“Immigration Enforcement Is a Daily Part of Our Students’ Lives”: School Social Workers’ Perceptions of Racialized Nested Contexts of Reception for Immigrant Students

Abstract

This qualitative analysis examines school social workers’ equity work for immigrant students, including their perceptions of immigration enforcement and school climates that support or hinder immigrant student experiences. We conceptually expand understandings of nested contexts of reception and racialized organizations across macro, meso, micro levels, and how they affect immigrant students’ educational experiences, mobility, and belonging. Utilizing open-ended responses from a unique national survey data set, we examine school social workers’ perceptions of the macro, meso, micro racialized contexts that immigrant students encounter, how school social worker perceptions reflect racial attitudes as part of the racialized organization of schools in which they work, and how such racial attitudes influence their actions and potentially disrupt racial inequality in schools. Discussion of the impact of school social workers’ racial attitudes, and perceptions of racialized contexts and how they influence school social workers’ advocacy for immigrant students is offered.

School-Based Personnel Advocacy for Undocumented Students Through Collective Leadership in Urban Schools: A Comparative Case Study

“…Specifically, SSWs are in quasi-administrative roles but are also often deeply connected to and have relationships with students that may push them to the boundaries of their roles in schools. In conjunction with other leaders, SSWs can engage as caring, ethical institutional agents that help students navigate resources; however, they may not see themselves as leaders or advocates, despite taking initiative to create change (Rodriguez, Roth, & Villarreal Sosa, 2020;Rodriguez et al, 2021). We therefore understand how SBP advocate for immigrant students as those who develop awareness of immigration law and policies that impact immigrant students; those who work toward greater selfawareness about power differentials in schools, and who also choose to bypass constraints to promote equity, change school climate, and build coalitions inside and outside schools (Rodriguez, Roth, & Villarreal Sosa, 2020).…”