The Boundary and Division of Immigrant Children

    When witnessing an American classroom, it is assumed that all students share the same learning experiences, opportunities, language, and future. However, this is not always the case, especially amongst children of immigrants. The difference between home and the classroom is huge. While they may be helping translate documents for their families, partaking in cultural activities, and upholding traditions at home, they still are expected to perform the same as everyone else in the classroom. This quiet tension causes a division between those born here and those who have immigrated to the United States. This is a barrier fueled by cultural expectations, identity conflict, and the education systems themselves. I will be exploring how these barriers are formed. This essay argues that change requires more than just assimilation but recognition, inclusivity, and shared cultural understanding.
One of the major factors contributing to division between immigrant children and their peers is the cultural and identity conflict that is located in their homes. Children of immigrants usually grow up in a multicultural environment. One of these is their heritage culture and the other tends to be American culture. Their heritage culture is something that has been instilled into them from birth and shapes their familial values, traditions, and expectations. On the other hand, American culture is something that they need to adapt to because it is what they are mainly exposed to in their school and social life. This dual identity can lead to feelings of displacement as children are unable to fit in or feel fully accepted in either culture. At home, they are viewed as too American and in outside settings, they are viewed as not American enough. A national study found that second generation adolescents adjust to American culture faster than their parents. This leads to weaker family relationships, more arguments, and disagreements on behavior. Over time, by successfully integrating both cultures is a crucial development step for immigrated children. This idea is supported by Harker who believes that adolescents who identify strongly with both their heritage and host culture report better school behavior and academic achievement, self esteem, and quality of life. But, when this is unable to be achieved and children are forced to choose between cultures, the tension becomes a psychological barrier which deeply affects their sense of belonging and contributes negatively to their overall life.
This isn’t the only contributing factor to the division and boundary of immigrant children as another factor is language. Language is the very way that we communicate. It is something we depend on and yet it can also cause a lot of pressure onto a young child. What I mean by this is that children of immigrants are forced to navigate multiple languages for home and the classroom. While some children may struggle adapting to both languages, even those who are proficient in English face struggle. Through personal experience, I have realized that children who are fluent at English continue to face pressure. Tse claims that this process is known as language brokering. Language brokering is the process in which children who bear responsibilities for their parents for translating school letters, medical forms, or even government papers which causes them to feel stressed. A single child is expected to handle adult responsibilities which should not be the case. Martinez Jr(2009) expands upon this idea by showing that language brokering can negatively impact adolescents and their emotional well being. In particular, when handling and translating documents that may produce economic or social stress for the family. At the same time, Wu and Kim(2008) found that when parents support and enable language brokering, immigrant adolescents often report increased confidence, cultural pride, and a stronger sense of connection with their family. To add on, I personally have experience with this. Being the only native English speaker in my family, I was entrusted with supporting the family from a young age in regards to understanding documents and translating them for my parents. This certainly made me believe that I was smart, however there was an added pressure when I came home from school, now having more work on my plate. These studies and my own experience show that it is not simply an issue in fluency of language but this barrier is even applicable to those who are well-adjusted to their new home. Due to having more responsibilities placed upon them and the already present cultural expectations, they also face a division between their peers who do not have these responsibilities placed on them due to the very language they speak.
I’ve discussed what factors contributed to the division of our immigrant students at home so now it’s time to look at how the educational system fails them. Many immigrant children enter classrooms filled with curriculum, teaching methods, and facilities built around American culture. This can cause a disconnect when learning. Suárez-Orozco, Suárez-Orozco, and Todorova (2008) state that immigrant students often feel culturally invisible in school environments that rarely acknowledge or represent their backgrounds, leading to lower engagement and motivation. This idea is supported by a National Academies report that found practices such as tracking, which is the separation of English learners into different programs can unintentionally reinforce social separation and weaken confidence among immigrant learners. These methods while their intention is to help actually do the opposite and continue to create a barrier. Students should not be separated from one another if they want to actually adjust and meet expectations. At the same time, research from the Migration Policy Institute shows that when schools actually implement programs that include teaching in association with their culture and incorporating the student’s heritage language, immigrant students display higher academics and gain a stronger sense of belonging. So, not all programs are bad and creating a separation does not always lead to dismay. But, both sources show that the education system is an important component in helping immigrant children adjust and avoid division. This all depends on the teachers, curricula, and school structures and their response to the cultural difference that these students bring in. Immigrant students themselves are not the problem but a lack of support from the institutes around them are.
I’ve shown many ways in how division is created among immigrant students and their peers but what solutions are there to this issue? To begin with, schools and communities must recognize the issue in the first place and offer their support. Educational institutions should be required to provide culturally responsive teaching which includes cultural backgrounds into the curriculum. Research from the National Education Association highlights that culturally responsive classrooms improve student engagement and creates a greater sense of belonging for immigrant students. This vastly improves the situationship that is occurring in classrooms right now where students aren’t able to connect with or feel isolated from their own peers. A solution to the language brokering would be the introduction of professional translation resources and bilingual communication in schools. The Migration Policy Institute exclaims that districts that expand professional translation resources are able to reduce stress on immigrant students. The cultural and identity conflict is hard to solve, it’s something that you are simply born into. However, one thing I can suggest and advocate for is the implementation of mentorship programs. These mentors should share similar culture or linguistic backgrounds. This is backed by research from the Harvard Immigration Initiative which shows mentorship strengthens immigrant children’s academic confidence, emotional wellbeing, and identity development. Having someone who has already experienced what you’re going through, someone who empathizes with you is a good support system for those who are struggling in the dark. These solutions show that immigrant children are not doomed to face these issues forever. By providing and acknowledging foreign cultures in the classroom, providing resources for these students, and offering a supportive environment, we are able to break this barrier and empower our immigrant children.
The division between immigrant children and their peers is not something that can be seen on the surface level. When viewing a classroom, all students look the same yet some carry harder burdens than others. By learning through research the many challenges that immigrant students face, we can empathize with them. But not only empathize and acknowledge their struggles, but advocate and offer solutions to them. So that through effort and time, we’ll be able to see everyone in the classroom all stand on equal footing, together no matter their background or heritage.

