Falling Through the Cracks: Understanding the Educational Experiences of Students With Limited Formal Schooling

• In Event: Roundtable Session 78
  In Roundtable Session: Transnational and Immigrant Experiences in Education

Abstract

Paper explores the educational experiences of four recent immigrant students with limited formal schooling (LFS). Drawing on subset of data from a larger qualitative case study on the identity negotiations of African immigrant students, I explore the academic and social barriers these four students encountered in pilot school for English language learners. As adolescent LEP students with limited formal school, these four students encountered significant academic, linguistic, social challenges in their school. I suggest the barriers students encountered and the lack of mediating influences within school had significant implications for these four at risk youth. I offer insight into the particular barriers LFS students encounter and identify practical strategies for supporting the academic and social success of these students.

Author

• Afra Ahmed Hersi, Loyola University Maryland