Judith K Bernhard - Stand Together or Fall Apart - Professionals Working With Immigrant Families-Fernwood Publishing (2013)

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JUDITH K. BERNHARD
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JUDITH K. BERNHARD
Fernwood Publishing
Halifax Ac Winnipeg
Copyright © 2012 Judith K . Bernhard
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in

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except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
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Manitoba Publishers Marketing Assistance Program and the Province of Manitoba,
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Canadan
Hamaga
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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Manitoba
Bernhard , Judith Kutscher, 1955-

Stand together or fall apart : professionals working with
immigrant families / Judith K. Bernhard.
Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978- 1-55266- 525- 1
.1 Immigrants Cultural assimilation - Western countries.

-- -
— —
2. Immigrants - Social networks Western countries. 3. Western
-
—
countries Emigration and immigration Social aspects.
I. Tide.
JV6342.B47 2012 305.9*06912094 C2012-903156-9

Contents
Acknowledgments . 8
Foreword Dr. Jim Cummins. .9
—
PART I BRAVE NEW WORLD: MODERN - DAY REALITIES
OF INTERNATIONAL IMMIGRATION / 11
1. Why This Book Matters 12

But I 'm Not an Immigrant! 12
Facing the Growing Antipathy against Newcomer Populations 13
Uninformed Consent: Am I Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution ? 14
In Conclusion: How Will This Book Help Me? 15
2. Meet the Neighbours:

How New Migration Patterns Are Redefining Our Society 18
Who Will Pay Your Health Care? Why Western Countries Seek Immigrants 18
You're Not as Young as You Used to Be: Aging Populations in Western Countries 19
The Myth of the “ Huddled Masses” 20
'
Diversity Rising: Todays Real Immigrant Numbers .21
Changing Times, Changing Faces: Where Today’s Immigrants Come From . .23
When Western Countries Stand Up for Human Rights .25
Money Talks. Money Walks: International Economic Changes . 26
Friends and Family Calling across Borders: History in Action . 27
In Conclusion: The New " Us" . 29
3. Uncomfortable Truths:
How Our Social and Legal Systems Treat Newcomer Families 30
The Myth of the “Illegal Immigrant”: Precarious Legal Status .30

Invisible Lives, Invisible Fences: Living with Precarious Status . 33
A Place to Call Home: Lack of Family- Friendly Housing for Newcomers . 34
Disease Doesn’t Discriminate: Lack of Health Care for Adults and Children .35
Closed Doors at School . 36
Mommy Far Away: Transnational Families
In Conclusion: Ignorance Flurts Us
- .38
. 39
4. Voices That Have Been Silenced: Day- to- Day Struggles of Newcomers 41
You're Just Not Cool: Cultural Capital and Social Status for Immigrant Teens 42
You Even Know English?" The Double- Edged Sword of Language
“ Don’t .43
The House Cleaner with a PhD: Employment and Identity for Newcomers.... .46
Cracking under the Pressure: Spousal and Child Abuse .46
Parenting in a Vacuum: Lack of Friends, Community and Supportive Institutions....47
Paved with Good Intentions: Professionals as Expressions of a Dominant Culture 49
Discrimination Is Ugly but Common 50
In Conclusion: Up - Hill Battle . 51
—
PART 11 RECLAIMING OUR FUTURE:
EXPLORING NEW PARADIGMS OF COLLABORATION
AND INCLUSION WITH IMMIGRANT CHILDREN AND I AMI LIES / 53
'
5. Thinking Outside of the Box: Theoretical Frameworks for Meaningful

Dialogue and Intervention with Immigrant Children and Families 54
Paulo Freire: Learning the World through the Word 54

Pierre Bourdieu. The Power of Cultural Capital .. 55
Luis Moll: Drawing upon Unique Funds of Knowledge .. 57
.
Jim Cummins: Bilingualism Identity and Engagement . 58
In Conclusion: Looking through Different Eyes . 59
6. How Schools Are Labelling Newcomer Children:

What Is “ Normal” ? The Example of Latinos 60
.
Finders Keepers: Social Dominance as the Basis for Academic Success . 61
Stigmatized in the Childcare Setting:
Institutional Discourses and Standards for Truth 64
The Russian Doll: Taking a Systemic View .66
Like Branches of a Tree: Multiple Paths of “ Normal" Development .67
In Conclusion: The Necessity to Broaden Our Assessment Models . 71
7. Shifting the Focus: Identifying Present
and Potential Strengths of Newcomer Children and Families 72
Moving beyond a Narrow Problem Focus .73

Components and Contexts in Healthy Development:
The Benson Assessment Framework . 74
What Kind of Support from Others Is This Child
Receiving in Her Development ? External Asset Types .76
What Individual, Internal Strengths Are Supporting
This Child in Her Development ? Internal Asset Types . 81
In Conclusion: Identifying Assets in Order to Strengthen Them . 83
PART III - BECOMING THE CHANGE WE SEEK / 85
8. Building Bridges:
A Typology of Intervention Programs Involving Immigrant Families .. 86
What Programs Help Newcomer Families?

Funding and the Problems of Evidence . 86
Type I Interventions: Parents on the Side .89
Kids out of Context: When Parents on the Side Doesn’t Work .91
Going beyond 'I Talk, You Listen": Conclusions about Type I Interventions. . 92
Type II Interventions: Treating Parents as Equals . 94
Ways of Connecting with and Motivating Parents . 98
Honouring and Building upon Unique Strengths:
Overall Comments about Type II Interventions 99
.
In Conclusion : Reaching Out Reaching Up . 99
9. Newcomer Parents as Conscious, Active Participants in

Their Childrens Education: Personal Initiatives with Newcomer Families 101
The Early Authors Program 102
Parenting Circles 104
Learning from Experience:
Application to New Contexts and Future Interventions 110
In Conclusion: Valuing Newcomer Parents and Children . 112
10. Empower Is a Verb: Putting These Ideas to Work 113
References 117
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The thoughts that are the basis of this book began in many conversations
with immigrants to Canada, the U.S. and other countries. There is as well
my own experience in settling in a new country. I want to thank the research
participants who gave their stories in hopes of being heard by others and
by policy makers. My appreciation extends to the colleagues with whom I
collaborated and consulted, especially Marlinda Freire MD, Veronica Pacini-
Ketchabaw, Mehrunissa Ahmad Ali, Rachel Berman , Aurelia Di Santo, Pat
Corson, Rachel Langford and Angela Valeo. My thanks to the students whose
questions and concerns helped me to speak with clarity about the challenges
of migration and its impact on the family.
A special debt of gratitude goes to Hal White, my long - time friend and
literary advisor. Thanks to Alma Flor Ada, Isabel Campoy, Jim Cummins and
Luis Moll for their encouragement and inspiration over the years. Without
them, the book would not have happened. My friends and associates at York
University, especially Luin Goldring, have greatly influenced my thinking. For
their assistance in putting the book together, I am grateful to Vicki Mulligan ,
Braha Bender and Monica Valencia. For their kind help with excel data and
graphics, I give great thanks to Daniel Bernhard and Jeffrey Simonetti. Finally,
I want to express my appreciation for the staff at Fernwood Publishing, includ -
ing the anonymous reviewers, Jessica Antony, my wonderful editor, Sarah
Michaelson for copyediting, Debbie Mathers and Bev Rach for production ,
and John Van Der Woude for cover design .
i
8
FOREWORD
Dr. Jim Cummins
( Professor and Canada Research Chair
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada )
Increasing cultural and linguistic diversity is a reality in countries around

