High School Newcomer Students' Underexplored Academic and Career Aspirations

• In Event: Collaborating for Educational Equity and Excellence for Immigrant and Refugee Newcomers: Research Trajectories Across Stakeholders

Abstract

Every day, across the United States, adolescent newcomers enroll in high school. Upon arrival, they are expected to “master the entire high school curriculum in a new language, reach a sufficient level of college readiness, and achieve the same performance outcomes as their native-born counterparts” (Suárez-Orozco, Suárez-Orozco, Todorova, 2008). Because of these expectations, educational research has focused on adolescent newcomers’ linguistic acquisition as well as teachers’ pedagogy (Genesee, Lindholm-Leary, Saunders & Christian, 2005; Birdas, Boyson, Morrison, Kreeft Peytoon, & Runfola, 2003; Short, 2002). This hyperfocus on students’ linguistic acquisition eclipses our understanding of newcomer students’ multidimensional lives including their hopes and aspirations (Ryu & Tuvilla, 2018). Little is known about the ways in which adolescent newcomers are being prepared to attain their academic and career aspirations (Hos, 2016; Short & Boyson, 2012; Lindholm-Leary & Genesee, 2010). Research that investigates how newcomer students’ academic and career aspirations are informed and supported by school staff like school counselors is necessary because of the limited time they have to meet academic demands (Hos, 2016; Yip, 2013). The research questions guiding this study are as follows: 1) What are the career and college aspirations of high school newcomer students?; 2) How do students access resources to inform these aspirations? and 3) What barriers do they face in fulfilling educational and career goals? Framed by social reproduction theory (Bhattacharya, 2017; Collins, 2009), this paper presents findings from interviews with newcomer students in grades 9-12 at a Southern California school to illustrate how academic and career aspirations are informed, shaped and supported by school staff.
The primary method of data collection consists of semi-structured interviews (Seidman, 2013) with six students. To triangulate the data, participant observations of an ELD classroom as well as survey data from an intake protocol were incorporated. Analyzing the interviews consisted of three rounds of coding. One round consisted of jotting down initial thoughts after transcription. The second round took place after the research questions and the literature review were utilized to create deductive codes. When students discussed their college and career aspirations, access to information about the college process, struggles affecting their academic achievement, this led to axial coding in which specific categories were created (Creswell, 2007). Doing so allowed me to document themes across their educational experiences (Creswell, 2007) during the final round of coding. Consequently, I proceeded to find examples that highlight the barriers that students referenced to that conflicted with their ability to succeed in school and access resources to better inform their college and career goals.
Findings illuminate how newcomer students’ academic and career aspirations are left unexplored by school counselors. In order for newcomer students to partake in the public good of higher education, a transformation of educational spaces much occur. Educators and researchers must tend to the future of our newcomer students. As they continue to integrate into our schools and communities, educators must strive to equip them with the necessary information and resources to fully explore their passions and help them lead fulfilling lives.

Author

• Sophia L Angeles, University of California - Los Angeles