Repairing the Pipeline: Policy and Practice Implications From Teachers' Experiences Serving Late-Entering Central American Refugees

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Immigration, Language, and Schools: Educational Policy in Communities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to fill a gap in the literature not only by shedding light on the experiences and perceptions of teachers of late-entering Central American students with limited or interrupted formal education, all of whom teach in segregated, under-resourced, urban high schools, but in looking at what works in those challenging contexts. Therefore, the research questions asked what the teachers’ experiences have been in serving the focal students, what challenges they have faced and how they have addressed them, how they effectively leveraged the focal students’ strengths and languaging practices, and how teachers, schools, and districts can improve their services. A theoretical statement and six themes emerged, and they have implications for policy, practice, and research.

Author

• Kristin Watson Kibler, University of Miami