the world. This diversity has been resisted by policy makers and the general
public in some countries while others (e.g., Australia, Canada ) have embraced
multicultural policies and have pursued an active agenda of attracting highly
qualified immigrants. However, as Judith Bernhard points out in this timely
volume, the “celebration” of diversity in these latter countries is often super-
ficial with little appreciation of the cultural capital that immigrant adults and
children represent. Bernhard documents lucidly not only the social justice
concerns associated with the marginalization of immigrant families and
communities in Canada , Australia, the United States and Europe but also
the economic and social costs that accrue when supports for integration are
undermined or removed.
In Canada, the increase in cultural, linguistic and religious diversity is
being reinforced by continuing high rates of immigration ( c. 250,000 new-
comers per year, with demographers calling for substantial increases to this
figure). We risk squandering the cultural, linguistic and economic resources
that these New Canadians represent as a result of our current complacency
surrounding issues of diversity and, in some quarters, our smug attitude that
newcomers should be “grateful” for the opportunity to immigrate to Canada
and make no further demands on the social and economic system.
There is good and bad news when we critically examine Canadas re-
cent experience with immigration . The good news is that many immigrants
succeed well within Canadian society and students from immigrant back-
grounds, on average, do well in Canadian schools. Since the Organisation
for Economic Co- operation and Developments ( OECD ) implementation
of the Programme for International Student Achievement ( PISA ) in 2000,
Canadian schools look very good in comparison to most European countries
with respect to the performance of first and second generation immigrant
students. In Canada ( 2003 assessment ) and Australia ( 2006 assessment )
second generation students performed slightly better academically than na -
tive speakers of the school language. Some of these positive results in both
countries can be attributed to selective immigration that favours immigrants
with strong educational qualifications. Socioeconomic disparities are also
less in Canada and Australia than in countries such as the United States and
Germany, where there is a significant achievement gap between low and
9
STAND TOGETHER OR FALL APART
higher socioeconomic status students. Additionally, Canada and Australia

have encouraged immigration over the past forty years and have a coherent
infrastructure designed to integrate immigrants into the society ( e.g., free
adult language classes, language support services for students in schools,
rapid qualification for full citizenship, etc.).
Despite these positive realities, there are significant gaps in provision
within Canadian education in relation to linguistically and culturally diverse
students and communities. In the first place, the relatively strong perfor-
mance of immigrant - background students in the Canadian context should
not obscure the fact that certain groups of students (frequently those from
refugee or low-socioeconomic backgrounds ) do experience academic dif-
ficulties (McAndrew 2009). There are also significant gaps in the extent to
which coherent policies have been formulated at all levels of the education
system to address the implications of linguistic diversity for instruction.
Many educators who work with bilingual students ( in schools and early
childhood centres) have had little preparation either in teacher education
or through professional development to equip them to teach effectively in
contexts where linguistic and cultural diversity is the norm. Similarly, there
is little expectation or requirement that educators who assume positions
of responsibility (e.g., school principals or vice - principals ) will be familiar
with the knowledge base relating to effective instruction for culturally and
linguistically diverse students.
Throughout the education system, students’ home languages are treated
—
with benign neglect we no longer actively advise parents to switch to
English (or French) in the home but we do very little to promote students’ bi-
lingual and biliteracy skills, with the result that there is phenomenal language
loss in the early years of schooling. The “resource implications” of this neglect
are not only the squandering of linguistic knowledge in an increasingly in -
terdependent world, but the intangible loss that occurs when children can no
longer communicate with their grandparents ( and sometimes even parents ).
The data and critical analysis of immigration realities in countries around
the world articulated by Judith Bernhard open the door for much - needed
dialogue on these issues. Nothing less than the social and economic future
of our societies is at stake, which makes the lack of dialogue on these issues
up to this point so astounding.
10
Part I
BRAVE NEW WORLD
Modern-Day Realities
of International Immigration
11
Chapter One
WHY THIS BOOK MATTERS
But I’m Not an Immigrant!

You may not be an immigrant but many of your neighbours are. Globally, over
200 million people are immigrants. This represents a doubling of the fig ures
since the 1960s. Migration and its impacts on families are of great concern
to health and social services practitioners and policy makers worldwide. This
book is primarily for professionals who work with immigrant children and
their families, including teachers, early childhood educators, social workers,
health professionals, counsellors, settlement workers and family resource
program personnel. As well, all of us as citizens who have various forms of
direct and indirect contact with newcomers can benefit from more extensive
knowledge of the strengths that new arrivals have to offer. The book will
introduce readers to the work of leading thinkers and researchers into im -
migrant issues, including my own research and experiences with newcomers.
The growing immigrant populations of Western countries are not charity
cases. Rather, they bring net benefits to the host societies. Countries with
shrinking populations are not in the position of charity givers responding to
those who are not part of the old cultural mosaics. The opposite is true: host
countries have benefited and stand to benefit further from these new arrivals.
Indeed , there is no other way to explain the policies of host countries in the
last fifty years without assuming that the countries are deliberately seeking
immigration because of the benefits it brings. Large urban centres in immi -
grant - receiving countries such as Canada, the United States, Australia , and the
United Kingdom are now home to diverse populations of newcomers. Why
have these newcomers been invited to enter the receiving countries? Because
in most receiving countries the fertility rates for their existing populations
are below what is needed for replacement . In simple terms, their populations
are shrinking. These trends affect non - migrants as well as migrants.
Public policies encourage immigrants with a recognition that the immi -
grants’ rates of producing children will help keep the societies at their pres-
ent levels or at least mitigate the problems of shrinkage. Another benefit of
welcoming immigrants is that they swell the numbers of young adult workers.
In order to maintain existing benefits to seniors and retired people and pay
their medical expenses, countries require a large base of contributions from
the younger working population. Whatever difficulties immigration creates,
these are outweighed by the contributions made by newcomers.
!
i 12
Some subsets of newcomers experience difficulties adjusting and securing

housing and employment. However, the problems are usually transitional. The
historical evidence is that most newcomers are able to sustain themselves, if
not prosper. For newcomers, as well as the receiving societies, the widespread
life success of the children is of most importance. After taking a wide- lens
view of the various realities facing immigrants today, this book will focus on
the crucial issues involved in sustaining the mutual links between immigrant
parents and their children.
Facing the Growing Antipathy against Newcomer Populations