 

 

 

 

Works Cited:

Harker, Kathryn. “Immigrant Youths’ Bicultural Identity and Educational Outcomes.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 52, no. 4, 2023, pp. 701–714. SpringerLink, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-023-01853-z

Harvard Immigration Initiative. Mentorship: Promoting Developmental Competencies, Resources, and Strengths in Immigrant-Origin Adolescents. Immigration Initiative at Harvard, July 2023, https://immigrationinitiative.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/July-2023_Mentorship-Promoting-Developmental-Competencies_edited-by-am-8.9.23.pdf

Martinez, Charles R., Jr. “Effects of Language Brokering on Latino Adolescents’ Adjustment.” Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, vol. 31, no. 2, 2009, pp. 124–145.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2630236/

Migration Policy Institute. English Learners’ Academic Outcomes and Supports. Migration Policy Institute, 2016, https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/english-learners-academic-outcomes

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. English Learners in STEM Subjects: Transforming Classrooms, Schools, and Lives. National Academies Press, 2018, https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/21746/chapter/7

National Education Association. Culturally Responsive Teaching. NEA, 2020, https://www.nea.org/resource-library/culturally-responsive-teaching

PubMed. “Second-Generation Adolescents’ Acculturation Gap and Parent-Child Conflict Study.” Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 76, 2024, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37994316/

Tse, Lucy. “Language Brokering in Immigrant Families: Theories and Challenges.” Bilingual Research Journal, vol. 19, no. 1, 1995, pp. 75–89. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/07399863950172003?

Wu, Nina H., and Su Yeong Kim. “Ecological Risk and Protective Factors of Language Brokering in Asian American Adolescents.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 37, no. 8, 2008, pp. 983–996. PubMed Central, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2737106/