatment, and if so, what factors could explain this risk. Three data sources from the second Netherlands Prevalence Study of Maltreatment of Youth (NPM‐2010) were used to answer these questions. First, 1127 professionals from various occupational branches (sentinels) were asked to report each child (including some background information on the child and family) for whom they suspected child maltreatment during a period of three months. Second, we included the 2010 data from the Dutch Child Protective Services and third, 1759 high school students aged 11–17 years filled out a questionnaire on their experiences of maltreatment in the past year. We found that children from traditional immigrant families with a relatively long migration history in the Netherlands (Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese, and Antillean) and from nontraditional immigrant families (African [except Morocco], Eastern European, Central Asian, and South and Central American; often refugees) were at increased risk for child maltreatment compared to native Dutch families. However, in the professionals’ and CPS data this risk disappeared for the traditional immigrant families after correction for educational level of the parents and for step‐parenthood. Within the group of families with low education or step‐parents, the risk for child maltreatment was similar for traditional immigrant families as for native Dutch families. Nontraditional families remained at increased risk after correction for sociodemographic and family factors. In conclusion, we found that children from both traditional and nontraditional immigrant families are at increased risk for maltreatment as compared to children from native Dutch families. For the traditional immigrants this risk could partially be explained by socioeconomic status. This implies that socioeconomic factors should be taken into account when outlining policies to fight child maltreatment.     

Twinning projects between immigrant families and quebecois families: Volunteer work,mutual aid,or intervention?

Twinning projects between immigrants and local residents are often analyzed from the viewpoint of intercultural relations or adaptation to the host society. Our concern here is with the domestic processes at work in twinning projects implemented by community organizations and funded by the Ministère des Relations avec les Citoyens et de l'Immigration. This draws from a research project carried out among seventy-five twinned families, half of which are Quebecois and half immigrants of diverse origins. Our analysis centers around the different forms of appropriation open to actors: volunteer work, intervention, and mutual aid.     

Can children develop a dual identity when immigrant mothers feel homesick? A short-term longitudinal study among Turkish immigrants

Abstract

Turkish immigrant-origin youth in Western Europe often develop strong ethnic and weaker national identities. To advance our understanding of this pattern, we investigated the concurrent development and intergenerational transmission of both identities over time in conjunction with maternal homesickness. Our study was based on a sample of 176 Turkish mother-child dyads from Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands. Mothers (M _t1 = 38 years) reported on their identities and homesickness at T1 and children (M _t1 = 12 years) on their identities at T1 and T2. Our results showed that children’s ethnic and national identities became more incompatible over time, mother’s homesickness strengthened children’s ethnic identities, and mother’s ethnic identities in combination with high levels of homesickness weakened children’s national identities. We conclude that early adolescence is a critical time for Turkish immigrant youth’s identity development and that a focus on parental acculturative stressors can advance ethnic socialization and cultural transmission research.     

A qualitative study of Indian and Indian immigrant adolescents’ perceptions of the factors affecting their engagement and performance in school

Although a growing body of quantitative research has examined the non-cognitive factors affecting the school engagement and performance of adolescents across cultures, there is relatively sparse qualitative research investigating the perceptions of adolescents regarding the factors influencing their engagement and performance in school. This focus group study comprising 32 Indian adolescents from India (mean age = 16.78 years) and 20 Indian immigrant adolescents from Canada (mean age = 17.05 years), therefore, using a self-determination theory perspective, explored the perceptions of Indian and Indian immigrant adolescents about the factors affecting their school engagement and performance in India and Canada, respectively. Thematic analysis of eight focus group discussions suggested that Indian and Indian immigrant adolescents were primarily extrinsically motivated toward school and academics. Further, both the Indian and Indian immigrant adolescents perceived their classroom teachers as controlling rather than autonomy-supportive. Implications of the findings are briefly discussed.     

Latino immigrant parents’ experiences raising young children in the absence of extended family networks in Canada: Implications for counselling

Latinos account for 10% of newcomers to Canada, and most are families with young children under the age of 10. In their homelands, Latinos are supported in the parenting process by extended family networks due to the cultural value of familism. Migration to Canada disrupts extended family care-giving, as only one’s spouse and dependent children are allowed to accompany the principal immigration applicant. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore Latino immigrant parents of young children’s experiences of parenting in Canada in the absence of their extended families, and how they adjust to this new lived reality. An ethnically mixed sample of 10 parents (5 mothers and 5 fathers) participated in semi-structured interviews, which were analysed via thematic analysis. Emerging themes suggested a perceived “uploading” of parental responsibility after migration, producing fear, worry, sadness, loneliness and burnout. These experiences resulted in the negotiation of new parenting partnerships with unanticipated positive outcomes: increased nuclear family cohesion and increased father involvement in childrearing. Parents also described how new support networks were established in surprising ways, such as through interfaces with the health care system. Interventions for facilitating the successful adaptation of Latino parents in a similar predicament are discussed.     

