Immigration and resiliency: unpacking the experiences of high school students from Cape Verde and Ethiopia

Abstract

This article explores the complex factors, both individual and social, that contribute to the resiliency and academic achievement of six adolescent African immigrant students from Cape Verde and Ethiopia who were enrolled in a small high school in the United States. The school was designed specifically for recent adolescent immigrant students. Using an in-depth qualitative case study research design, this study provides insight into the educational and social issues confronted by these students and the factors that contributed to their resiliency. The competencies and social capital that students acquired in school and at home were major contributing factors to their resilience and academic achievement. Findings show that these students had a supportive social network of family and friends who had encouraged them to succeed in school and provided mentoring, and material and social resources that helped them to succeed. In addition, teachers encouraged and engaged the students by having high expectations and connecting them to the curriculum in meaningful ways.

Transnational Immigration and Education: A Case Study of an Ethiopian Immigrant High School Student

“…Given the positive outcome of his family reunification, Warkana benefited from the love, encouragement, advice, and assistance he received from his family as he navigated his school context. This research upports earlier findings that, given the importance of family support in students' resiliency, educators need to understand students' family contexts, work to connect families to the school community, and provide resources to students and families who might be in stress (Bigalow, 2008;Hersi, 2011, Kibour, 2001Portes, 1996).…”

“…Teachers with an ethic of caring attend to the needs, motivations, and perspectives of their students. They create safe and caring learning communities, set high expectations, place rigorous demands on students, and provide support systems for meeting those high expectations (Delpit, 1998;Hersi, 2011;Nieto, 2000). Generally, an "ethic of caring" speaks to the level of concern and commitment teachers have for their students as persons and learners (Beykont, 2002).…”

Transformation of discourse: multilingual resources and practices among Filipino mothers in Japan

“…A loss of a communal language among family members has also been considered as one of the factors affecting family cohesion (Tseng and Fuligni 2000;Wong Fillmore 2000). Considering that immigrant students' academic resilience can be supported by family cohesion and a supportive social network gained from family members (Hersi 2011), family language practices can influence immigrant students' learning opportunities at school.…”

Supporting Immigrant Students in a Newcomer High School: A Case Study

“…In response to this need, many school districts in the United States have developed special schools or programs designed to meet the specific language, academic, and social needs of recent immigrant students (Bigelow, 2008;Hersi, 2011;Short & Boyson, 2004). Although alternative schools and programs for recent immigrant students are found in many different types of communities, most are located in urban communities where the greatest number of recent immigrant students reside (Kindler, 2002).…”