Given that immigrants are a critical part of Western societies, where do
derogatory stereotypes and beliefs about immigrants come from ? While
pressures of globalization and political, environmental and economic turmoil
have contributed to the displacement and fragmentation of family networks
in many parts of the world, the attitudes of citizens of some host countries
are becoming less welcoming. It is only a matter of time until public policies
in those countries change to more closely reflect these sentiments.
The media coverage of newcomers often portrays them negatively and
elicits fear among the citizens of immigrant - receiving countries ( Bauder
2008a ). For example, newcomers are often characterized as criminals. As
well, the media commonly portray the countries of origin as backward, ut -
terly brutal and very dissimilar, having such practices as honour killings of
teenage girls and genital mutilation. In the United States, there are pressures
for immigration authorities to improve border security and quickly identify
and deport illegal immigrants. Concurrently, current legal and social systems
frequently leave migrants vulnerable to unemployment and lacking access
to benefits. This is detrimental to both the newcomers and the receiving
countries.
This noticeable chill has often been accompanied by outright hostility
toward some immigrants. Counter measures around the world have included
attempts to ban the hijab from schools, universities and other public places,
attempts to prevent construction of mosques and attempts to limit the rights
of children born to immigrants. Changes to the law in Arizona enacted in
2011 allow police to check the documentation and lay criminal charges
against those who lack proof of legal entry into the country. In Utah, a list
of undocumented people was recently made public, causing fear and panic
among people wondering if they should move. The picture in many countries
is one of less welcoming attitudes toward newcomers, if not xenophobia, with
immigrants receiving the message to either abandon their identity or leave.
The impact of the chilly environment for immigrants is profound. This
social climate forces some newcomer families to remain outside the main -
stream of the receiving society and, officially at least, have a kind of ghostly
13
existence. Examples from the U.S., while they appear extreme, are worth
looking at. The constant fear of being accosted by police or immigration of-
ficials takes its toll on immigrants, especially those who are non - white, even
if they are documented. In the recent crackdown on undocumented people
in Arizona, the police are given the duty of determining suspected status.
Even U.S. citizens of Mexican appearance have been detained if found without
adequate documents. In Canada, the evidences of chill are often more subtle;
there is more skepticism about refugee claims, and officials sometimes turn
a blind eye to the consequences of deportation , which may include abuse or
torture. At the same time, the Canadian and U.S. governments have made
some compassionate efforts and are officially committed to welcoming im -
migrants. One wonders if a reason may well be that up the road , immigrants,
their friends and families will all be voters.
There are a number of social costs associated with present approaches to
immigrants and their families. Both the host countries and the newcomers
lose when social ills such as gangs and drug involvement arise. A society is
hurt when its children are hurting. Hurt children become angry children ,
and many angry children grow up to behave in antisocial ways. Host societies
are hurt when their members do not feel they belong or do not appreciate
the stake they have in the social welfare of the community.
Uninformed Consent:
Am I Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?
This book does not focus on public policy or advocate for or against immi -
gration. It takes the position that enhancing the well - being of immigrants
is important for the whole society. When we address the well - being of im -
migrants, both at the macro level by broad public policy and at the micro
level by improved interactions between individual service providers and
newcomer families, we all benefit. The primary intent of this book is to
provide information and practical suggestions for professionals who work
directly with newcomers.
Although professionals who work with newcomer children and families
usually wish to be of assistance to them and address their unique needs, many
professionals feel the pressure caused by the pervasive chilly attitude toward
newcomers. While the front-line workers tend to be supportive of families,
they cannot help but absorb these attitudes of suspicion. Living and working
in such a context is a challenge for professionals on the front line, who are
pulled in several directions.
Moreover, blanket ignorance regarding the unique challenges facing
newcomer families and their children can be found even amongst the best
intentioned of helping professionals. This “ uninformed consent” vis-i-vis the
systemic conundrums facing immigrants can make itself felt even in seem -
i 14
ingly pluralistic quarters. Communities sometimes superficially recognize

diversity in practices such as food, dance and festivals. However, deeper
issues often remain unaddressed. One sees, for example, the continued em -
phasis in Canadian schools on immigrants’ foods and festivals. This creates
an impression that circumstances for newcomers are as favourable as ever
and that there is a welcoming, multicultural nation , benevolently involved.
It ignores the realities of the context of reception.
It is beneficial for those who work with immigrant children and their
families to understand the root causes of immigration and the variety of
pressures families experience. By gaining an understanding of the problems
experienced by newcomers, professionals will be better prepared to assist or
work with immigrants and immigrant families. Some of the most common
issues encountered by those on the front lines include the following:
• communication difficulties;
• home language use and retention; and
• academic underperformance.
In most cases, professionals have good intentions and are committed to

making serious efforts to promote a well - functioning multicultural society,
welcoming immigrants and assisting children in their new environments.
This book is intended to help practitioners and pre -service professionals
understand and respond appropriately to the issues and challenges that arise
when working with newcomers; it includes practical guidance along with
examples of successful interventions.
In Conclusion:
How Will This Book Help Me?
This book is relevant to practitioners of all helping professions in immigrant -
receiving countries. Teachers, administrators, social workers, health care
professionals and other helping professionals will find valuable, practical
information that will prepare them to work with newcomers more effectively.
It will also be of service to interested citizens as these issues are relevant to all
members of a democratic society. In Canada, 20 percent of the population
is foreign born . In the United States, the percentage in 2009 was 12.5 and
growing. In all immigrant - receiving countries the numbers of foreign - born
residents are significant.
This book introduces readers to the challenges faced by immigrant fami -
lies and to meaningful, effective ways of assisting them. Working with young
newcomer children and their families requires professionals to acquire and
apply knowledge and skills beyond those traditionally taught in most pre-
service professional training programs because in order to find success and
15
derive satisfaction from working with newcomers, professionals need more

than skills. The attitudes, dispositions, personal beliefs, values and ethics that
individuals bring to their work are of equal importance.
This book invites readers to examine their own attitudes and approaches
and to become more self-aware. Professionals who work in ways that empower
families and build strong communities are motivated by their commitment
to fairness and equality. They see their roles as more encompassing than
simply delivering health care, education or social services. The fact is that
todays helping professional is part of a broader historical and social context.
Beyond improving service and support for newcomers, the satisfaction help -
ing professionals may derive from their work is also commensurate with their
greater sense of purpose.
To that end, this book concentrates on principles. The reader will not
find specific recipes or procedures for dealing with individual immigrants
or distressed immigrant families. Rather, illustrations are meant to promote
understanding of the principles. Within a general approach based on empow-
erment and sensitivity to cultural context, there is simply no way to prescribe
specific steps for every situation. It is useful to look at specific cases, which
is why this book includes detailed discussion of how the principles were ap-
plied in those cases. This book is intended to provide readers with a deeper
understanding of immigrants and their issues and provide a platform from
which professionals might choose appropriate responses to the cases they
will encounter in their work.
The theoretical foundations and research findings described in the fol -
lowing pages will encourage and prepare professionals to work collaboratively
with immigrant families. Part I explores the realities of modern immigration,
beginning with a focus on the migration patterns. Chapter Two introduces
the legal and regulatory systems that impact newcomer families. Chapter
Three provides an overview of the major institutional pressures encountered
by immigrant parents. These pressures unexpectedly result in their authority
being undermined and lead to the weakening of the family structure. Chapter
Four discusses how these pressures impact immigrants’ daily lives.
Part II introduces the theoretical and foundational tools needed by pro -
fessionals to become positive influences in the lives of newcomers. Chapter
Five explores the theoretical underpinnings for understanding families and
working in ways that empower them. These frameworks focus on families’
differential access to and possession of cultural capital. Chapter Six explores
the implications, for the dominant developmental theories, of the data col -
lected from several studies with Latino families. Chapter Seven provides a
broad, detailed framework to help professionals identify and focus on the
strengths, supports and other protective factors that children need in order
to thrive. That framework is used in the analysis of interventions.
16
Part III is devoted to exemplary interventions that have been implement -

ed to empower immigrant families. Chapter Eight addresses the fundamental
question of how to work with families whose cultures are very different than
our own . It provides a typology of interventions that have been implemented
to empower immigrant families. In many exemplary cases, the interveners
made serious efforts to understand parental goals and worldviews and to em -
power parents and treat them as fully engaged equals. Chapter Nine presents
the authors own attempts to help empower immigrant families.
Chapter Ten summarizes and reiterates the main themes in the book with
particular focus on the interventions targeted for the new waves of immigra -
tion. This last chapter examines how immigration laws intersect with family
functioning. The closing chapter also proposes that this is a good time for
interventions. The growing anti- immigration sentiment that is characteristic
of the post - 9 - 11, post - market - crash context provides a good reason for find -
ing ways to highlight the cultural capital that immigrants bring with them .
What follows is an exploration of the experiences of todays immigrants.
This book introduces new ways of looking at todays problems and encourages
readers to empower and collaborate with newcomers. It also helps readers
develop essential tools to create a better future for immigrants and for all
members of our communities, one family at a time.
17
Chapter Two
MEET THE NEIGHBOURS

