Firsthand Experiences Living at the Intersections of Immigration and Education: Lessons From New York State

• In Event: Intersecting Immigration and Education: Immigrant-Origin Students, Families, and Educators in New York State

Abstract

Objectives: This paper draws from a four-year university-district partnership between one public university in New York City and nine public schools located throughout New York State. This multifaceted state-funded project has involved two kinds of research activities: a mixed-method survey of educators in nine school districts (conducted in 2021-2022) and focus groups with educators, families, and students at three elementary schools in New York State (conducted in 2022-2023). The goal of this research has been to obtain empirical evidence from current educational stakeholders about the ways in which immigration policy shapes the educational experiences of people of different ages (children and adults) in different role groups (educators, families, and students).

Methods and Data sources: The proposed paper will present findings from a qualitative analysis of the open-ended survey responses and the transcripts of audio-recorded focus groups. The findings will yield both methodological and empirical insights. Methodologically, the paper will examine the ways in which participants responded to open-ended questions to make sense of the intersections between immigration and education policy.

Theoretical framework: Borrowing from Stoudt’s (2016) discussion of the importance of marginalia in socially-conscious quantitative research, this analysis will present and theorize the significance of open-ended survey questions as opportunities to understand how participants narrate their perspectives on the questions posed in the survey. Drawing on a testimonio approach to qualitative research, the paper will also focus attention on the ways in which focus group participants narrated their own personal stories while linking them up to collective experiences of strength and struggle in immigrant communities across the U.S. (Burciaga & Tavares, 2006; González et al., 20023; Pérez Huber, 2009).

Results: Empirically, this paper will show that immigration policy and educational practices are intertwined in ways that shape teaching and learning in the U.S. (Co-author and Author, 2019). The paper argues that in order to understand the experiences of racialized immigrant students in the U.S., researchers must also examine the role of immigration policy in shaping their lives. This is a significant finding because it suggests that the solutions to educational inequalities cannot be imagined solely from within the educational system; the paper will provide examples of policy changes and educational practices that have been implemented and imagined that are responsive to stakeholders’ lived experiences at the intersections of immigration and education.

Scholarly significance: This paper will bring to bear significant methodological and empirical insights that will advance the conversations taking place at AERA in light of this year’s annual theme. Most importantly, by including the voices of a range of educational stakeholders—including educators, families, and children—this paper will contribute to the meeting’s goal of “constructing educational possibilities.” By hearing the voices and visions of people from immigrant communities and those working in immigrant-serving public schools, this paper will call on educational researchers to center the desires of those most directly impacted by policy today while refusing to participate in deficit narratives of schooling that further their own racialization and inequality (Tuck & Yang, 2014).

Author

• Ariana Mangual Figueroa, Graduate Center - CUNY