Unaccompanied children’s education in the United States: Service provider’s perspective on challenges and support strategies

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17981/cultedusoc.13.1.2022.12

Keywords:

Unaccompanied children, Immigrant, Education, Challenges, Support strategies, Student

Abstract

Introduction: Newcomer students seek routine and safety in schools, but often experience a “hard landing” when they begin school in the United States. Objective: While there is substantial literature on the academic and language achievement of emergent bilingual students, there is less specifically on unaccompanied immigrant students, and even less on their social and emotional well-being. Methodology: This study uses a human rights framework to analyze qualitative data from service providers (n = 79) for unaccompanied children. Results: Challenges to meeting the needs of this population include the limited capacity of schools and school districts, students’ language ability and preparedness for school, cultural differences, and individual health and mental health considerations. Supports to help immigrant students include academic and language assistance, cooperation among service providers, and emotional and behavioral programs. Conclusions: Recommendations include building community partnerships, creating more welcoming policies, school-assessments of programming compared to needs of newcomer students, and more research.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Kerri Evans, University of Maryland Baltimore County. Baltimore (USA)

 Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Dr. Evans’ research focuses on crisis migrants and their wellbeing in the United States with an emphasis on social and emotional wellbeing in schools. Dr. Evans brings almost a decade of casework and program management experience with immigrants to her research and teaching.

Gabrielle Oliveira, School of Social Work, University of Maryland Baltimore County. Baltimore (USA)

PhD , Jorge Paulo Lemann Associate Professor of Education and of Brazil Studies at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research focuses on immigration and mobility — on how people move, adapt, and parent across borders. Her expertise includes gender, anthropology, transnationalism across the Americas. Merging the fields of anthropology and education through ethnographic work in multiple countries, Oliveira also studies the educational trajectories of immigrant children. Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, Oliveira received her M.A. and Ph.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City

Robert G. Hason III, Providence College. Providence (USA)

 Assistant Professor of Social Work at Providence College. He holds an MSW and Ph.D. in Social Work from the Boston College School of Social Work. Robert’s research focuses on the intersection of child welfare and immigration. He is particularly interested in examining mental health risk and protective factors for unaccompanied children who experience forced migration and informing the development of clinical interventions and policies that serve children and adolescents who experience trauma as a result of forced migration. In addition, Robert maintains a small private practice in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Thomas M. Crea, Boston College School of Social Work. Chestnut Hill (USA)

Professor, Chair of Global Practice, and Assistant Dean of Global Programs at the School of Social Work, Boston College. He is a former clinical social worker and a mental health therapist for severely emotionally disturbed children, and as a foster care adoption worker and supervisor providing home study assessments and post-placement support to families. His research focuses on the intersections of child welfare, refugee social protection and education, and strengthening humanitarian aid and international development programs.

Sarah E. Neville, Boston College School of Social Work. Chestnut Hill (USA)

PhD candidate at Boston College School of Social Work. She uses quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, participatory methods, and implementation science to study global child welfare and family strengthening. Her research to date has focused on topics including orphans and vulnerable children, children without parental care, family reintegration, care reform, foster care, and intercountry adoption, in Sub-Saharan Africa, Central America, and the United States. 

Virgginia Fitchett, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. Baltimore (USA)

PhD, is the Deputy Director for Children and Family Services at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, a national nonprofit that overseas a wide variety of services for unaccompanied immigrant children.