How New Migration Patterns
Are Redefining Our Society
Building a healthy community requires an awareness of its constituents. Large

numbers of immigrants are a reality for many Western countries today. This
chapter introduces the numbers and percentages of immigrants around the
world. The intent is to provide readers with an accurate understanding of how
and why immigrant patterns have changed in recent years. This chapter also
identifies some of the problems associated with changing immigrant patterns
and discusses how immigrants cope with these problems in their daily lives.
An accurate understanding of todays immigration realities is an es-
sential foundation for professionals working in education , health care and
social services.
Who Will Pay Your Health Care?

Why Western Countries Seek Immigrants
The economic health of countries that receive immigrants depends on the
balance of productive workers and their younger and older dependents. Yet
as figures 2-1 and 2-2 show, the situation in many developed countries is that
women are having fewer and fewer children.
After the 2006 census, Statistics Canada concluded that the country’s fertil -
ity remained at about 1.5 children per woman for the last ten years ( Statistics
Canada 2010a ). Similarly, Australia has experienced a gradual fertility decline,
from 1.91 in 1990 to 1.73 in 2001. In forty years, Australia’s fertility rate has
halved, from 3.55 to 1.73 ( De Vaus 2002). Countries of Western Europe, which
are experiencing acrimonious debates about immigration, show the same
fertility patterns. Sandra Gruescu, a German academic, is quoted as saying:
“I actually calculated once that, if Germany continued with its birth rate,
Germans would be extinct within 300 years. Which is not a long time, I would
think” ( Williams 2011). Figure 2 - 2 shows this downward trend in population.
The impact of any politically feasible immigration policy cannot com -
pletely eliminate the problem of declining population . In order to reverse cur-
rent trends, massive, constant immigration would have to occur. Immigration
can help offset the social cost of shrinking populations and help mitigate the
effects. However acrimonious the political debates are, the necessity and facts
of immigration remain.
18
MEET THE NEIGHBOURS
-
Figure 2 1: Total Fertility Rate in Canada , 1926 -2005
Source: Statistics Canada 2006a.
Figure 2-2: Total Fertility Rate in Germany, 1952-2008

3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0 West Germany V yr

0.5 East Germany
0.0
— — Unified Germany
& £ & £ & £
Souce: Population Reference Bureau 2010.
^
Many countries, in the absence of newcomers, are not replacing then-
present populations. This means that the national populations could eventu -
ally decline, particularly the populations of major cities. The rate needed to
maintain a society at a constant level, leaving aside the question of growth ,
is estimated to be about 2.1 births per woman.
You’re Not as Young as You Used to Be:

Aging Populations in Western Countries
To complicate matters, people are living longer and so will require a signifi-
cant pool of young people in the workforce to pay the taxes that will sustain
health care costs and old age pensions.
It is estimated that the proportion of the Canadian population aged 65
19
Figure 2 - 3: Aging Population in Canada
.
30%
25%
20%
15%
L
10%
5%
0%
1976 2011 2036 2061
- 65 +
'
65- 79 80 +
Source: Statistics Canada 2008.
and over will triple from 1976 to 2061. The proportion of those aged 80 and
over is growing particularly fast (Statistics Canada 2008). As well, in the
United Kingdom the proportion of people aged 65 and over is projected to
increase 23 percent by 2033 (Office for National Statistics 2009 ) . It is to be
noted that patterns of employment among persons over age 65 are also un -
dergoing changes; in some cases, continued participation in the workforce
is a necessity and for some people it is a choice. More people 60 and over
are working now than in previous times. Nonetheless, the basic problem of
paying for health care for an aging population remains critical.
The Myth of the “Huddled Masses”

Immigrants have always been sought by countries such as Canada , the United
States and Australia as a way of increasing their populations. These countries
— —
unlike those of Western Europe had large areas of land that could be
developed as farmlands. All of them avidly sought immigrants. The earlier
reasons for encouraging immigrants still hold, since growth of population
is welcomed, but declining fertility rates and aging populations provide ad -
ditional reasons for these countries to maintain or increase the numbers of
immigrants received each year.
This slow rate of growth of the population that is of working age is alarm -
ing because if no intervention occurs, there would soon not be enough people
to work and contribute to paying for retirement and health care costs of the
citizens. Countries like Canada, the United States and Australia have been
addressing this problem of balance by soliciting hundreds of thousands of
20
MEET THE NEIGHBOURS
immigrants each year with the aim of enlarging their productive workforces.
In 1976, the population increase ( births minus deaths ) represented over
80 percent of population growth in Canada. By 2001, immigration represented
close to 70 percent of the population growth. This means that in the last
thirty years, there has been a constant increase in the proportion of foreign -
born residents for the benefit of the country. Of course, all projections are
dependent on policies, economic and political environments and changes in
the demographics of immigrant -source countries. Due to the uncertainty of
projections, low and high variants are also presented to allow for a broader
range of possible outcomes ( Congressional Budget Office United States 2006).
Although the exact numbers are not known , there is widespread agreement
that by 2030 immigrants will be the main source of population growth in
most developed countries, including Canada and the United States.
The crucial point here is that immigrants are needed by the receiving
countries and those countries have in fact benefited from them. In many
advanced countries, jobs that are low paying or have low prestige are mainly
filled by immigrants. In addition to this well - known pattern, there is increas -
ing demand in advanced countries for well -educated, highly skilled immi -
grants. There is competition , in particular, for those with advanced degrees
in engineering and computing.
In short, the motives underlying immigration policies are not humanitar-
ian. The receiving countries are not showing compassion for the “ huddled
masses yearning to breathe free.” Present day policies are primarily reflections
of the interests of the receiving countries. Various countries have had massive
programs to import workers to meet their economic needs.
Diversity Rising: Todays Real Immigrant Numbers

Policies that encourage immigration have obvious consequences with respect
to the percentage of foreign - born people in a country. Besides the objective
issue of percent of foreign - born residents, it is important to know that citizens
of immigrant - receiving countries have subjective views of the newcomers and
opinions concerning whether there are too many or too few. In a number
of immigrant - receiving countries there are political movements or parties
whose primary platform is the restriction of immigration , and in some cases,
the deportation of some of the foreign - born residents.
In 2006, the proportion of foreign - born residents was 20 percent in
Canada ( figure 2 - 4) and 12.5 percent in the United States ( figure 2-5). In
some cases, these figures are adjusted officially to take some account of those
with precarious legal status. Full accounting of the number of foreign - born
residents is not possible at this time; a major of reason for this is that the
numbers of undocumented persons are not known. This topic is addressed
in the following chapter.
21
Figure 2 - 4: Number and Share of the Foreign - Born Population in Canada ,

