Birman, Dina

Lilla, Nanine

Makarova, Elena

Wolfgramm, Christine

English

Institutional Repository of the Freie Universität Berlin

TYPE EditorialPUBLISHED 07 November 2023DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1321439OPEN ACCESSEDITED AND REVIEWED BYDouglas F. Kau man,Medical University of the Americas – Nevis,United States*CORRESPONDENCEElena Makarovaelena.makarova@unibas.chRECEIVED 14 October 2023ACCEPTED 20 October 2023PUBLISHED 07 November 2023CITATIONMakarova E, Lilla N, Wolfgramm C and Birman D(2023) Editorial: Research on acculturation andeducation: current methodologicalapproaches. Front. Psychol. 14:1321439.doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1321439COPYRIGHT© 2023 Makarova, Lilla, Wolfgramm andBirman. This is an open-access articledistributed under the terms of the CreativeCommons Attribution License (CC BY). The use,distribution or reproduction in other forums ispermitted, provided the original author(s) andthe copyright owner(s) are credited and thatthe original publication in this journal is cited, inaccordance with accepted academic practice.No use, distribution or reproduction ispermitted which does not comply with theseterms.Editorial: Research onacculturation and education:current methodologicalapproachesElena Makarova1*, Nanine Lilla2, Christine Wolfgramm3 andDina Birman41Institute for Educational Sciences, University of Basel, Muttenz, Switzerland, 2Department of Educationand Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany, 3Education Secondary Level I & Centre forTeaching Professions and Continuing Professional Development, Zurich University of Teacher Education,Zurich, Switzerland, 4School of Education and Human Development, University of Miami, Coral Gables,FL, United StatesKEYWORDSacculturation, school context, education, measurement, methodsEditorial on the Research TopicResearch on acculturation and education: currentmethodological approachesAcculturation refers to the process of change that occurs when people of differentcultural backgrounds are in enduring first-hand contact (Redfield et al., 1936). This processcan manifest itself in a stronger or weaker orientation toward both cultures. Berry’s(1997) conceptualization of four different patterns of acculturation orientation—integration,assimilation, separation/segregation, and marginalization—is well-established in the field ofcross-cultural psychology and beyond.Decades of acculturation research have led to an extensive body of literature onacculturation and its outcomes in terms of psychological and sociocultural adjustment.For children and youth, research has especially shown relationships of acculturation anddifferent educational outcomes (e.g., Trickett and Birman, 2005; Makarova and Birman,2015, 2016; Lilla et al., 2021; Makarova et al., 2021; Thürer et al., 2023). For teachers,research has shown that teachers’ acculturation attitudes are related to their professionalcompetencies and that teachers play key role in migrant students’ school adjustment(e.g., Makarova and Herzog, 2013; Makarova et al., 2019). Furthermore, there is evidencesuggesting, that (mis)matching constellations of acculturation orientations of immigrantstudents’ and teachers’ impact students’ school adjustment (Birman and Tran, 2017; HaenniHoti et al., 2019).Acculturation research has also brought forward a variety of conceptual andmethodological approaches for the empirical investigation of acculturation. In addition, amultitude of measures and analytical methods increases the various approaches to capturingthe acculturation construct (Sam and Ward, 2021).This Research Topic brings together a collection of six original papers that delve intothe intricate relationship between acculturation processes and educational outcomes. Thepapers employ a range of methodologies, from quantitative analyses to mixed-methodsapproaches, offering a comprehensive view of the Research Topic. This methodologicaldiversity enriches the broader understanding of acculturation and education. Moreover, thisResearch Topic spans research across multiple cultural contexts including Germany, Italy,Turkey, Switzerland, and South Korea. The aim of this editorial is to frame the objectives andFrontiers in Psychology 01 frontiersin.orgMakarova et al. 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1321439findings of these papers within a broader academic discourse,thereby providing a cohesive understanding of the current state ofresearch in this field.The study by Ulbricht et al. focuses on the acculturationattitudes of teachers, primarily representing mainstream culture inculturally diverse schools. It argues that norms of cultural pluralismand equality are directly and positively associated with facets ofteachers’ intercultural self-efficacy. The study by Auer et al. alsofocuses on teachers’ acculturation orientations and investigatesits role in the transmission of values to primary school pupils.Although teachers’ acculturation orientations did not play a rolein predicting pupils’ values, teachers were found to be crucial valuetransmission agents.The study by Sidler focuses on mutual acculturationattitudes among adolescents in the school context. The studyreveals three distinct acculturation profiles: mutual integration,multiculturalism, and cultural distancing. It finds that students inthe cultural distancing profile are more likely to identify as nothaving a migration background compared to those in the mutualintegration profile. In the same vein, the study by Lilla employsa person-centered approach and delves into the acculturationpatterns of immigrant students and finds that the integration andmarginalization profiles are the least common among immigrants,but the distribution varies for instance depending on the groupof origin.The study by Jin et al. focuses on international studentsand finds that bicultural self-efficacy fully mediates therelationship between acculturation to mainstream cultureand career decision-making self-efficacy. Similarly, the studyby Nazir and Özçiçek investigates the adjustment challengesof female international university students. It shows that thesestudents experience challenges in academic, sociocultural,and personal dimensions of adjustment with the socioculturaldomain as the most challenging one. It reveals that the studentsencountered various problems ranging from cultural differences todiscrimination and often indicated maladaptive or dysfunctionalcoping strategies.Overall, this Research Topic offers a multifaceted explorationof acculturation within educational contexts. The findingsunderscore that the acculturation process in educationalsettings involves minority and majority students andteachers alike highlighting that school itself functions as anacculturative agent.Finally, this Research Topic points to several new directions forfurther research in the field of acculturation and education:• Several papers employ different theoretical frameworksfor understanding acculturation. Future research couldaim to integrate these theoretical models to provide amore comprehensive understanding of acculturation ineducational settings.