IMMIGRATION, EDUCATION, AND THE CHANGING SUBURBS MARCELO M. SUÁREZ-OROZCO, Ph.D. The Richard Fisher Membership Fellow, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ & The Courtney Sale Ross University Professor at New York University Co-Director, Immigration NYU Changing Suburbs Institute, Manhattanville College Friday March 5, 2010

Migration and Our Changing Suburbs Migration and Our Changing Suburbs

Culture and Identity Culture and Identity

Comparative Transnational Migration

The New Immigration and the New, New Immigration Top Countries of Birth, 2008 Country of Birth2006% 1. Mexico11,534, Philippines1,634, India1,505, China1,357, Vietnam1,116, El Salvador1,042, Korea1,021, Cuba932, Canada847, Dominican Republic764, Guatemala740, Jamaica643, Adapted from Pew Hispanic Center, 2008

Distribution of Children by Race and Ethnicity: 1990, 2008, and 2030 * Non-Hispanic. Estimates for 2008 and 2030 for Whites, Blacks and Others are for those who identify with only one race. Source: U.S. Census Bureau and National Center for Health Statistics

Transgenerational Asymmetry Age-Sex Pyramid for Non-Hispanic Whites in the United States, 2006 Current Population Survey

Transgenerational Asymmetry Age-Sex Pyramid for Native-Born Hispanics in the United States, 2006 Current Population Survey

Challenge of Learning English  Highly motivated to learn  99% said it was very important to learn English  93% liked learning  But 1/3 though it was “very hard”  English is _________ ~ very important for the future ~ important to succeed ~ important to get ahead  Open Ended tasks  Main impediment for getting ahead in the US? — 56% said English  Main impediment for going to college — 45% said English  TAT Card 1-- Many told narratives of struggles of learning

English Language Proficiency

TAT

Academic English Country Comparisons Year 5

Academic Performance Pathways ABCDABCD

Characteristics of Pathways  Decliners  Less educated parents  Attending poor quality schools  Gaps in English language proficiency  Most family conflict  More likely to have protracted separations  Endorsed psychological symptoms  Undocumented  Few supportive school relations  Low behavioral engagement  Difficulty sustaining incoming hope & drive  Low Achievers  Come in with gaps in literacy & schooling  Attended worst schools  Significant family problems  Few supportive school relations  Lure of work  Never find their academic bearings

Characteristics of Pathways  Improving  Initial transplant shock  Often had undergone pre-migration trauma  Attended better schools than decliners or low achievers  More likely to have intact families & working parents  More likely to connect with a mentor  High Achievers  Most educated parents  Least family separations  Better family relations  Best emotional wellbeing  Attended best schools  Most supportive school based relationships  Best English language skills  Highest behavioral engagement

Is Education Relevant to Immigration?  Education is now more important than ever before in human history, it will be more important to immigrants now than in other previous wave in history and the future belongs, literally, to the children of immigrants  Each additional year of school is associated with powerful long-term virtuous cycles including lowered fertility, increased health, and financial well-being  Is College is the new high school?  The problems of today -- from to threats to the environment, war, deep poverty require smarter global solutions -- demanding more of education

Cultural Sensibilities Children growing up today are more likely than in any previous generation to face a life of working, networking, and living with others from different national, linguistic, religious, and racial backgrounds. Therefore working across cultural and linguistic boundaries will hence forth have a huge premium

Paradigm of Complexity  Managing Complexity in the 21 st Century will require an education for life-long cognitive, behavioral, and relational engagement with the world. The skills needed for identifying, analyzing and mobilizing to solve problems from multiple perspectives will require individuals who are intellectually curious and cognitively flexible, tolerant of ambiguity, able to synthesize knowledge within and across disciplines, culturally and linguistically sophisticated, and able to work collaboratively in groups made up of diverse individuals

Promising Practices with Immigrant Students  Language Learning Accommodations  Ease Culture Shock & Negotiating Transitions  Accommodate for longer time required to graduate (for newcomer adolescents)  Accommodations required to prepare for High Stakes Tests  Engage families & communities  Provide Explicit College Pathway Knowledge  Provide Tutoring/After-school/Summer academic supports

An Educational Agenda for All Youth  Well Grounded in Core Subjects with Strong Language Supports, L1 and L2  Capacity for synthetic and interdisciplinary thinking  Consciousness - Global Consciousness  Cultural Sensibilities  Self-awareness  Health & wellbeing & self-knowledge  Critical Thinking & Lifelong Learning Skills  Communication Skills  Writing & Public Speaking  Collaborative skills  Interpersonal skills and ability to work with those different than oneself  Information, Media Skills/ICT Literacy  Life Skills  Leadership  Adaptability & flexibility  Personal accountability & Self-Regulation