An Integrated Framework for Immigrant Children and Youth’s School Integration: A Focus on African Francophone Students in British Columbia – Canada

Abstract

An abundant literature has been produced on immigrant children and youth education. However, few studies incorporate students' view in providing a comprehensive definition of immigrant children and youth's school integration. The aim of this paper is to provide an operational integrated guide, which may be useful for working with immigrant children and youth students, as it takes into consideration the social, cultural, psychological and academic dimensions of their school integration. This integrated guiding framework draws from a five-year experience of community-university partnership. The methodology consists of a review of the literature on the school integration of immigrant children and youth, comprehensive interviews with students, parents and community partners (previous publications by authors), and community's involvement through a consultation process to determine needs and priorities. The combined findings gathered from these sources are formulated into practical recommendations to assist educators in their support of immigrant children and youth' school integration process.

Challenging Popularized Narratives of Immigrant Youth From West Africa: Examining Social Processes of Navigating Identities and Engaging Civically

“…Moreover, research is beginning to appear on educational experiences of immigrant youth in the United States from African countries outside of West Africa, such as the Congo (Davila, 2015), Eretria (Stebleton, 2012), Ethiopia (Hersi, 2012; Mims, Mims, & Newland, 2009; Stebleton, 2007), Somalia (Basford, 2010; Bigelow, 2008; Dryden-Peterson, 2010; Njue & Retish, 2010; Roy & Roxas, 2011; Oropeza, Varghese, & Kanno, 2010; Watkinson & Hersi, 2014), and Uganda (Muwanguzi & Musambira, 2012). Research is also beginning to appear on immigrant youth from African countries across global contexts, including immigrant youth to Canada from Sierra Leone and Liberia (Usman, 2012); Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Liberia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Somalia, and Sudan (Dlamini & Anucha, 2009); Togo, Madagascar, the Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda (Masinda, Jacquet, & Moore, 2014), and unspecified African countries (Chareka & Sears, 2006). Research is also focused on immigrant youth to France from countries in North Africa (Beaman, 2012) and to Australia from Ethiopia (Bitew & Ferguson, 2010; 2011) and Sudan (Hatoss, 2012).…”

“…In examining immigrant youth from West African countries navigating identities, we drew on 26 articles to examine how immigrant youth and young adults from West Africa countries construct and negotiate complex, multilayered identities within and across varied social and educational contexts such as families, peers, and schools (Alidou, 2000; Awokoya, 2012; Balogun, 2011; Clark, 2008; Dlamini & Anucha, 2009; Harushimana & Awokoya, 2011; Imoagene, 2015; Knight, 2011, 2013; Knight & Watson, 2014; Kumi-Yeboah & Smith, 2016; Masinda et al, 2014; McIntosh Allen, Jackson, & Knight, 2012; Mensah & Williams, 2015; Njue & Retish, 2010; Ogundipe, 2011; Okpalaoka, 2011; Okpalaoka & Dillard, 2012; Park, 2013; Roubeni, De Haene, Keatley, Shah, & Rasmussen, 2015; Somé-Guiébré, 2016; Stebleton, 2012; Takyi, 2002; Thomas, 2012; Traoré, 2004, 2008). Articles primarily included research on first- and second-generation Nigerians, as Nigeria is the largest sender of immigrants from West African countries, followed by Ghana (Okpalaoka & Dillard, 2012; Zong & Batalova, 2014).…”

“…In understanding how varied research design opens up new avenues of inquiry, there is a need for multiple types of research design, including participatory research methodologies, quantitative and mixed-methods research approaches, and longitudinal research studies, to examine experiences of immigrant youth from West African countries, and static notions of Black identities and civic teaching and learning. Moreover, while this review focused on immigrant youth from West African countries in the United States, as contexts of migration call attention to possibilities for a global citizenship education (Banks, 2004), further empirical studies are needed building on literature on immigrant youth from West African countries globally (e.g., Beaman, 2012; Bitew & Ferguson, 2010, 2011; Chareka & Sears, 2006; Dlamini & Anucha, 2009; Hatoss, 2012; Masinda et al, 2014; Usman, 2012).…”

“I Belong to Nowhere”: Syrian Refugee Children’s Perspectives on School Integration

“…English or French) and cognitive test performance (Ayoub, 2014). They are more likely to fail or drop out altogether (Masinda, Jacquet, & Moore, 2014;Stewart, 2011).…”

Reaching Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education Through Culturally Responsive Teaching

“…Consequently, when SLIFE come to U.S. classrooms, they feel bewildered, confused, and alienated, experiencing what Ibarra () terms cultural dissonance . They experience a mismatch between their ways of thinking, learning, understanding the world, and interacting with others and those expected and assumed in U.S. schools (DeCapua and Marshall ; Masinde, Jacquet, and Moore ). At the same time, teachers also feel baffled and disconcerted.…”