1901 - 2006
millions percentage
7 0.25
5
Ar Ar Ar
-
Li '
0.2
0.15
4
n-
iLniii!^
0.1
:
0.05
i .
o
NcJV> NC?>
^ ^
N N N
N
n# jP scf >
NO
^ NC
Census year
Number Percentage
Source: Statistics Canada 2010c.
Figure 2-5: Percentage of Foreign - Born in the U.S ., 1850 - 2010
Number of Percentage
foreign born foreign born
(in millions)
45 16
40 14
35 12
30
10
25
8
20
15 6
10 4
5 2
0 0
# # # ## f # # - f
* 4? f f ?f
4
Number of foreign born

f
Foreign born as a percentage of the total US population

Source: Migration Policy Institute Data Hub 2007.
L 22
MEET THE NEIGHBOURS
Immigrant children already represent the majority in many metropolitan,

multicultural centres such as Toronto and Vancouver ( OECD 2008 ). Half of
the children in Toronto come from families who speak languages other than
English at home. What is hard to believe at first is that the diversity of children
in Canada has been almost entirely neglected in official Canadian reports on
implementing early learning ( McCain and Mustard 1999; McCain , Mustard
and McCuaig 2011; McCain , Mustard and Shanker 2007; Pascal 2009 ). One
can raise the question of what is behind such omissions: Is it possible that
such omissions reflect the same blind spot that has been seen in the fields
of child development and psychology with respect to diversity and culture?
(See Chapter Six for a fuller discussion.)
In the United States, Fortuny and colleagues ( 2009 ) estimated that one
fifth of all children have at least one foreign - born parent. In California alone,
4.4 million children ( ages 0 - 17 ) are either immigrants themselves or at least
one of their parents is an immigrant ( Pourat , Lessard, Lulejian , Becerra and
Chakraborty 2003). Almost half of the children in California (48.1 percent )
are immigrants themselves or born to at least one immigrant parent. Of that
percentage, many have documented immigrant parents ( 33.4 percent ), but 7.1
percent have at least one undocumented parent (see also Pourat et al. 2003).
Declining birth rates mean many countries need immigrants. Immigrants
will play a vital and pre- eminent role in determining how these societies
develop as time goes on.
Changing Times, Changing Faces:

Where Todays Immigrants Come From
The characteristics of todays newcomers differ greatly from the newcomers of
the past. In the past, the most numerous immigrants arriving in Canada were
from Europe. They looked like locals and it was not long until they dressed
and spoke like locals as well. Europeans generally blended in.
Today, Europeans have been replaced by East Asians, South Asians,
people from the Middle East , Africans and Latin Americans. The change in
immigrant -source countries means that one out of every six children under
age 14 is a member of a visible minority group (Statistics Canada 2010b),
“visible” being a key word. Societies relate differently to newcomers who
look foreign .
The higher birth rates among more recent arrivals continues to reshape
the patterns of diversity in Canada and the United States. For example, in the
United States the proportion of Hispanics is projected to increase from 16
percent in 2010 to 30 percent in 2050 ( U.S. Census Bureau 2008). In Canada,
the proportion of Hispanics is projected to increase from 1 percent in 2006
to 1.7 percent in 2031 (Statistics Canada 2010b). As shown in figures 2-6
and 2 - 7, the proportion of immigrants who are Caribbean is also increasing.
23
In 2001, the largest foreign - born group in Canada originated in Europe

and over one- third of immigrants came from Asian countries such as China,
India and the Philippines. In the same year, most of the immigrants living
in the United States were from the Americas and over one - fourth of all im -
migrants were born in Asia. Similar to Canada , also in 2001, the majority of
immigrants living in Australia were from Europe, followed by immigrants
who originated in Asia ( Migration Policy Institute Data Hub 2011).
Another visible difference in twenty-first -century newcomers relates to
changes in the degree of religious diversity. In Canada , for example, looking
at changes in source countries one can see that predominantly Muslim coun -
tries have been in the top ten sources of immigrants for the last fifteen years
(Citizenship and Immigration Canada 1999; Citizenship and Immigration
Canada 2010). In 2006, 35 percent of the non -Christian population in Canada
was Muslim. That number is expected to grow to 48 percent by 2031, meaning
that within the non -Christian population one person in two could be Muslim.
Among all the religious groups, Muslims are more likely to experience the
greatest increase, with their numbers tripling between the years 2006 and
2031 (Statistics Canada 2010b). Muslims now represent the fastest growing
religious group in Canada.
This pattern seems consistent worldwide. In 2010, 0.8 percent of the
Figure 2-6: Region of Birth of Recent Immigrants to Canada , 1971 -2006
Oceania
Asia (including the Middle East )
Africa
Europe
Cental, South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda
United States
l
Sources: Statistics Canada 2011 .
24
MEET THE NEIGHBOURS
United States population was Muslim, and it is projected to grow to 1.7

percent by 2030. That same year in Germany, 5 percent of the population
was Muslim and that figure is expected to grow to 7.1 percent by 2030. In
France, while the right wing is seeking to arouse fears about Islamization ,
the Muslim population for 2010 was estimated at 4.7 million , or 7.5 percent.
The projections for 2030 are of a Muslim population of 6.8 million, or about
10 percent ( Pew Research Center 2011 ). Given that a number of Muslims are
not practising, the fears of French society being made Islamic are vastly exag -
gerated . Further, there is no reason to suspect that the majority of practising
Muslims would not subscribe to French values.
When Western Countries Stand Up for Human Rights

There have been changes in the source countries of migrants in recent times.
One reason for welcoming more men, women and children from non - Euro -
pean homelands has been an increasing commitment in immigrant - receiving
countries to providing asylum to people whose human rights are denied at
home. Countries that recognize human rights violations are increasing the
intake of refugees. In 2011, South Africa and the United States received the
highest number of asylum applications, followed by European countries, then
Canada , Australia and New Zealand. The source countries for the worlds
major refugee populations in 2011 were Afghanistan , China and Iraq ( UNCHR
2011). Smaller countries also have a significant number of asylum seekers.
For example, although Colombian citizens have been granted asylum in
Figure 2-7: Region of Birth for the Foreign - Born Population of the United
States, 2000
Europe
Americas
54%
Source: Migration Policy Institute Data Hub 2011 .
25
more than forty countries, eight out of ten Colombians sought protection in
Ecuador ( UNHCR 2010). These are among several encouraging signs that the
world community is facing up to the refugee issue.
Money Talks, Money Walks:

