“You should try this school, you’re a smart kid”: Education and resilience for newcomer children in the US

Sherrill W. Hayes, Ph.D. Associate Professor & Director Master of Science in Conflict Management Kennesaw State University

Global Migration

The twenty-first century has been called “the age of migration” (Castles and Miller, 2009), essentially because there are more migrants in the world today than ever before — about 232 million international migrants in 2013 (United Nations, 2013).

http://www.un.org/esa/population/migration/documents/EGM.Skeldon_17.12.2013.pdf

Global Migration

•  Why is migration a priority for international community? •  both a cause and effect of broader

development processes •  ever increasing and permanent feature of

our globalized world •  can be a positive force for development when

supported by the right set of policies

•  is increasingly complex in its sources and patterns

http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/theme/international-migration/

Two general types of global migration

1.  Voluntary migration – move that primarily involves an element of proactive human agency, planning to intentionally alter lifecourse trajectory of the family

2.  Forced migration – more that is primarily

result of external forces that caused a reactive move without intention to alter the lifecourse of the family

•  No great terms or definitions readily available •  Intention is to place no value judgment or

assumption of privilege, means, or ability of people

The Global Migration Terminology Logic Puzzle

•  Anyone that moves is a migrant •  Anyone who moves away is an emigrant •  Anyone coming into a country is an immigrant •  Some emigrants and immigrants are refugees •  Some immigrants are documented through

international legal processes •  Some documented immigrants are refugees and/or

asylum seekers •  Some immigrants are undocumented •  Some undocumented immigrants are also refugees and/

or asylum seekers •  Some refugees are neither emigrants nor immigrants,

they are internally displaced persons (IDPs) •  All are newcomers to their arrival country

The Refugee & Asylum Seeker Problem

•  According to UNHCR’s latest statistics, there are approximately 15.4 million refugees in the world.

•  The majority of these refugees will either •  Flee to a different part of their country and become

“Internally Displaced Persons” (IDPs) •  Receive support in the country to which they first fled

until they can voluntarily and safely return to their home country (2nd country)

•  A small number of refugees will be allowed to become citizens in their 2nd country (5-10%)

•  An even smaller number (<1%) will be resettled in a 3rd country

The Refugee & Asylum Seeker Problem

•  The USA welcomes over half of global refugees, more than all other resettlement countries combined

•  Resettlement by the numbers, 402,575 resettled in previous 5 years •  FY2014 – 69,986 •  FY2013 – 69,962 •  FY2012 – 58,238 •  FY2011 – 56,424 •  FY2010 – 73,311 •  FY2009 – 74,654

•  That’s approximately the same number of people as live in cities like Cleveland,OH, Witchita, KS, and New Orleans, LA

•  It’s more than the population of Akron, OH & Montgomery, AL added together!

http://www.state.gov/j/prm/releases/statistics/index.htm http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/resource/refugee-arrival-data

The Refugee & Asylum Seeker Problem

•  Primarily resettlement in previous 10 years from Near East/South Asia and Africa

•  When by the numbers however consider the population of these cities. •  Lahore, Pakistan – 8.3 million (23rd largest city in SE

Asia) •  Kathmandhu, Nepal – 5 Million (31st largest city) •  Kinshasa-Brazzaville, DRC – 10 million (4th largest city

in Africa) •  Mogadishu, Somalia – 6 million (6th largest) •  Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – 3 million (19th largest)

The Newcomer Problem

•  Public policy rhetoric focuses on undocumented immigration, victims of violent conflicts typically are resettled in the United States through legal pathways as refugees or asylum seekers

•  Resettled families traverse a complex international system and often arrive in the US with little understanding of the complex legal, social, and educational processes in the US

Arriving in the US

The Newcomer Problem

•  Under the age of 18 as proportion of refugee population •  1998 – 13% •  2008 – 37% •  2012 – 46%

•  Together with immigrants, these newcomer children make up one in five children in the U.S. 

