Immigration/Multilingualism
- Darlene Edgar
Turner, E. O., & Mangual Figueroa, A. (2019). Immigration policy and education in lived reality: A framework for researchers and educators. Educational Researcher, 48(8), 549–557. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=ehh&AN=139507376&site=eds-live&custid=s7439054
Introduction:
The framework aims to integrate immigration and education research findings with critical policy lines to address the experiences of students and families affected by US immigration policy and the responses of schools.
Framework Components:
People: Focus on undocumented immigrant origin students and families and their unique intersectional experiences of oppression.
Everyday Interactions: Examine how education and immigration policy intersect in daily interactions, encompassing official policy, enactment, and practices that expand or limit citizenship.
Context: Consider multiple overlapping contexts at local, state, federal, and international levels.
Consequences: Explore the multiple consequences over time that influence various facets of school, society, and the lives of immigrant origin students and families.
Power: Analyze how power shapes individual and group experiences and perspectives along multiple axes, including legal status and marginalized immigrant origins.
Key Points:
People are viewed as targets of policy, and an intersectional lens must be used to consider the experiences of all individuals.
Adults play various roles in the lives of students, including educators, building community members, and advocates during ongoing crises such as parent and child detention.
Immigration policy shapes education, and vice versa, with teachers and administrators making real-time decisions on how to enact policy in schools and classrooms.
Policies and practices in schools can effectively create unofficial immigration policies, with ideologies about immigrants being exposed and contested.
Consequences of immigration policies include negative impacts on health and social-emotional development, increased anti-immigrant bullying in schools, and impeded educational attainment due to legal barriers.
Framework Characteristics:
The framework centers diverse policy actors, particularly immigrant origin students and families, and emphasizes the negotiation and experience of immigration policies.
It challenges traditional views of context as singular, bounded, and static, instead viewing policy and immigrant origin students' lives as situated within complex, multi-scalar, and interconnected contexts.
The framework identifies varied consequences for individuals, schools, and society, highlighting the shifting and developing nature of these consequences over time.
It encourages a rethinking of common categories, boundaries, assumptions, and policy models, expanding the scope of research and educational approaches beyond traditional classroom instruction.
Shin, H., & Sterzuk, A. (2019). Discourses, practices, and realities of multilingualism in higher education. TESL Canada Journal, 36(1), 147–159. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=ehh&AN=139006293&site=eds-live&custid=s7439054
Introduction:
The paper addresses the challenges posed by English dominance in Canadian universities and the need for meaningful engagement with multilingualism in higher education.
It examines tensions and contradictions surrounding two key discourses: internationalization and indigenization.
Internationalization and Indigenization:
Internationalization involves curricular changes, recruitment of international students, and development of international education programs.
Indigenization aims to respond to the ongoing effects of settler colonialism and supports Indigenous students, faculty, and staff within existing systems or through fundamental transformations.
Critical Social Theories and Language:
Critical social theories, post-colonial theories, and applied linguistics research highlight the societal context of language learning, intertwined with colonialism and capitalism.
Neo-liberalism in higher education prioritizes individual needs over collective rights, hindering Indigenous language policy and perpetuating linguistic and cultural assimilation.
Issues Around Multilingualism:
Canadian campuses are predominantly monolingual, challenging the notion of multilingualism as the coexistence of multiple sets of monolingualism.
Language learning is often detached from its social context, emphasizing standardized competencies for labor market demands.
Challenges Faced by Indigenous and International Students:
Gatekeeping practices, such as group assignment dynamics, may unintentionally restrict international students' participation and learning opportunities.
Policing of language variation in written assignments perpetuates racial hierarchies, impacting Indigenous and international students' equitable access to education.
Institutional Policies and Practices:
University policies and practices tend to encourage English monolingualism, disadvantaging students who may struggle with academic English.
Some institutions are adopting practices like offsite thesis defenses and inclusion of Indigenous languages and oral practices to better support students' academic and community needs.
Towards Ethical Responses:
Higher education institutions need to fundamentally transform their approach to language and multilingualism, moving beyond settler colonial goals of English modeling.
Ethical responses involve supporting learners in expanding their linguistic repertoire, encouraging translanguaging, and partnering with Indigenous communities for language revitalization efforts.
Conclusion:
Discussions of campus multilingualism should consider the kind, purpose, and consequences of multilingualism, moving towards inclusive and ethical language practices in higher education.
Turner, E. O., & Mangual Figueroa, A. (2019). Immigration policy and education in lived reality: A framework for researchers and educators. Educational Researcher, 48(8), 549–557. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=ehh&AN=139507376&site=eds-live&custid=s7439054
Framework Overview:
Analytical tool integrating immigration policy and education research findings.
Aimed at addressing challenges faced by marginalized students and families affected by US immigration policies.
Consists of five interconnected components.
Components of the Framework:
People:
Focuses on undocumented immigrant students and families.
Highlights their unique intersectional experiences of oppression.
Everyday Interactions:
Explores daily experiences, contests, and co-constructions at the intersection of education and immigration policy.
Considers how official policies, enactments, and practices expand or limit citizenship.
Context:
Considers multiple overlapping contexts at local, state, federal, and international levels.
Shapes the experiences of immigrant-origin students and families.
Consequences:
Explores multifaceted consequences over time, influencing various aspects of school, society, and the lives of immigrant-origin students and families.
Long-lasting effects on individuals and communities.
Power:
Analyzes power dynamics along multiple axes, including legal status, immigrant origins, and experiences of students and families.
Permeates each component of the framework.
Key Emphases:
Intersectional lens needed to understand experiences of all individuals affected by immigration policies.
Roles of adults in supporting students, navigating crises, and addressing linguistic profiling.
Reciprocal relationship between immigration policy and education.
Consequences of Restrictive Immigration Policies:
Impact on health, social-emotional development, educational attainment, and family dynamics.
Psychological trauma, material hardship, residential instability, and increased reliance on public benefits among immigrant-origin families.
Overall Implications:
Challenges common assumptions and boundaries in policy models.
Advocates for holistic and analytical approach to understanding the interplay between immigration policy and education.
Calls for expanded research and educational approaches beyond traditional classroom instruction.
Centers experiences of diverse policy actors, especially immigrant-origin students and families.