Schools miss the mark on immigrant student integration, study finds
Teachers focus on academic achievement while immigrant children define belonging through daily social interactions, creating a disconnect that undermines integration efforts. The findings suggest schools need to rethink how they measure and support immigrant student success beyond test scores—a critical issue as workforce diversity becomes a competitive advantage.
Originaltitel: It takes a village to enable participation and integration: Examining the meaning of social relationships from different perspectives
<p>This chapter concerns the importance of social relationships for the integration, participation, and identity formation of children with – and without – migrant background. Carefully differentiating between symmetric and asymmetric relationships, the chapter examines the impact of the social contexts in enabling or inhibiting the development of a hybrid identity and integration, but also how children experience, construct and shape their social environments. Analyses of interviews with children and professionals highlight the importance of identity construction and point to the consequences of such constructions for children's participation and integration. The interviews reveal commonalities and differences between dimensions of interest (e.g. developmental outcomes), social contexts (e.g., in providing opportunities and barriers), and perspectives (e.g. children vs. professionals). For example, while children's understanding of belonging and identity is often linked to everyday practices, teachers are focusing more on children’s achievement and emphasising its importance for participation and integration beyond school life.</p>