Constructing Opportunity: How the Context of Reception for Newcomers Shapes District Policy

• In Event: 21.032 - How Immigration and Education Policy Collide in a "Post-Truth" Era

Abstract

Objectives
In response to economic instability and threats of violence, children are increasingly migrating across international borders (Suárez-Orozco, 2005). District and school leaders across the United States are thus working to respond to growing newcomer populations, and are doing so in a national climate that is hostile to immigrants. This paper examines the contextual factors that shape district policy and practice for new immigrant populations.

Frameworks
We draw on the construct of context of reception to examine how districts facilitate newcomers’ access to opportunities that enable their integration. In a positive context of reception, immigrants feel welcomed and are afforded access to educational opportunities; in a negative context of reception, immigrants feel isolated, experience discrimination, and are excluded from opportunities (Portes & Rumbaut, 2006; Stepick & Stepick, 2009).

We contend that the context of reception is influenced by the social construction of target populations. When target populations are constructed as deserving, they are afforded policy benefits; however, when populations are constructed as undeserving, punitive policies are applied (Schneider & Ingram, 1993, 1997). In the United States, Latina/o immigrants are often constructed as a threat (Chavez, 2013; Gonzalez, 2016), while refugees are constructed as victims (Sigona, 2014). We investigate how these constructions influence the context of reception, and how these, in turn, shape district policy.

Methods
Our data include 24 in-depth, semi-structured interviews (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) conducted in 2016-2017 with district and school leaders and community organizers in a Southwestern, Northwestern, and Midwestern district. Interviews ranged from 1-2 hours and focused on leaders’ perceptions of newcomers, the policies and resources implemented to facilitate their integration, and how these changed over time.

To analyze our data, we first read a subset of interviews and generated an initial list of codes. Then, we engaged in discussions over a three-month period to increase inter-rater reliability (Guest & Macqueen, 2008) and to develop consensus on a code list. Finally, we coded all interviews and wrote thematic memos for each district (Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014).

Results
The context of reception varied across districts and was shaped by: population demographics, state and local policy, and community partnerships. With respect to demographics, leaders in the two districts serving refugees drew on dependency narratives and frequently referenced newcomers’ trauma; thus, they cited efforts to offer specific resources and opportunities. In contrast, leaders in the district serving non-refugee, Spanish-speaking newcomers rarely made distinctions between these students and the broader EL population; thus, newcomers were not viewed as deserving of additional resources. Further, immigration policies at the state and local levels shaped district leaders’ responses to newcomers, and community organizations’ engagement shaped districts’ approaches to professional development, family involvement, and the provision of wrap-around supports.

Significance
The social construction of newcomers, and the corresponding context of reception, had important implications for the opportunities and resources they were afforded. In the current political climate, educators must think carefully about how to create positive contexts of reception for all newcomers, regardless of race, ethnicity, country of origin, and refugee status.

Authors

• Megan Hopkins, University of California - San Diego

• Peter Bjorklund, University of California - San Diego

• Hayley Ryan Weddle, University of California - San Diego

• Ilana Marice Umansky, University of Oregon

• Leslie Gautsch, University of California - San Diego

• Dafney Blanca Dabach, University of Washington - Seattle