Pursuing Educational Opportunities for Immigrant Children in the Rural Midwest

• In Event: 58.035 - Reconceiving Rural Education: An Examination of Meaning and Equal Educational Opportunity

Abstract

In recent years, Midwestern school districts have been transformed by the arrival of immigrant families to small, rural communities that were often unprepared to fully meet the needs of immigrant children and families (Maharidge, 2005, Saenz, 2011). Both school staff and immigrant parents are challenged in the way they must learn to communicate effectively with one another. We share the results of a qualitative pilot project where immigrant parents and teachers came together to share stories, a strategy intended to build relationships in the pursuit of effective communication pathways. The research team documented differences in culture and language that shaped communication practices and found evidence of larger socio-cultural dimensions of power and access (Janks, 2010): who has and takes up the power to speak? We accounted for significant class/status differences apparent in the stories shared by immigrant parents and teachers. Even though 60% of the district’s students are from immigrant families, the majority of immigrant parents are viewed as low status parents (Lareau, 2000) because their patterns for school involvement differs from Anglo parents. Overcoming communication barriers framed by language and culture is significant; however, what is at stake are opportunities to learn for immigrant children (Olivos, Jiménez-Castellanos, & Ochoa, 2012; Suárez-Orozco, Suárez-Orozco, & Todorova, 2008).

Author

• Carolyn A. Colvin, University of Iowa