[{"id":116,"date":"2021-04-30T15:43:18","date_gmt":"2021-04-30T15:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/nh5200a\/?page_id=116"},"modified":"2021-04-30T15:43:18","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T15:43:18","slug":"projects","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/nh5200a\/projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Everybody’s Classroom”: Research & Social Action Project<\/h2>\n

I have spent the 2020-2021 academic year working on my project titled \u201cEverybody\u2019s Classroom\u201d to investigate and help combat the inequity faced by immigrant students. Even though the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees deems education essential for rehabilitation and success for immigrants and refugees, immigrant students in the United States face barriers to their education through school systems and environments that are exclusionary towards and discriminatory against immigrant students, parents, and communities as well as teachers that are unequipped to meet their needs. When investigating how schools fail their immigrant students and what can be done to combat said failures, my research found that immigrant students face inequities due to two main categories: inequitable resource distribution and lacking cultural proficiency. The later category can be subsequently categorized by lacking networks and relationships between immigrants and educators and inadequate teacher preparation programs that do not equip teachers to meet all their students’ needs.\u00a0<\/span>Both of these main categories of inequities faced by immigrant students were addressed in my social action project.\u00a0<\/span>My project worked to help combat inequitable resource distribution by executing a needs assessment with a local non-profit organization that works with immigrant youth to help offset these disparities.\u00a0<\/span>This project also worked to combat lacking cultural proficiency by presenting students at the aforementioned non-profits with opportunities to share their stories and experiences on journalism platforms to help increase the cultural proficiency of their broader communities. <\/span><\/p>\n

Research Question<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0Given the inequities faced by students who are immigrants from countries where English is not the primary language, how can education systems and community partners ensure that teacher trainings and relationships between schools and immigrant communities most benefit the emotional, social, and academic success of students who are immigrants to the United States from countries where English is not the primary language?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Executive Summary<\/b><\/p>\n

Research suggests that immigrant students face systemic and individualized inequities as it pertains to success and support within the United States Education System. Without the necessary cultural proficiency and responsiveness, teachers whose experiences differ from that of their students are unable to understand and subsequently meet the needs of said students. Both insufficient teacher training programs and limited, or all together lack of, networks between the educators and immigrants limit teachers\u2019 abilities to bridge the debts and remedy the inequities between students, which, in addition to inequitable resource distribution, disproportionately and negatively impacts immigrant and other minority and marginalized students and their success.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Background\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, education is essential for social and emotional rehabilitation of children in new cultures who have experienced unique trauma such as immigrant children (McBrien). However, immigrant students face challenges and barriers to academic success and development as well as trauma and associated risk factors that differ from that of their teachers and classmates (McNeely; McBrien). School system privileges certain characteristics, experiences, and identities which disproportionately disadvantages minority students including immigrant students. The subsequent distribution of resources and power of educators and policymakers likewise disproportionately benefits students who are not immigrants (Domina). When teachers aren\u2019t equipped to critically and actively confront the inequities that immigrant students face and don\u2019t have the same experiences as nor the cultural proficiency to understand the experiences of their students, immigrant students (who often do not have the same socioeconomic advantages of their peers born in the U.S.) struggle in the United States education system.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Key Stakeholders\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n