Ethnic Retention as a Predictor of Academic Success: Lessons from the Children of Immigrant Families and Black Children

Teaching the Immigrant Child: Application of Child Development Theories

“…This does not, however, mean that immigrant children should be retained or placed in cognitively lower level classes by virtue of their lack of understanding some aspects of the new culture, including language (Akiba 2007;Taylor 1996). Such practices are demeaning to children and often lead to more failure (Akiba 2007). Additionally, Piaget emphasizes the importance of language as a tool for facilitating and expressing our thoughts, even though he does not see language as a prerequisite to cognitive development.…”

“…Teachers need to understand that while some immigrant children are often quiet and withdrawn in their classrooms, they are experiencing a state of disequilibrium of the different concepts they are viewing or learning and sometimes are in a state of confusion as they try to assimilate the new knowledge into their old existing knowledge. This does not, however, mean that immigrant children should be retained or placed in cognitively lower level classes by virtue of their lack of understanding some aspects of the new culture, including language (Akiba 2007;Taylor 1996). Such practices are demeaning to children and often lead to more failure (Akiba 2007).…”

“…For immigrant children, their understanding of the world is based on beliefs, customs, and skills learned from their home cultures-usually very different. The teacher needs to meet immigrant children at their cultural and cognitive levels and then proceed to assist them to add new learning into what they bring to the table (Akiba 2007). As a result, it is imperative for the teacher to strive and understand the children's culture as well as the experiences they bring into the classroom (Akiba 2007;Baghban 2007).…”

“…The different activities and indicators of these important virtues may also differ. It is therefore critical that teachers understand and acknowledge immigrant children's culture and work around it as opposed to striving to assimilate them into the new culture (Akiba 2007).…”

A Comparison Study of the English III/American Literature Success of African American High School Students and That of Students Whose Home Language is Haitian Creole

“…None of this is represented in the American literature that comprises the bulk of the 11th grade English curriculum. Many researchers have long postulated that this disconnect is a major reason for the lack of success of African American students in English class (Akiba, 2007;Delpit, 1995;Rosenblatt, 1985;SpearsBunton & Powell, 2009;Thompson, 2003). One can reasonably assume that if African…”