Abstract
Among the most vulnerable immigrants and refugees are young children, whose lack of maturity and autonomy leave them dependent on adult caregivers. With a focus on the transition from home to school, this chapter integrates developmental and school transition theories in order to shed light on risks among young immigrant and refugee children as well as opportunities to support their development. Guided by this combined framework, the authors examine linkages from parents' experiences with acculturation stress and microaggressions to children's social and emotional development. The chapter also discusses sources of resilience, such as parents' own positive childhood experiences. The authors then address the need for future research to utilize mixed methods designs to help advance knowledge on the adaptation of preschoolers from immigrant and refugee backgrounds. Lastly, the chapter discusses using such methods as part of research-community partnerships focused on the early education of immigrant and refugee children.
TopIntroduction
Although humans have migrated across the globe for generations, recent patterns of immigration have garnered much attention in the media, politics, and society. For instance, leading organizations such as the Society for Research in Child Development and American Psychological Association have felt compelled to issue statements on risks associated with family separation and the deportation of parents (APA, 2019; Barajas-Gonzales & Ayón, 2018). Still, striking gaps remain in our understanding of the everyday lives of immigrant families with preschool-aged children.
Among the most vulnerable immigrants are preschool-aged children, whose lack of maturity and autonomy leave them dependent on adult caregivers (McCartney & Phillips, 2008). A substantial percentage of children ages 3-5 in the U.S. attend early childhood education programs, regardless of whether their parents were born within or outside of the U.S. (Sandstrom & Gelatt, 2017). Among families who have at least one foreign-born parent, approximately 25% of young children, between the ages of 3-5, attend preschool or prekindergarten. The rate is similar, at about 30%, among families with two native-born parents (Child Trends Databank, 2019).
Centering on the transition from home to school, this chapter is guided by the following goals. First, the authors combine theories from psychology on children’s ecologies and school transitions, in order to shed light on vulnerabilities among immigrant and refugee children as well as opportunities to support their development. Second, the chapter tests whether children’s social and emotional development is predicted by parents’ experiences with acculturation (i.e., learning and using the cultural practices of a receiving society; Suárez-Orozco, Motti-Stefanidi Marks, & Katsiaficas, 2018) and microaggressions (i.e., insulting messages sent to people of color by other people who may have good intentions but lack awareness that such messages may be demeaning; Sue et al., 2007). Third, the chapter shifts its focus to protective factors among immigrant and refugee families, with an examination of parents’ positive childhood experiences and caregivers’ views on culture, education, and young children’s futures. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how future research can help deepen knowledge on the adaptation of preschoolers from immigrant and refugee backgrounds.
Transition to School
As a starting point, the authors turn to the field of developmental psychology, which has long studied the transition to school. Namely, Rimm-Kaufmann and Pianta (2000) describe four models that depict what they refer to as “the transition to kindergarten ecology.” The first model views this transition in terms of children’s characteristics that predict their readiness for kindergarten. In contrast, the second model recognizes the roles of both children’s characteristics and direct effects of four key contexts (i.e., family, teachers, peers, and neighborhood) on school readiness. Extending the second framework, the third model adds bidirectional effects among children and each of their contexts, as well as interactions between each context. Lastly, the fourth and final framework, the Ecological and Dynamic Model of Transition, builds on the three previous models, which acknowledge that children’s development and their contexts change over time. The final model underscores that the relationships among children, families, teachers, peers, and neighborhoods are also dynamic. In other words, over time, some relationships may strengthen while others may weaken, and some relationships may become more or less meaningful in children’s lives. For example, there may be more communication between parents and preschool teachers than between parents and teachers during the more formal years of education in elementary school and beyond. For immigrant parents, early communication with teachers in receiving communities may be pivotal for the adjustment of their families. However, the Ecological and Dynamic Model of Transition does not explicitly address issues relevant to immigrant and refugee families.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Self-Regulation: The ability to modulate one’s behavioral, attentional, and emotional responses in a voluntary manner.
Acculturation: Learning and using the cultural and social practices of a receiving society.
Authoritative Parenting: Warm, involved caregiving, which includes limit-setting that is appropriate given a child’s age and level of maturity.
Authoritarian Parenting: Harsh interactions directed toward children by caregivers that includes criticism, hostility, and punitive actions.
Permissive Parenting: Warm caregiving that ignores misbehavior and may allow behavior that is not appropriate for children given their age and level of maturity.
Enculturation: Engaging in cultural and social practices that belong to the country of origin of one’s family.
Microagressions: Unintentional and intentional messages that people of color receive from others who may not be aware that such messages are demeaning and derogatory.