•  Despite these numbers little is known about the

impact of resettlement in a 3rd country on young people

http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/refugees-fact-sheet http://www.brycs.org/publications/schools-toolkit.cfm

Current study

•  Overview: The impact of resettlement on children moving to the United States

•  Who: Young adults (21-35) who came to the US before age of 16 were

•  What: Semi-structured interviews following a “critical incident” format, lasted 45 to over 90 minutes •  Their birth country/country of origin •  Circumstances surrounding leaving (if known) •  Journey to US •  Experiences of adapting to their new country (positive

and negative) especially focused on PEOPLE, PROGRAMS, POLICIES, & PROCESS

Current study

•  When & Where: 2014-15, across US •  Approximately 15 interviews, currently 10

transcribed •  Thus far:

•  7 Africa (Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Congo, Liberia) •  3 Latin/South America (Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico) •  Average age on arrival – 11 years (range 7-14) •  Average age when interviewed – 27 years (range 18-36) •  Only one participant did not have at least undergraduate

degree (just completed high school), 40% had graduate education

•  All arrived through documented pathways, most reported family had some degree of agency in choice to leave

Education focus of current analysis

Themes •  School was a a place to learn formal lessons (e.g.

language) and informal lessons (e.g. cultural expectations) about US culture

•  Educators and peers were people played both positive and negative roles in their adaptation process

•  Some special school programs (e.g. ESOL) were mentioned as relevant for some but not for others

•  Formal education was viewed as a process to attain personal satisfaction and status BUT did not impact identity (e.g. did not make people feel more American)

School as place for learning US culture

•  School was a a place for formal lessons and LANGUAGE was top of the list

“My sisters and me went to school when we first arrived, but my brother and dad went to work to support the family. My sisters and me had the chance to learn the language and communicate with the people at an early age. We were forced to communicate and learn rather quickly because of school. We were in school, and we had to watch what we’re saying and what’s being said to you.” “I came here and, for example in school, found people speaking differently and very fast. I felt like I needed to learn the language quickly. I remember thinking to myself like the day I learn to speak English will be the happiest day of my life.”

School as place for learning US culture

•  School was a a place for informal lessons about culture

“I was very excited to come here and to come to study. I guess I have always wanted to come to the US and explore. We are a very small country and most of the people that are born there, that’s the experience that they have.” “I hated school bus. I didn’t have a good experience on a school bus, and didn’t find it fascinating anymore. It was so loud, hot, and lonely. The kids were so loud, and I didn’t really communicate with the students. It wasn’t a friendly environment, it wasn’t the right environment.”

School as place to learn informal cultural lessons

•  Part of this theme showed up as contrast to “home” culture, expressions of “respect” were important

•  “I don’t think if it is a law, but if you talk back to your

teacher you get whipped back home. But, here students were very loud and disrespectful…Whenever she says something, they would do the exact opposite just to get her mad. That surprised me; you can’t do that back home. Teachers are very much respected there. I still have that mentality of respecting teachers and school laws.”

•  “The seeming lack of respect to teachers in comparison to what I was used to in Mexico.”

Role of people adaptation process

•  Teachers and peers could have a POSITIVE impact

“I would say my professors from school[had an impact on me]. I had a very good relationship with them. It was not only a teacher/ student kind of relationship, but also more of mentorship and family like.”

“First day in school, I was trying to get into the right building and was so disoriented and didn’t know where to go or who to ask. I met a guy who was trying to get into the same building and he showed me the place. He is half Persian and American. We end up finding out that we are assigned in the same class. I met him that day and we became very good friends. He helped me tremendously especially during the first year that I was here in terms of helping me out integrate into the culture. We are neighbors right now, and I am very lucky to have found someone who helped me as much as he did.”

Role of people adaptation process

•  Teachers and peers could have a POSITIVE impact

“…umm, the teacher's there wanted to give me advice, like say, "you should try this school, you're a smart kid,”…so I, and I was like, "Ms. Palmer, this sounds like a rich kid's [school]. I'm not, I'm from a refugee camp, we don’t have money. She say, "Oh you should try, I want you to go and sit down and listen to them.” “…one of my first teachers here I still talk to her to this day even though she moved away from Indian creek. Basically in general it’s the school and the teachers.”

