L’Association des Enfants: Advocacy for Immigrant Families in Schools in Northeastern Paris

• In Event: Supporting Immigrant Communities, Refugees, and Girls: Promising Pedagogies and Programs

Abstract

This paper presents an ethnographic case study of a neighborhood association in northeastern Paris and its advocacy on behalf of migrant families in public schools. The paper centers on four leaders, a board member, the director of the association, a school principal, and a school counselor, and their work with each other and with immigrant families. It provides “thick description” of the context in which their advocacy takes place, and the school leaders’ changing perspectives toward immigration policy and culturally relevant education in France. The paper shows that assimilation and integration stances toward the education of migrant students persist but may not be useful in the 21st century, making the argument for a transcultural model in education.

Author

• Judith Touré, Carlow University