Based on new research, this book offers insights into the reality of immigration and its sociocultural impact with a focus on the experience of young children and their families coming to the USA. Wilma Robles-Melendez and Wayne Driscoll discuss immigration realities and their social and educational implications and review the current literature on studies and reports about immigration. They also provide insights and experiences of young immigrant children and their families with a focus on the USA and offer recommendations for early childhood practice for programs serving young immigrant children. The key subjects addressed include socially just practices, developmentally based programs, services for young children and families with diverse and cultural backgrounds. Immigration in the USA is discussed here as part of the global crisis in immigration and the lessons learned will be vital for educators, researchers and policy makers around the world.

Based on new research, this book offers insights into the reality of immigration and its sociocultural impact with a focus on the experience of young children and their families coming to the USA. Wilma Robles-Melendez and Wayne Driscoll discuss immigration realities and their social and educational implications and review the current literature on studies and reports about immigration. They also provide insights and experiences of young immigrant children and their families with a focus on the USA and offer recommendations for early childhood practice for programs serving young immigrant children. The key subjects addressed include socially just practices, developmentally based programs, services for young children and families with diverse and cultural backgrounds. Immigration in the USA is discussed here as part of the global crisis in immigration and the lessons learned will be vital for educators, researchers and policy makers around the world.

Immigration is when individuals leave their country of residency to permanently settle in a different country. According to the United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in 2017 a cumulative of 258 million persons were residents in a country that differed from their own. The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the increase in prohibited immigration impelled the United States (US) to propose a number of immigration laws. In 2012, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, which allowed undocumented immigrants to work legally without being deported as long as they maintain a useful and lawful status. Approximately 800,000 immigrants attained DACA standing, permitting them to legally work and go to school in the US. Furthermore, the immigration law of 1965 prompted an excessive entrance of multicultural immigrants to the United States which brought about a great representation of children who live with immigrant families. These children faced several environmental structures which were affected by changes and multiplicity in their family situations. Immigrant children attempted to understand a different culture, values, and emerging issues in relation to their assimilation paths. The purpose of this volume is to offer a complete representation of the way immigrant children and families respond and develop in the US and Europe. It will extend current knowledge and reinforce contemporary frameworks that associate the cultural differences between immigrant families and teachers. In the classroom environment teachers have the opportunity to effectively assume both nurturing and instructional roles to aid young children to cultivate their social and cognitive abilities. The teachers’ personal characteristics, formal education, specialized training, and cultural knowledge may affect their effectiveness in the classroom environment. Most of the studies show that both family and teachers have the most significant effects on the children’s development and learning. Immigration researchers and scholars were invited to review, critically analyze, discuss, and submit a manuscript for the volume titled, Contemporary Perspectives on Research on Immigration in Early Childhood Education. The concept of immigration has heavily influenced modern views in early childhood education. Researchers, scholars, and educators need to understand the current sources based on theoretical frameworks that contribute to the purposes of immigration in the United States and Europe. The contents of the volume reflect the major shifts in the views of early childhood researchers, scholars, and educators in relation to the research on immigration, its historical roots, the role of immigration in early childhood education, and its relationship to theory, research, and practice.

Immigration to America is an issue that often sparks intense emotional reactions_from passion and compassion to anger and even rage. Often missing from the dialogue, however, is discussion of the strengths of immigrant newcomers_the abilities and positive characteristics they bring as individuals and families to our country, and how these contribute to the agency, growth, and vitality of America. This book was intended to move the discussion of immigration, generally speaking, and of immigrant families specifically, to include how and in what ways new immigrants to America (those arriving within the past thirty years) have changed the social and geocultural landscape of this country in positive, beneficial, and valuable ways. The book is comprised of nineteen chapters written by scholars with expertise on immigrant families representing every corner of the globe_from Africa and India to Europe and Central America. In each chapter, the unique factors, processes, and worldviews which help shape and mold the immigrant experience are articulated, as are the strengths immigrant newcomers bring to America. In addition, beyond explicating the strengths of immigrant families, each of the nineteen contributing chapters focuses on the implications of these strengths for families, communities, and the culture. Thus, the book provides a springboard from which to answer the application and 'what now' questions for those who work with immigrant families in a variety of capacities_from academicians and researchers to educators and human-service providers.

One out of five Americans, more than 55 million people, are first-or second-generation immigrants. This landmark study, the most comprehensive to date, probes all aspects of the new immigrant second generation's lives, exploring their immense potential to transform American society for better or worse. Whether this new generation reinvigorates the nation or deepens its social problems depends on the social and economic trajectories of this still young population. In Legacies, Alejandro Portes and Rubén G. Rumbaut—two of the leading figures in the field—provide a close look at this rising second generation, including their patterns of acculturation, family and school life, language, identity, experiences of discrimination, self-esteem, ambition, and achievement. Based on the largest research study of its kind, Legacies combines vivid vignettes with a wealth of survey and school data. Accessible, engaging, and indispensable for any consideration of the changing face of American society, this book presents a wide range of real-life stories of immigrant families—from Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad, the Philippines, China, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam—now living in Miami and San Diego, two of the areas most heavily affected by the new immigration. The authors explore the world of second-generation youth, looking at patterns of parent-child conflict and cohesion within immigrant families, the role of peer groups and school subcultures, the factors that affect the children's academic achievement, and much more. A companion volume to Legacies, entitled Ethnicities: Children of Immigrants in America, was published by California in Fall 2001. Edited by the authors of Legacies, this book will bring together some of the country's leading scholars of immigration and ethnicity to provide a close look at this rising second generation. A Copublication with the Russell Sage Foundation

Immigrant children and youth are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, and so their prospects bear heavily on the well-being of the country. Children of Immigrants represents some of the very best and most extensive research efforts to date on the circumstances, health, and development of children in immigrant families and the delivery of health and social services to these children and their families. This book presents new, detailed analyses of more than a dozen existing datasets that constitute a large share of the national system for monitoring the health and well-being of the U.S. population. Prior to these new analyses, few of these datasets had been used to assess the circumstances of children in immigrant families. The analyses enormously expand the available knowledge about the physical and mental health status and risk behaviors, educational experiences and outcomes, and socioeconomic and demographic circumstances of first- and second-generation immigrant children, compared with children with U.S.-born parents.

Immigrant children and youth are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population, and so their prospects bear heavily on the well-being of the country. However, relevant public policy is shaped less by informed discussion than by politicized contention over welfare reform and immigration limits. From Generation to Generation explores what we know about the development of white, black, Hispanic, and Asian children and youth from numerous countries of origin. Describing the status of immigrant children and youth as "severely understudied," the committee both draws on and supplements existing research to characterize the current status and outlook of immigrant children. The book discusses the many factorsâ€"family size, fluency in English, parent employment, acculturation, delivery of health and social services, and public policiesâ€"that shape the outlook for the lives of these children and youth. The committee makes recommendations for improved research and data collection designed to advance knowledge about these children and, as a result, their visibility in current policy debates.