Growing up in the shadows: The developmental implications of unauthorized status

Unauthorized immigrants account for approximately one-fourth of all immigrants in the United States, yet they dominate public perceptions and are at the heart of a policy impasse. Caught in the middle are the children of these immigrants-youth who are coming of age and living in the shadows. An estimated 5.5 million children and adolescents are growing up with unauthorized parents and are experiencing multiple and yet unrecognized developmental consequences as a result of their family's existence in the shadow of the law. Although these youth are American in spirit and voice, they are nonetheless members of families that are "illegal" in the eyes of the law. In this article, the authors develop a conceptual framework to systematically examine the ways in which unauthorized status affects the millions of children, adolescents, and emerging adults caught in its wake. The authors elucidate the various dimensions of documentation status-going beyond the binary of the "authorized" and "unauthorized." An ecological framework brings to the foreground a variety of systemic levels shaping the daily experiences of children and youth as they move through the developmental spectrum. The article moves on to examine a host of critical developmental outcomes that have implications for child and youth well-being as well as for our nation's future. Copyright © by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved

Divergent Destinies: Children of Immigrants Growing Up in the United States

More than a quarter century of research has generated fruitful results and new insights into the understanding of the lived experiences of the new second generation, which broadly includes both native-born and foreign-born children of immigrant parentage. We critically review the burgeoning literature on the divergent trajectories and unequal outcomes of this new second generation. Given recent changes in immigration policy and in contexts of both exit and reception for new immigrants, we pay special attention to the significance of selectivity and immigration status. We begin by revisiting the canonical literature on assimilation and presenting the original formulation of the segmented assimilation theory as a critique. We then assess the impressive body of empirical research and discuss alternative concepts, models, and paradigms. We conclude our review by discussing the implications for future research on the children of immigrants

Marsico, G., (2018). The challenges of the Schooling from Cultural Psychology of Education. Integrative Psychological and Behavioural Sciences.52(3),474-489, DOI: 10.1007/s12124-018-9454-6

Education is in the core of societal change in all its different forms—from kindergartens to vocational schools and lifelong learning. Education—understood as goal-oriented personal movement—re-structures personal lives both inside school and outside the school. This special issue stems from the Cultural Psychology of Education (Marsico Culture & Psychology, 21(4), 445–454, 2015a, b, Journal for the Study of Education and Development, 40(4), 754–781, 2017)—a new approach to the field of education that examines how educational experience is culturally organized. This special issue is focused on the work of schooling as a crucial scientific arena to investigate. It is the follow up of an international workshop host by the Centre for Cultural Psychology (at Aalborg University, Demark) that was very thought provoking and from where several outcomes came out. Some of them are the papers here presented that tried to illuminate the different dimensions of the educational context in the East and West society with specific attention to the Chinese and Scandinavian educational practices. The dialogue between Chinese, European and North American scholars offered a complex view of the current educational challenges in the age of globalization. In this paper I try to focus on some of the most debated and challenging aspects in educational psychology worldwide: diversity, values and practical usability of psychology at school. I re-read these “hot topics” with the help of the themes developed by the authors of this special issue and in light of Cultural Psychology of Education. Then, I conclude by proposing a new agenda for the education of the future

Educational Needs and Barriers for Refugee Students in the United States: A Review of the Literature

Since 1975, the United States has resettled more than 2 million refugees, with approximately half arriving as children. Refugee children have traumatic experiences that can hinder their learning. The United Nations has specified in conventions, and researchers have concurred, that education is essential for refugee children’s psychosocial adjustment. However, government officials, public opinion, and researchers have often differed about what is best for refugees’ healthy acculturation. On the basis of a large-scale longitudinal study of the children of immigrants and refugees, Portes and Zhou (1993) suggested the theory of segmented assimilation, which accounts for diverse entry situations and receptions of immigrant and refugee populations. This review uses their theory to consider the needs and obstacles to education for refugees, and interventions for success