References

AECF. (2017). Race for results: 2017 policy report: Kids count. Baltimore: AECF. Available from http://www.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/aecf-2017raceforresults-2017.pdf

Amin, S. (2011). Programs to address child marriage: Framing the problem. Transitions to Adulthood. Brief 14. New York: Population Council. https://www.popcouncil.org/uploads/pdfs/TABriefs/14_ChildMarriage.pdf

Anguiano, A., Ayala, K. & Muñiz, K. (2019). “I’m not White, I’m Mexican!”: Mexican-Americans, skin tone, and social identity conflict. Conference Papers presented at American Sociological Association, Washington D. C., USA. Available: https://medical.stacksdiscovery.com/eds/detail?db=sih&an=141309996

Avramidis, E. & Norwich, B. (2002). Teachers’ attitudes towards integration / inclusion: A review of the literature. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 17(2), 129–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856250210129056

Barrett, A. N., Kuperminc, G. P. & Lewis, K. M. (2013). Acculturative stress and gang involvement among Latinos: U.S.-born versus immigrant youth. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 35(3), 370–389. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986313488086

Bates, L., Baird, D., Johnson, D., Lee, R., Luster, T. & Rehagen, C. (2009). Sudanese refugee youth in foster care: The “Lost Boys’’ in America. Child Welfare, 84(5), 631–648. Available: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16435654/

Bauer, E. B. & Arazi, J. (2011). Promoting literacy development for beginning English learners. The Reading Teacher, 64(5), 383–386. https://doi.org/10.1598/RT.64.5.14

Beehler, S., Birman, D. & Campbell, R. (2012). The Effectiveness of cultural adjustment and trauma services (CATS): Generating practice-based evidence on a comprehensive, school-based mental health intervention for immigrant youth. American Journal of Community Psychology, 50(1-2), 155–168. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-011-9486-2

Bellino, M. & Dryden-Peterson, S. (2018). Inclusion and exclusion within a policy of national integration: Refugee education in Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 40(2), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2018.1523707

Berger, J., Stinchcomb, D., Hershberg, E. & Stefler, A. (January, 2019). The integration of Central American youth in the U.S. education system. Oral paper presentation presented at Society for Social Work and Research Conference-SSWR, San Francisco, USA. Available: https://secure.sswr.org/2019-conference-home/

Berger, J., Brabeck, K., Stinchcomb, D., Heidbrink, L., Acosta, O. A, Gill-García, O. F., Crea, T. M. & Zayas, L. H. (2019). Integration of unaccompanied migrant youth in the United States: a call for research. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 45(2), 273–292. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1404261

Birman, D., Weinstein, T., Chan, W. & Beehler, S. (2007). Immigrant youth in U.S. schools: Opportunities for prevention. The Prevention Researcher, 14, 14–17. Available: http://www.tpronline.org.proxy-bc.researchport.umd.edu/product_toc/14-4-toc.pdf

Booi, Z., Callahan, C., Fugere, G., Harris, M., Hughes, A., Kramarczuk, A., Kurtz, C., Reyes, R. & Swaminatha, S. (2016). Ensuring every undocumented student succeeds: A report on access to public education for undocumented children. Washington, DC: Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute. Available: https://www.law.georgetown.edu/human-rights-institute/our-work/fact-finding-project/ensuring-every-undocumented-student-succeeds-a-report/

Chishti, M. & Hipsman, F. (September 25, 2014). Unaccompanied minors crisis has receded from headlines but major issues remain. Migration Policy Institute. Available: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/unaccompanied-minors-crisis-has-receded-headlines-major-issues-remain

CASEL. (2021). Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. [Online]. Available: https://casel.org

Colom, A., Ruiz, M. J., Catino, J., Hallman, K., Peracca, S. & Shellenberg, K. M. (2005). Voices of vulnerable and underserved adolescents in Guatemala—A summary of the qualitative study: Understanding the lives of indigenous young people in Guatemala. [Report]. New York: Population Council. Available: https://knowledgecommons.popcouncil.org/departments_sbsr-pgy/1332/

Crea, T. M., Lopez, A., Hasson, R., Evans, K., Palleschi, C. & Underwood, D. (2018). Unaccompanied migrant children in long term foster care: Identifying needs and best practices from a child welfare perspective. Children & Youth Services Review, 92, 56–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.12.017

Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design. [3 ed.]. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Davila, C., Hill, D., Sohn McCormick, A. & Villarreal, A. L. (2020). Child Immigration from Both Sides of the Border: Implications for Trauma-Informed Practices in the Schools. Contemporary School Psychology, 24(4), 469–477. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-020-00286-w

Defranco, D. (2018) Trauma Without Borders: The Necessity for School-Based Interventions in Treating Unaccompanied Refugee Minors. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 35(6), 551–565. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-018-0552-6

Diebold, K., Evans, K. & Hornung, E. (2019). Educational justice for unaccompanied children in the United States. Forced Migration Review, 60, 52–55. Available: https://www.fmreview.org/education-displacement/diebold-evans-hornung

DiNitto, D. M. & Johnson, D. H. (2016). Essentials of social welfare: Politics and public policy. Connecting core competencies series. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Evans, K., Perez-Aponte, J. & McRoy, R. (2019). Without a paddle: Barriers to school enrollment procedures for immigrant students and families. Education and Urban Society, 52(9), 1283– 1304. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124519894976

Evans, K. & Reynolds, A. (2006). Welcoming crisis migrants to community schools. In: C. Franklin & M. B. Harris & P. Allen-Meares (Eds.), The School Services Sourcebook (3 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Glaser, B. G. & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. Chicago: Aldine Transaction.

Gonzales, R. (2019, Feb 26). Sexual assault of detained migrant children reported in the thousands since 2015. NPR. Available: https://www.npr.org/2019/02/26/698397631/sexual-assault-of-detained-migrant-children-reported-in-the-thousands-since-2015

Hao, L. & Pong, S.-L. (2008). The role of school in the upward mobility of disadvantaged immigrants’ children. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 620(1), 62–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716208322582

Holtzman, E., Dukes, T. & Page, T. (2012). Interdisciplinary school leadership development for pre-service graduate students. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 24(1), 89–94. Available from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ977193.pdf

Internationals Network. (2018). Internationals Network. [Online]. Available: https://www.internationalsnetwork.org/

Jani, J., Underwood, D. & Ranweiler, J. (2015). Hope as a crucial factor in integration among unaccompanied immigrant youth in the USA: A pilot project. International Migration & Integration, 17(4), 1195–1209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-015-0457-6

Kaplan, I. (2009). Effects of trauma and the refugee experience on psychological assessment processes and interpretation. Australian Psychologist, 44(1), 6–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00050060802575715

Krueger, P., Hargrove, D. & Jones, T. (2019, Jul 24). Former employees at youth migrant facility describe wide-ranging neglect of children and employees. NBC San Diego. Available: https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Former-Employees-at-Youth-Migrant-Facility-Describe-Wide-Ranging-Neglect-of-Children-and-Employees-513167781.html

Lee, B. & Barth, R. (2009). Residential education: An emerging resource for improving educational outcomes for youth in foster care? Children and Youth Services Review, 31(1), 155–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2008.07.007

Markham, L. (2012). Mentoring for resettled youth. Forced Migration Review, (40), 33–33. Available: https://www.fmreview.org/young-and-out-of-place/markham

Maynard, B. R., Vaughn, M. G., Salas-Wright, C. P. & Vaughn, S. (2016). Bullying victimization among school-aged immigrant youth in the United States. Journal of Adolescent Health, 58(3), 337–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.11.013

Maxwell, J. A. (2013). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach. [3 ed.]. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.

McRoy, R. (2011). Contextualizing disproportionality. In: D. Greene, K. Belanger, R. McRoy & L. Bullard (eds.) Racial Disproportionality in Child Welfare: Research, Policy, and Practice (pp. 67–72). Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America.