• While some papers focus on specific demographicgroups, there is room for more research that considersintersectionality—how various social identities (e.g.,race, gender, socioeconomic status) intersect to impactacculturation experiences in educational settings.• Most of the papers employ cross-sectional designs.Longitudinal studies could provide insights into howacculturation attitudes and experiences evolve over time,especially in relation to educational outcomes.• The papers focus on various geographical contexts.Comparative studies could provide insights into how culturaland national contexts influence acculturation processesin education.• While the papers discuss individual and group experiences,there is a gap in the examination of how educational policiesimpact acculturation processes. Future research could explorethe role of policies in facilitating or hindering acculturationin schools.• In an increasingly digital world, the role of technologyin acculturation within educational settings remainsunderexplored. Research could focus on how digital platformsand online education impact acculturation experiences.In summary, while the current Research Topic providesvaluable insights into the relationship between acculturationand education, it also opens up multiple avenues for furtherexploration. These new directions could significantly enrich theacademic discourse and have practical implications for educators,policymakers, and researchers alike.Author contributionsEM: Conceptualization,Writing—original draft. NL:Writing—review & editing. CW: Writing—review & editing. DB: Writing—review & editing.FundingThe author(s) declare that no financial support was received forthe research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.Conflict of interestThe authors declare that the research was conducted in theabsence of any commercial or financial relationships that could beconstrued as a potential conflict of interest.The author(s) declared that they were an editorial boardmember of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impacton the peer review process and the final decision.Publisher’s noteAll claims expressed in this article are solely those of theauthors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliatedorganizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and thereviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, orclaim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed orendorsed by the publisher.Frontiers in Psychology 02 frontiersin.orgMakarova et al. 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1321439ReferencesBerry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Appl. Psychol. 46,5–34. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-0597.1997.tb01087.xBirman, D., and Tran, N. (2017). When worlds collide: adaptation of SomaliBantu students in a U.S. elementary school. Int. J. Interc. Relat. 60, 123–144.doi: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2017.06.008Haenni Hoti, A., Wolfgramm, C., Müller, M., Heinzmann, S., and Buholzer, A.(2019). Immigrant students and their teachers – exploring various constellations ofacculturation orientations and their impact on school adjustment. Interc. Educ. 30,478–494. doi: 10.1080/14675986.2019.1586214Lilla, N., Thürer, S., Nieuwenboom, W., and Schüpbach, M. (2021). Exploringacademic self-concepts depending on acculturation profile. Investigation of apossible factor for immigrant students’ school success. Educ. Sci. 11, 432.doi: 10.3390/educsci11080432Makarova, E., ‘t Gilde, J., and Birman, D. (2019). Teachers as risk andresource factors in minority students’ school adjustment: an integrativereview of qualitative research on acculturation. Interc. Educ. 30, 448–477.doi: 10.1080/14675986.2019.1586212Makarova, E., and Birman, D. (2015). Cultural transition and academic achievementof students from ethnic minority backgrounds: a content analysis of empirical researchon acculturation. Educ. Res. 57, 305–330. doi: 10.1080/00131881.2015.1058099Makarova, E., and Birman, D. (2016). Minority students’ psychologicaladjustment in the school context: an integrative review of qualitative researchon acculturation. Interc. Educ. 27, 1–21. doi: 10.1080/14675986.2016.1144382Makarova, E., Döring, A. K., Auer, P., ‘t Gilde, J., and Birman, D. (2021).School adjustment of ethnic minority youth: a qualitative and quantitative researchsynthesis of family-related risk and resource factors. Educ. Rev. 75, 324–347.doi: 10.1080/00131911.2021.1905610Makarova, E., and Herzog, W. (2013). Teachers’ acculturation attitudes and theirclassroommanagement: an empirical study among fifth-grade primary school teachersin Switzerland. Eur. Educ. Res. J. 12, 256–269. doi: 10.2304/eerj.2013.12.2.256Redfield, R., Linton, R., and Herskovits, M. J. (1936). Memorandum for thestudy of acculturation. Am. Anthropol. 38, 149–152. doi: 10.1525/aa.1936.38.1.02a00330Sam, D. L., and Ward, C. (2021). “Three generations of psychological acculturationresearch: theoretical advancements and methodological challenges,” in Methods andAssessment in Culture and Psychology, eds. M. Bender, and B. G. Adams (Cambridge:Cambridge University Press), 17–40. doi: 10.1017/9781108675475.003Thürer, S., Nieuwenboom, W., Schüpbach, M., and Lilla, N. (2023). Immigrantstudents’ acculturation profile and reading competence development in secondaryschool and beyond. Int. J. Educ. Res. 118, 102139. doi: 10.1016/j.ijer.2023.102139Trickett, E. J., and Birman, D. (2005). Acculturation, school context, and schooloutcomes: adaptation of refugee adolescents from the Former Soviet Union. Psychol.Schools 42, 27–38. doi: 10.1002/pits.20024Frontiers in Psychology 03 frontiersin.org

Editorial: Research on acculturation and education: current methodological approaches

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