Managers’ selection preferences: The role of prejudice and multicultural personality traits in the assessment of native and immigrant job candidates

PresentationStatistics across European countries show that immigrants have a disproportionate lower employment probability than persons born in the host country (SOPEMI, 2010). Explanations to this phenomenon are complex.ObjectivesAn experiment was conducted to investigate the relationship between multicultural personality traits and managers’ selection preferences in the hiring of native vs. foreign-born job candidates. We proposed that this relationship was mediated by prejudice.MethodsNorwegian managers (n = 222) were presented with one Turkish immigrant job candidate and two Norwegian-born, less qualified job candidates. The managers completed the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) and the Blatant Prejudice Scale (SBPS).ResultsWe found that the threat and rejection blatant prejudice subscale and Emotional stability predicted the managers’ hiring preferences. Specifically, the higher threat and rejection subscale scores and the lower emotional stability scores, the more likely it is that the managers preferred to hire a native, less qualified candidate over the Turkish immigrant candidate. The effect of emotional stability on candidate preference was not mediated by prejudice.ConclusionsThe results suggest that managers’ feelings of threat due to foreign-born immigrants’ participation in the host society (political conservatism), and threat due to intercultural interactions, are significantly related to foreign-born immigrant job candidates’ chances of being hired.     

Can I dismiss the stereotype – as my teacher did? Influence of stereotype activation and an immigrant teacher on student learning

Social Psychology of Education - Lower vocabulary in German is repeatedly reported for students with Turkish migration background attending school in Germany. We investigated whether in students of...     

Can perceptions of similarity reduce the ability to see the other’s needs? The case of immigrant students’ integration policy

In this age of wide migration waves all over the world, when schools’ populations become more diverse, educators often make policies regarding groups of immigrant students (from the same origin) with unique needs. Perceptions of homogeneity of the group, as well as perceptions of similarity between the decision maker and the group members are likely to have a major influence on these policies. Although research has shown that perceptions of great similarity between the decision maker and a target group enhance empathy and promote decisions in favor of the group; results of the current research, examining immigrant students’ integration policy in schools, suggest that inaccurate high similarity perceptions (on a relevant domain) might decrease the ability to understand the targets’ diverse needs and may lead to decisions that do not serve the group, or the decision maker’s goals. Two studies were conducted to examine the effect of perceived homogeneity and similarity on immigrant integration policy in schools. In the first study, lay people recommended fewer programs for immigrants students when those where judged to be more similar to themselves and more homogenous. Similar results were obtained in the second study, examining school principals’ reports of existing programs for immigrant students in their schools. Implications on policy making are discussed.     

‘He thinks Krishna is his friend’: Domestic space and temple sociality in the socialisation beliefs of immigrant Indian Hindu parents

This paper reports results from a study of the cultural belief systems, or ethnotheories, of Asian Indian Hindu parents in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, in the USA. I adopted a cultural, developmental psychological approach and, over a one-year period, used caregiver diaries, ecological inventories, repeated in-depth interviews and participant observations to gain access to the ethnotheories of the parents. These immigrant parents emphasised family ties, unprompted adherence to the daily routine, knowledge of cultural origins and religiously inflected moral values. Exploring the nuances of their emphasis on cultural origins and moral and religious values, particularly as those relate to Hinduism and its transnational rearticulation, I show how the parents utilised domestic spaces and the temple as dual venues to systematically socialise their children into a new form of Hindu religious and ‘Indian’ ethnic identity in the USA.     

Institutional change and emerging cohorts of the “New” immigrant second generation: Implications for the integration of racial minorities in Canada

Journal of International Migration and Integration - In recent decades institutional change-related to education, labour markets, government policies, and globalization-has dramatically altered the...     

When does dual identity predict protest? The moderating roles of anti‐immigrant policies and opinion‐based group identity

Dual identities are defined as immigrants' identification with their ethnic ingroup as well as the national community in their country of residence. Dual identities have been argued to increase protest, because they make immigrants feel entitled to advocate for their disadvantaged ethnic group as part of a larger national community. In a study of Latino immigrants to the United States, however, we found that dual identities no longer predict protest when immigrants learn that other members of the national community have passed laws or enacted policies that would exclude immigrants or restrict their rights, through deportation and detention. Further, we found that immigrants who identify with those fighting to change such anti‐immigrant policies support protest regardless of the level of their dual identity and regardless of policy salience. We argue that these results point to the importance of dual identity recognition for research on immigrant protest. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.