The Impact of Discrimination on the Early Schooling Experiences of Children from Immigrant Families
While the family is arguably the primary setting where young children learn and develop, schools
can have a deep and lasting effect on their lifelong well-being and development. In particular, children in prekindergarten through third grade—whether from immigrant or native-born families—benefit from a positive, supportive learning environment where their contributions are valued.
However, many children of immigrants experience discrimination in school at this impressionable age, which can negatively affect their emotional, social, and mental development and inhibit their behavior and future academic performance.
A new report from the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, The Impact of Discrimination on the Early Schooling Experiences of Children from
Immigrant Families, maps the types of discrimination young children of immigrants may experience at school, as well as the consequences for children, families, and schools.
As the report documents, these experiences of discrimination include more overt, personal discrimination in the form of negative interactions with school staff and peers about children’s accents and appearances, low educational expectations, and devaluation of children’s bilingualism and home-language skills. Children also experience structural discrimination in the form of school segregation, lack of resources and highly skilled teachers in high-poverty areas, and low levels of parent engagement.
The report outlines potential interventions that educators can take to address discrimination faced by young children of immigrants, among them replacing a colorblind approach in the classroom with one that accepts differences without judging those differences. Other interventions must be tackled through broader institutional changes, by offering young students curricula including dynamic, cooperative learning experiences and providing teachers with the rigorous training they need to connect in a meaningful way with immigrant communities.
KJ