Miles, M. B. & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. [2 ed.]. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Miller, S. & Roby, P. (1971). ‘Strategies for social mobility: A policy framework’. The American Sociologist, 6, 18–22. Available: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27701833

Morse, J. M. (2015). Critical analysis of strategies for determining rigor in qualitative inquiry. Qualitative Health Research, 25(9), 1212–1222. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315588501

OELA. (2019). Office of English Language Acquisition. [Online]. Available: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oela/index.html

ORR. (2021). Facts and data. [Online]. Available: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/about/ucs/facts-and-data

Options for Youth. (2021). A school that feels like home. [Online]. Available: https://ofy.org/

Oxman-Martinez, J. & Choi, Y. R. (2014). Newcomer children: Experiences of inclusion and exclusion, and their outcomes. Social Inclusion, 2(4), 23–37. Available: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/133

Pacheco, M. (2010). English-language learners’ reading achievement: Dialectical relationships between policy and practices in meaning-making opportunities. Reading Research Quarterly, 45(3), 292–317. https://doi.org/10.1598/RRQ.45.3.2

PBIS. (2019). School-wide. [Online]. Available: https://www.pbis.org/topics/school-wide

Rance-Roney, J. (2010). Jump-starting language and schema for English-language learners: Teacher-composed digital jumpstarts for academic reading: Digital storytelling technologies can be a fun and productive way to support the academic literacy of English-language learners in the classroom. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(5), 386–396. https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.53.5.4

Reynolds, A. D. & Bacon, R. (2018). Interventions supporting the social integration of refugee children and youth in school communities: A review of the literature. Advances in Social Work, 18(3), 745–766. https://doi.org/10.18060/21664

Reynolds, A. D. & Crea, T. M. (2017). The Integration of immigrant youth in schools and friendship networks. Population Research and Policy Review, 36(4), 501–529. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-017-9434-4

Reynolds, A. D. & Crea, T. M. (2015). The conditions of peer influence of delinquency and depression in adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 43, 83–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.05.013

Ross-Hill, R. (2009). Teacher attitude towards inclusion practices and special needs students. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 9(3), 188–198. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-3802.2009.01135.x

Roth, B. J., Crea, T. M., Jani, J., Underwood, D., Hasson III, R. G., Evans, K., Zuch, M. & Hornung, E. (2019). Detached and afraid: U.S. immigration policy and the practice of forcibly separating parents and young children at the border. Child Welfare, 96(5), 29–49. Available: https://www.proquest.com/openview/d87fa05f9b973bde1739bef27336294d/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=40853

Roy-Campbell, Z. (2012). Meeting the needs of English learners. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56(3), 186–188. https://doi.org/10.1002/JAAL.00125

Rubin, A., & Babbie, E. (2017). Empowerment Series: Research methods for social work. [9 ed.]. Belmont: Brooks/Cole.

Russell, F. (2015). Learning to Teach English learners: Instructional coaching and developing novice high school teacher capacity. Teacher Education Quarterly, 42(1), 27–47. Available from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1090542

Saldaña, J. (2015). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. [3 ed.]. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.

Schapiro, N. A., Gutierrez, R. J., Blackshaw, A. & Chen, J.-L. (2018). Addressing the health and mental health needs of unaccompanied immigrant youth through an innovative school-based health center model: Successes and challenges. Children and Youth Services Review, 92, 133–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.04.016

Schmidt, S. (2017). “They need to give us a voice”: Lessons from listening to unaccompanied Central American and Mexican children on helping children like themselves. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 5(1), 57–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/233150241700500104

Socha, K., Mullooly, A. & Jackson, J. (2016). Experiences resettling Eritrean youth through the US unaccompanied refugee minor program. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, 1(2), 96–106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-016-0008-x

Stone, S. (2009). Education and social policy. In: J. Midgley & M. Livermore (Eds.), The handbook of social policy (pp. 507–523). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Suárez-Orozco, C., Suárez-Orozco, M. & Todorova, I. (2008). Learning in a new land. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Szente, J., Hoot, J. & Taylor, D. (2006). Responding to the special needs of refugee children: Practical ideas for teachers. Early Childhood Education Journal, 34(1), 15–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-006-0082-2

Szlyk, H. S., Berger Cardoso, J., Lane, L. B. & Evans, K. (2020). “Me perdía en la escuela”: Latino newcomer youth in the U.S. school system. Social Work, 65(2), 131–139. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swaa001