Role of people adaptation process

•  Teachers and peers could have a NEGATIVE impact

“In New York, the class I had was pretty diverse. It was white, Indian, there was Bengali, Asians, it was just a really diverse school. When I moved here, it was a majority of African Americans and they use to call me Osama bin Laden or they told me to go back to Africa, you know? Or do I sleep with lions and my teacher, she was the rudest lady.”

Role of people adaptation process

“I still tried to fit in as an American because you have, I guess you say bullies, people try to bully you because you're from Africa, and they're like, "ohh, you're from Africa, you're supposed to have a tail. Is this your first time living in a house?" So you know, those are the kinds of things I remember as a young child coming up and it was very, it was very disheartening to me because, you know, these were black people that were saying to me. These were people that had the same skin color as me, and I expected them to accept me, and you know, be more accepting of me as compared to other people from different race, but they were the ones who were, you know, like pushing me away.”

Role of school programs

•  Some special program (e.g. ESOL) were mentioned as relevant for some but not for others

“I took the ‘English as a second language’ class in school. This is a program designed for all foreigners in the school. We had the chance to spend a one-to-one time with tutors and teachers. It helped a lot.”

“Well I did that ESOL class for only first semester…After 1st semester I was ok with the reading and writing test, they were like she doesn’t need to take ESOL anymore…After school tutoring was your choice if you wanted to stay or not, if you need help on whatever you went over earlier in the day.”

Importance of formal education process

•  Formal education was viewed as a process to attain personal satisfaction and status BUT did not impact identity (e.g. did not make people feel more American)

“I treasure my education, I went to graduate school and get advanced education. Being in school is a positive by itself; the negative experience has always been the struggle with the language either in terms of self-expression orally or in a written form.”

“There are still things that I don’t know if I could have done better. I still enjoy the fact that I was able to go to school and get free education pretty much. I had to work and pay for my advanced education, but it worked out. I fell like I could have done a lot better though. Maybe I still have the chance.”

Importance of formal education process

“In 5 years, I hope and pray that when I get this degree I'll be able to move back home because I want to be back. That's the whole point of going back to school and trying to get this degree. I want to focus on women and children especially, in rural areas of Liberia…” “I am working, and I also go full time in School…three of us [sibling] are in college and I have one younger brother that is in High School who is going to graduate next year…I am definitely going to get my Masters. I am going to keep going for that...”

What’s the key?

•  As children these individuals came from some of the most difficult political and economic situations in the world, yet not only adapted but are (arguably) thriving in a “3rd” country.

•  What’s the “key to unlocking the implications for and applications of these stories?

•  Important psychological concept of

Resilience

Resilience

•  Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress.

•  Research has shown that resilience is ordinary, not extraordinary. People commonly demonstrate resilience.

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/road-resilience.aspx

Resilience

•  Being resilient does not mean that a person doesn't experience difficulty or distress. Emotional pain and sadness are common in people who have suffered major adversity or trauma in their lives. In fact, the road to resilience is likely to involve considerable emotional distress.

•  Resilience is not a trait that people either have or do not have. It involves behaviors, thoughts and actions that can be learned and developed in anyone.

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/road-resilience.aspx

Resilience

•  Many studies show the primary factor in resilience is having caring and supportive relationships within and outside the family.

•  Relationships that create love and trust, provide role models and offer encouragement and reassurance help bolster a person's resilience.

•  Several additional factors are associated with resilience, including: •  The capacity to make realistic plans and take steps to

carry them out. •  A positive view of yourself and confidence in your

strengths and abilities. •  Skills in communication and problem solving. •  The capacity to manage strong feelings and impulses.

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/road-resilience.aspx

Summary and lessons learned

•  Results of this research are rich with stories that provide lessons learned and have implications for those working with children from conflict zones now living the US.

•  June 20th is World Refugee Day so remember

those globally who are the victims of forced migration BUT remember not to treat people as victims but as resilient survivors of violent conflict