International Economic Changes
International economic restructuring has impacted migration patterns. While
many in the Global South used to make a living exporting sugar, coffee and
manufactured goods, their standards of living declined at the same time as their
consumption patterns changed to emulate those of the Global North . Families
have experienced unprecedented levels of poverty as their traditional ways of
earning a living have all but disappeared. Many people “voluntarily” emigrate
in search of improved living conditions and employment opportunities.
Once established in the receiving countries, immigrant families fre-
quently send money to those left in the home country or save it in order to
sponsor relatives who hope to join them. Employers benefit from immigrant
workers undertaking such financial obligations; this is especially evident
where the employer is a family. Their nanny will try her utmost to be reli -
able and keep her income steady. She is also vulnerable to exploitation , in
view of these family commitments. There are good reasons for the receiving
country to ensure proper pay and working conditions. Healthy workers are
more productive. Further, the remittances sent represent a kind of unofficial
foreign aid and are likely a stabilizing force in the home country.
Table 2- 1: Family Remittances to Latin America in ( U. S .$ Millions )
Country 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Colombia 4493 4769 4145 4024 4168
Dominican Republic 3033 3148 3034 2994 3131
Ecuador 3088 2897 2495 2324 2673
El Salvador 3695 3831 3465 3540 3650
Guatemala 4128 4459 3912 4127 4377
Honduras 2561 2785 2401 2529 2862
Jamaica 1964 2093 1792 1914 2025
Mexico 23,979 23,621 21,181 21,271 22,731
Nicaragua 740 830 771 823 1053
Sum of nine countries above 47681 48432 43196 43545 48,670
Latin America 68,600 69,200 62,000 63,860 69,291
Source: Orozco, 2011.
26
MEET THE NEIGHBOURS
In the case of Latin Americans, remittances form part of an important

dynamic between immigrants and their countries of origin. A report by the
World Bank indicates that the remittances immigrants send are so significant
that they add up to be more than the entire GDP of many countries of the Global
South. Orozco’s research indicates that remittances are increasingly significant
to the economies of immigrant -sending countries including Nicaragua, El
Salvador and the Dominican Republic ( Orozco 2002, 2011). Remittances not
only provide funds for education , health care and capital to fund small busi -
nesses but also, in many cases, take the place of official aid and development
efforts. Between 2003 and 2008 remittances more than doubled, reaching
about $330 billion in 2008. In that same year, the World Bank reported that
$52 billion in remittances were sent to India ( Ratha 2009 ). Table 2-1 shows how
the trend for Latin Americans living abroad to send money to their families
has remained stable over the years in spite of severe economic slowdowns.
Remittances are big business not only for those in the home countries
but also for those involved in the mobile money transfer business. For ex-
ample, the International Centre for Business Information ( 2011 ) now hosts
an Annual Mobile Money and Migrant Remittances Conference.
Friends and Family Calling across Borders:

History in Action
In the past, push and pull factors have been cited as determinants of immigra -
tion. Pull factors are circumstances in receiving countries that are believed to
attract immigrants. Lee ( 1966), for example, showed linkages of immigration
with the employment situation in the host country. On the push side, Lee
cited factors such as poverty as a cause of migration. While there may be some
truth to these theories, more careful analysis is required to understand the
very complex factors impacting immigration patterns. For example, some
of the poorest countries of the world and the poorest nearby countries have
sent relatively few migrants. Poverty alone is not a sufficient push factor.
Once many migrants have arrived in a host country they become a receptive
community, which can draw others from the native country.
The inadequacies of the push - pull explanation for migration have been
documented by Portes and Baratz (1989) and others. The push - pull explana-
tion cannot account for why Turkish migrants continue to settle in Germany
rather than Belgium , where there are more economic opportunities and less
overt discrimination. It cannot account for the fact that Algerian migrants
are less likely to choose Spain than France as their destination. Part of the
explanation lies in the history of immigration .
Portes and Baratz ( 1989) have pointed out gaps in the widely accepted
theories of migration . Among the various contextual factors identified by
these authors, three are especially relevant.
27
The first factor is the context in which people emigrate. A shortcoming

of the push - pull theory is its lack of attention to the history of interactions
between the host and source nations. In particular, features of the colonial
past and colonial relationship are ignored. The result of this omission is that
the choice of the particular sending and receiving country is not explained.
For example, one reason emigrating Algerians have chosen France over
most other countries has to do with Algeria being formerly a French colony.
If one ignores history, in particular colonial history, immigrants’ choices of
particular receiving countries are not explained.
Portes and Baratz ( 1989 ) looked at immigration patterns from the poor-
est countries. The push - pull theory would predict that these people would
be strongly pushed to leave. However, this is not the case. Within a given
sending country, the push - pull theory would predict that those at the bot -
tom would be most likely to emigrate. But in fact it is the more advantaged
sectors of society that have been the ones to migrate. For example, more
advantaged people, not the poorest, move from Latin America to the United
States and Canada. At a broad level of determination , the onset of migrant
labour flows is not explained by comparison of the relative advantage that
the migrant stands to gain.
Taking a broader view of migration history, continued labour flows
appear to be a direct result of prior contact between sending and receiving
societies. An absolute wage advantage in economically expanding areas is not
a sufficient pull to bring migrants from less prosperous regions. When their
labour has been required, more than just higher wages and employment op-
portunities are required to attract migrants. The emergence of regular labour
outflows of both stable size and known destination first requires institutions
of the immigrant - receiving countries to penetrate the immigrant -sending
countries.
This helps to explain the continued flow of migrants in the face of less-
ening opportunities. Reduced employment opportunities during periods
of recession in the immigrant - receiving countries represent a lessening of
pull. However, numbers of migrants do not diminish when job opportuni -
ties shrink.
Portes and Baratz ( 1989) also analyzed the choice of reception countries,
another factor that is largely unexplained by the push - pull theory. Once
again , they explained, while in appearance migration arises out of a series
of “rational” economic decisions by individuals to escape their immediate
situations, in reality, its fundamental origin lies in the history of past eco-
nomic and political contact and power asymmetries between sending and
receiving nations.
The crucial factor in earlier studies of immigration patterns has been
L
recognition of the importance of network building. As Portes and Baratz
28
MEET THE NEIGHBOURS
( 1989 ) summed it up, migration is best understood as a process of progres -

sive network building. This perspective on migration enables professionals
who work with newcomers to better understand immigrants decisions.
Encouraging and supporting progressive network building is one of the
practical ways in which helping professionals can assist newcomer families.
Portes and Baratz’s ( 1989) third vital insight focused on the mix of
local -level opportunities and constraints found in places of settlement. Cities
vary in their immigration traditions, their welcoming of immigrants and the
presence or absence of co- nationals and co-ethnics. The circumstances in
places of settlement influence the extent to which newcomers are ghettoized
or integrated.
To better understand immigrant students, patients, citizens and clients,
awareness of the wide variances of settlement phenomena is helpful. Insularity
increases in settings characterized by intolerance toward newcomers and
strict immigration law enforcement.
In Conclusion: The New “ Us”

The trends described in this chapter have brought about much more diverse
societies in the countries receiving the most immigrants: Canada, Australia,
the United Kingdom and the United States. Cities once populated almost
entirely by families of European descent are now home to growing numbers
of “visible minority” families.
Canada , Australia and West European countries have all solicited and
welcomed large numbers of these newcomers. The receiving countries need
immigrants in order to sustain their workforces and pay the taxes required
to allow them to continue high levels of public expenditures. In spite of the
adjustments and adaptations required by countries receiving immigrants,
immigration has produced incalculable benefits for the host countries.
Most immigrants arrive in their new countries hoping and expecting
to improve themselves economically and access opportunities unavailable
in their countries of origin. Also, large numbers of newcomers have more
pressing reasons for leaving their home countries. They have left their homes
seeking refuge from human rights violations, persecution , crime and wars.
It is obvious that millions of people undergo the upheaval of immigra -
tion in order to seek out a better future for themselves and their children.
These people are idealists and go-getters. Given this fact, it is surprising that
immigrants are often found near the bottom of their host society’s social and
financial totem pole. Many immigrants have difficulties achieving and main -
taining comfortable standards of living. Helping professionals in immigrant -
receiving countries are seeking more effective strategies for working with
newcomers. The chapters ahead discuss ways in which service providers can
build on the strengths of newcomer families to help them reach their goals.
29
Chapter Three
UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS
How Our Social and Legal Systems
Treat Newcomer Families
Canada accepts an average of 250,000 immigrants a year ( Citizenship and