Tamer, M. (December 11, 2014). The education of immigrant children: As the demography of the U.S. continues to shift, how can schools best serve their changing population? Harvard Graduate School of Education. Available: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/14/12/education-immigrant-children

Thommessen, S. A. O., Corcoran, P. & Todd, B. K. (2015). Experiences of arriving to Sweden as an unaccompanied asylum-seeking minor from Afghanistan: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Psychology of Violence, 5(4), 374–383. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000011

UN. General Assembly. (November 20, 1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child. [A/RES/44/25]. Available: https://violenceagainstchildren.un.org/es/node/710

UN. General Assembly. (December 10, 1948). Universal declaration of human rights. [A/RES/217A]. Available: https://undocs.org/A/RES/217(III)

UNHCR. (2014). Children on the run: Unaccompanied Children leaving Central America and Mexico and the need for international protection. Washington, D.C.: UNHCR. Available from http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/about-us/ background/56fc266f4/ children-on-the-run-full-report.html

U.S. Congress. (Nov. 25, 2002). Children’s affairs. [6 U.S.C. § 279]. Public Law: 107–296. Available: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:6%20section:279%20edition:prelim)

U.S. Congress. (Jul. 2, 1064). Civil Rights. [78 Stat. 24]. Public Law: 88–352. Available: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title42/chapter21&edition=prelim

USCCB. (2013). Congolese children and youth: USCCB network unaccompanied refugee minor program experiences and implications. [Report]. Washington, DC:: USCCB. Available from https://brycs.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Congolese-URM.pdf

U.S. CBP. (2019). Southwest Land Border Encounters. [Online]. Available: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration

U.S. ED. (2018). Issue brief: Credit recovery. Washington, D.C.: Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development Policy and Program Studies Service. Available: https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/high-school/credit-recovery.pdf

U.S. DOL. (2016). Findings on the worst forms of child labor. Washington, DC: Bureau of International Labor Affairs. Available from https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings

U.S. Supreme Court. (June 15, 1982). Plyler v. Doe. [457 U.S. 202]. Available: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/457/202/

Vidal, M., Avrushin, A. & Coleman, D. (2018). Educating unaccompanied immigrant children in Chicago, Illinois: A case study. Children and Youth Services Review, 92, 77–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.03.046

Zetlin, A., Weinberg, L. & Shea, N. (2006). Improving educational prospects for youth in foster care: The education liaison model. Intervention in School and Clinic, 41(5), 267–272. https://doi.org/10.1177/10534512060410050301

Zorc, C., O’Reilly, A., Matone, M., Long, J., Watts, C. & Rubin, D. (2013). The relationship of placement experience to school absenteeism and changing schools in young, school-aged children in foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 35(5), 826–833. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.02.006

Downloads

Published

2022-01-24

How to Cite

Evans, K., Oliveira, G., Hason III, R. G., Crea, T. M., Neville, S. E., & Fitchett, V. (2022). Unaccompanied children’s education in the United States: Service provider’s perspective on challenges and support strategies. CULTURA EDUCACIÓN Y SOCIEDAD, 13(1), 193–218. https://doi.org/10.17981/cultedusoc.13.1.2022.12

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2022): Cultura Educación y Sociedad

Section

ARTICLES

License

Copyright (c) 2022 CULTURA EDUCACIÓN Y SOCIEDAD

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Creative Commons 2020 CULTURA EDUCACIÓN Y SOCIEDAD

This article is under international license Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial-SinObrasDerivadas 4.0.

The published articles are the sole responsibility of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial committee.

CULTURA EDUCACIÓN Y SOCIEDAD respects the moral rights of its authors, who assign to the editorial committee the patrimonial rights of the published material. In turn, the authors inform that this work is unpublished and has not been previously published.

All articles are under a:

Licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 4.0 Internacional.