This article examines the approaches of a public high school for newcomer youth, Oakland International High School in California, that provides holistic wrap-around services to students. By not iso...

The “Warm Embrace” of a Newcomer School for Immigrant & Refugee Youth

Social and emotional learning in schools

Social and Emotional Learning in Schools

In Sweden, tutoring in the mother tongue is a special support measure primarily intended for newly arrived students to facilitate their transition into the Swedish school system. Tutoring is premised on the collaboration between the class teacher, responsible for subject-related expertise, and the tutor, who contributes with knowledge of the student’s mother tongue and previous context of studies. In this case study of class teachers’ and mother tongue tutors’ conditions for collaboration at a multi-ethnic primary school, six mother tongue tutors and six class teachers were asked about the purpose of their work, how it was organised, and what could be done to improve working conditions. Interviews with head teachers, and data on work organisation from observations, document study, and participation in meetings for a period of one and a half years supplemented the teacher interviews. The analysis focuses on whether tutors and teachers belong to the same or different Communities of Practice, based on shared concerns and opportunities for collaboration, as well as looking at the relative positioning of languages and teaching roles. Findings suggest that the degree of collaboration between tutors and teachers was not sufficient to allow tutoring to function in the way it is envisaged by national steering documents. Tutoring was instead based on the tutors’ own knowledge of the subjects they taught. Recruitment of suitable tutors was difficult. However, conditions for collaboration and more effective tutoring in the schools could be improved with relatively simple support structures at the level of the municipality.

At the bridging point: tutoring newly arrived students in Sweden

Successive governments have placed increasing emphasis on ‘resilience’ for the positive development of children and young people as they negotiate their academic careers. It is a ubiquitous buzzword that pervades current policy directives and interventions, aimed at all levels of the educational system. Used in this context, resilience is seen as a key skill or attribute that young people need to acquire in order to thrive in today’s world. It is defined as an individual’s ability to ‘bounce back’ from adversity or to overcome adverse circumstances to nevertheless achieve positive outcomes. Overcoming these various risks or adverse circumstances, however, involves more than being taught ‘how to be resilient’ as part of the regular curriculum.

Employing a mixed-methods approach, I draw on quantitative data from a large-scale survey of students, matched administrative data acquired from the Department for Education (DfE) and qualitative focus groups with teachers to highlight the importance of access to support and resources for young people to be able to cope with and surmount the challenges they face.

Drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of social reproduction, I engage with the literature on risk and resilience (Rutter, 1985; Masten et al., 1990; Werner, 2000) to frame the processes involved in promoting support for students who might otherwise be expected to struggle academically in terms of ‘buffering’ them against adverse circumstances to promote resilience. In particular, I show that teachers operate within a key proximal relationship of a young person’s microsystem (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and are uniquely well-placed to impart support and guidance to students facing a range of adverse circumstances.

My thesis contributes to the weight of existing evidence on the significant link between socio-economic disadvantage and educational attainment. Going beyond this, my thesis also makes a significant new contribution to understanding the mechanisms which underpin the role of positive social support networks in supporting young people at school.
My thesis challenges, therefore, the salience of the concept of ‘resilience’ as a personality trait that can be taught through ‘character education’ initiatives. Indeed, I argue that such initiatives are inevitably destined to be fruitless without government, teachers and curricula taking a much more holistic ‘whole-child’ approach in schools, with complementary social policies that seek to mitigate the structural inequalities that continue to disadvantage students in twenty first century Britain.

Resilience - Policy buzzword or key concept? - How relevant is resilience as a tool for promoting positive outcomes for ‘at-risk’ young people

Parental engagement in education has proven to be important to children's academic success. Research suggests that when parents are involved in their children's schooling, children tend to be motivated learners, have high educational aspirations, get good grades, and experience a sense of school belonging (Cheung & Pomerantz, 2012; Hill et al., 2004; Kuperminc, Darnell, & Alvarez-Jimenez, 2007). Research also shows that the advantages of parental involvement benefit all students, including minority and immigrant students (Jeynes, 2003). In light of globalization, schools in many Western countries such as Canada and the United States receive large numbers of immigrant and refugee students each year. As a result of these demographic shifts, ways to engage culturally diverse parents are gaining increased attention in the literature. Interest in best practices and models of working with culturally diverse families is growing. This article seeks to contribute to this body of knowledge by reporting on a case study of refugee parent engagement. Specifically, this article reports on how inclusive parent engagement was understood and facilitated in the context of a multi-agency program for refugee families in an urban center in Western Canada.

Creating Inclusive Parent Engagement Practices: Lessons Learned from a School Community Collaborative Supporting Newcomer Refugee Families.

In this study, we followed a qualitative case study design to examine the perspectives of 20 school stakeholders regarding (in)equitable ways they promote and broaden the participation of Black male students in a high school academy of engineering. Using the concept of cultural matching and the formation of STEM identities, we understood that Black students at Madison River Academy did not participate in rigorous academic programs (e.g., the academy of engineering) partially due to a lack of the school stakeholders’ abilities to provide culturally congruent, compatible, responsive, or synchronized learning environments that connected them with their home cultures and lived experiences. Findings from our case study demonstrate how the change in the historical mission of career academies has limited access to rigorous STEM opportunities and engagement of ethnically and racially diverse (particularly Black) students. In this academy, the lack of Black male student and teacher representation as well as mathematics were two barriers limiting the engagement of Black male students. Thus, we contend that it is critical that STEM academy school stakeholders, particularly school leaders, prioritize equity as a strategic goal for their STEM programs and recruit Black teachers who are willing to create culturally responsive curricular experiences to elicit interest in STEM for Black students. 

Donna Mae Ford

Papers

Creating Inclusive Parent Engagement Practices: Lessons Learned from a School Community Collaborative Supporting Newcomer Refugee Families.

Examining Black Male Student Participation Challenges in a High School Academy of Engineering