Immigration Canada 2011), and this represents approximately 0.8 percent
of the population. This includes over 40,000 Convention refugees. 1 These
high numbers and the country’s multiculturalism policy have contributed to
Canadas humanitarian reputation. While Canadians can feel proud of this,
there are inconsistencies between the positive reputation and the realities
of the lives of most newcomers. This chapter elaborates on the specifics of
the situation.
Until relatively recently, immigrants to Canada could reasonably expect
to find employment and become established relatively quickly. Today, in sharp
contrast, stories of immigrant slums, health care problems and unemployment
are rampant. What has changed for the immigrants heading to Canada ? The
last twenty years have seen a growing gap between the economic status of
recent immigrants and the economic status of native- born individuals and
long-established immigrants. This chapter contrasts the diversity- friendly
reputation with the lived experience of newcomers to Canada .
The Myth of the “ Illegal Immigrant”:

Precarious Legal Status
Thousands of families enter Canada under temporary work programs. For
example, 2007 saw enough temporary workers to staff 1,800 farms. An ad -
ditional 4,000 women came into the country under the Live- in Caregivers
program. Between 2006 and 2009, Canada admitted more newcomers as
temporary workers than as permanent residents. The fall 2009 report from
the Auditor General of Canada (Office of the Auditor General of Canada
2009) indicates that the influx of temporary workers is displacing immigrant -
track citizenship.
People on this parallel track of temporary workers have few rights,
and many work in conditions that would not be considered possible in a
prosperous democratic country. For example, in Canada, domestic workers
are not allowed to sponsor their children until they have been working in
the country for two years. If there is a breakdown in sponsorship with the
original employer, then the domestic worker has to start the two -year count -
l 30
down again. The predictable result of this policy is widespread severe abuse
and exploitation of thousands of domestic workers. If an employer revokes
a domestic workers sponsorship and the worker remains in the country to
seek alternate employment, the worker will be unsure of her legal status. If
a child is born into a household with one legal parent and one parent whose
legal status is unclear, the family will be unsure of the status of the child.
Apart from occasional sensational news reports of school and workplace
deportation raids, there is very little scholarly documentation of the everyday
lived experiences of families and children who are living with precarious
status.
Recent work by migration studies researchers has elaborated upon the
concept of legal status, showing it to be a complicated, multi-layered and
multi -actor process that does not exist in a straightforward legal- illegal or
documented - undocumented binary ( Bernhard, Goldring, Young, Berinstein
and Wilson 2008; de Genova 2002; Goldring, Berinstein and Bernhard 2009;
Menjivar 2006). Legal status tends to move along a continuum with individ -
uals shifting from one legal status to another, sometimes over a period of years
or decades. As with temporary workers coping with threatened sponsorship
as described above, many migrants arrive through formal channels but sub-
sequently lose all or part of their status in any number of ways.
The increased reliance on temporary workers has been quietly ushered in
without much public dialogue. In 2008, Canada changed its migration policy
so that now almost half of immigrants are admitted as temporary workers.
Furthermore, despite the “temporary” label that is ascribed to them during the
immigration process, many of these individuals remain in the country long-
term ; even where their status has lapsed, they may remain in the country or
return year after year. At this point, they fall into the undocumented category.
Others enter immigrant - receiving countries through different programs.
Under new immigration policies, many migrants who are unable to meet the
selection criteria of language proficiency, level of education and occupational
classification enter on student visas, tourist visas or as refugee claimants.
Later, determined to settle in the new host country, these new arrivals may
overstay their visas, go underground after failed refugee claims or fail to show
up at deportation hearings.
In the United States, the situation of undocumented residents is complex
and the numbers are staggering (see figures 3- 1 and 3- 2). There are estimates
of twelve million undocumented individuals. Each year, approximately
500,000 undocumented migrants arrive in the United States ( Van Hook,
Bean and Passel 2005), although this number has dropped recently due to
increased deportations and a slowdown in the American economy.
In 2004, 1.6 million children in the United States were undocumented
and were in families in which one of the parents was undocumented as well
31
Figure 3- 1 : Unauthorized Migrants in the U.S .

by Source Region and Country
Europe
Central and South America
Source: Van Hook, Bean and Passel 2005.
Figure 3 -2: Estimates of the U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population ,

2000-2010
i4 IH
12
12 -
f
-
tel-
i
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Source: Passel and Cohn 2011.
L 32
( Passel 2005a ). In the United Kingdom , an estimated 120,000 children are

living without legal status and are at risk of abuse, deportation and destitution
(Sigona and Hughes 2012 ). Over 65,000 of these children were actually born
in the U.K . but still live in constant fear of being found out and deported.
Thousands of children find themselves in situations of precarious legal
status as well. For instance, children in Canada who have status protections
while they are crown wards of Childrens Aid Societies have that status and
those protections revoked when they reach the age of maturity ( Hare 2007).
Invisible Lives, Invisible Fences:

Living with Precarious Status
The most disturbing element of the precarious-status picture is that many
migrants with precarious status are known to authorities. This does not
contribute to the resolution of their marginalized position. On the contrary,
turning a blind eye to people who can provide cheap labour is common in
most immigrant - receiving countries. Although there are no accurate figures
available to indicate how many people are living with precarious status, es-
timates for Canada range from 40,000 to 600,000 ( Jimenez 2003; Khandor,
McDonald , Nyers and Wright 2004; Robertson 2005; Wright 2003). In the
United States, it is estimated that 3.4 million children live in households
headed by an undocumented adult ( Passel 2005b ). For immigrant - receiving
countries around the world , the number of precarious-status immigrants
continues to grow. Yet , as may be obvious, precarious status is a passport to
poverty, ill health and many other hardships for newcomers.
Some segments of society benefit from the poverty of immigrants, es-
pecially those who are undocumented. The hotel and agricultural industries
are examples. On one hand , the public at large has benefited in the form of
cheaper goods and services. On the other hand, the harmful effects on the
whole society need to be considered. Where there is poverty, lack of education
and ill health , the whole society is harmed. The whole society would benefit
if the standard of living of disadvantaged groups improved. Addressing the
problems of undocumented newcomers is not simply a matter of showing
compassion . It is in the interest of the immigrant - receiving countries to do
so, as any society defines itself by its concern for social justice. Consequently,
Canadas neglect and complicity in the exploitation of vulnerable migrants
reflects very poorly on its own identity.
Among Latin American, African, Caribbean, Arab and West Asian
people living in Canada, the poverty rates are as much as three times higher
than the rates for Europeans and Canadian - born groups. Van Hook, Bean
and Passel ( 2005) reported that 44 percent of Black children in the United
— —
States compared to 19 percent of non - Black children live in low- income
families. Among newcomers to Canada and the United States, those identi-
33
fied as visible minority (African, Asian, Latin American origin ) face more
intensified versions of these same problems.
Finding secure employment is not easy for newcomers. Many will find
themselves unemployed or underemployed. The situation is worse for un -
documented or precarious-status newcomers. It is not easy to establish a good
standard of living in host countries whose laws allow newcomers to be taken
advantage of by employers who benefit from cheap labour.
In addition to financial poverty, many newcomer families also cope with
the stresses of a fundamentally unstable day- to-day existence. For those with
precarious status in particular, living in constant fear of being deported has
real -life consequences. Precarious legal status means avoiding social and
health services, education and other entitlements that traditional immigrant
groups enjoy.
The role of fear in limiting the lives and choices of newcomers with pre-
carious status has begun to be noted in the academic literature ( Berinstein ,
Nyers, Wright and Zerehi 2006; Berk and Schur 2001; Lessard and Ku 2003;
Schwenken 2003; Yau 1995). Limited legal status prevents individuals from
obtaining social insurance numbers needed to work legally, denies them
access to publicly funded health care and excludes them from affordably ac-
cessing public childcare and post -secondary education. The social safety net
that other residents rely on is unavailable to them. They fear child protection
agencies will try to apprehend their children , and they hesitate to call the
police or the fire department in emergencies. Women in situations of family
violence are reluctant to access shelters. Immigrants with precarious status
face a number of difficulties related to their circumstances.
A Place to Call Home:

Lack of Family- Friendly Housing for Newcomers
Newcomer immigrants typically face a number of housing difficulties,
many of them due to low income. A report by the Federation of Canadian
Municipalities showed that in Canada about 48 percent of newcomers pay
more than 30 percent of their income on shelter, whereas only 38 percent of
Canadian - born renters spend that much on housing ( FCM 2011).
It is difficult to find exact figures for those with precarious status, but it
is quite evident that their housing difficulties will be even worse than new -
comer immigrants, reflecting such phenomena as sub -standard housing,
doubling up of families in apartments and living in cars and garages. The
Access Alliance Multicultural Community Health Centre ( AAMCHC ) found
that many of the undocumented families were in sub-standard housing, often
with crowding problems.
34
Disease Doesn’t Discriminate:

Lack of Health Care for Adults and Children
Several studies have found that people living with precarious legal status are
hesitant to seek out medical attention except in emergencies or acute situa -
tions. As a result , these residents do not benefit from preventative health care
( Access Alliance Multicultural Community Health Centre 2005; Bannerman,
Hoa and Male 2003; Committee for Accessible AIDS Treatment 2001). Yet the
spread of disease does not remain limited to this unacknowledged sector of
society; it affects the entire society. The whole community is harmed when
any group avoids medical services, and conversely, the whole community
stands to benefit if everyone has access to essential health care.
In California , approximately one- fifth of children with undocumented
parents have fair or poor health (see figure 3- 3). One in four undocumented
children of undocumented parents and one in ten U.S.- born children of un -
documented parents lack regular access to health care. In comparison with
children of U.S.- born parents, only half as many undocumented children of
undocumented parents visit hospital emergency rooms.
Furthermore, the health of undocumented migrants is typically poor or
critical due to their experiences before and during their migration. The work -
Figure 3 -3: Health Status and Utilization of Children by Their and Their
Parents’ Immigration Status, California, 2001
30%
kJ tm
25%
20%
15%
10%
5% J -
_
0% I L-
Fair/ Poor Physician Has no Has not Has never Visited Had a
Health diagnosed usual seen a visited a emergency hospital
Status asthma source of medical dentist room in stay last
care doctor in (ages 2-17) past 12 year
past 12 months
months
(ages 0-11 )
U.S.-born children of both U.S.-born parents

H U.S.- born children of at least one undocumented immigrant parent
Undocumented immigrant children
Source: Pourat et al . 2003. Reprinted with permission of the UCLA Center for Health
Policy Research.
35
f
ing conditions of these migrants worsen their health (Chauvin et al. 2009 ).
Unfortunately, in immigrant -receiving countries, undocumented migrants
have little or no access to health care and illness prevention services. Legal
barriers, lack of information , systematic barriers and discrimination impede
these people from receiving proper and necessary health care. In a study
—
of eleven European countries Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy,
Netherlands, Portugal, Spain , Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom it —
was identified that 72 percent ofhealth problems within the undocumented
population are poorly treated or untreated ( Chauvin et al. 2009 ). As figure
3-4 illustrates, 41 percent of undocumented migrants in the aforementioned
countries have stopped seeking health care services all together.
The total number of undocumented migrants living in Canada is un -
known. Although this group continues to grow, only guesstimates exist,
ranging from 20,000 to half a million ( Carrasco et al. 2010 ). The lack of
knowledge on this population makes it challenging to identify and address
their health needs. The whole society stands to benefit if newcomers have
accessSw to education and health care.
Closed Doors at School

It is suspected that many immigrant children are not attending school because
of parents’ deportation fears (Sidhu 2008 ). Although schools are not supposed
to inquire about immigration status, this information is regularly asked for,
if not demanded. Immigrant parents are often nervous when they arrive at
school to register their children, and there are many school procedures that
Figure 3-4: Proportion of People Having Given up on Seeking Health Care,

by Country
80%
68.0%
Note: Country abbreviations: SE=Sweden , BE = Belgium , UK = United Kingdon , IT= Italy,

NL= Netherlands, FR = France, ES =Spain , EL= Greece
Source: Chauvin , Parizot and Simonott 2009.
36
make them and their children feel anxious and uncomfortable. For example,
contrary to stated policies of ministries of education , many school secretaries
ask parents for legal papers or require them to show documentation regard -
ing their legal status (Sidhu 2008; Young 2013 forthcoming). Students are
often asked probing questions about their parents that the families consider
private family matters.
Wanting to stay under the radar, many families tend not to respond to
school - based parental involvement initiatives. Educators need information
about home languages, family goals, lines of family authority and emergency
contacts. It is important that the enrolment process be carried out respect -
fully, giving a message of welcome.
The proposed Development , Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act
( DREAM Act ) aims to help undocumented youth ( under 30 years of age ) who
arrived to the United States as children ( younger than 16) ( Palacios 2010 ).
The DREAM Act would allow youth to stay permanently in the United States
without being penalized as long as they attend college or join the military
( Galassi 2003; Olivas 2010 ). Each year 65,000 undocumented students
graduate high school, but only between 5 and 10 percent go on to college
( Miranda 2011 ). Advocates for the Act argue that these youth consider the
United States to be their home and should not be sent to a country that is
unknown to them (Trumka and Pacheco 2010 ). Alabama, Georgia and South
Carolina prohibit undocumented students from enrolling in post -secondary
education , while Texas, New Mexico and California are among the states that
offer in -state tuition to undocumented youth ( Miranda 2011). Although it is
estimated that more than two million DREAM Act candidates live in the United
States, Congress has failed to pass the Act for nearly ten years ( Miranda 2011;
Trumka and Pacheco 2010 ). Opponents argue that illegal behaviour should
not be rewarded ( Perez-Stable 2011).
Problems of parent documentation affect children in a number of ways.
For example, Young ( 2013 forthcoming) finds that often parents do not tell
their children about their limited status until they begin considering higher
education . Learning that they are illegal and do not qualify for financial aid
for higher education is understandably shocking and upsetting to students.
Absorbing the negative messages that comprise public opinion, their sense
of identity is deeply affected.
Denying undocumented students full participation in society inhibits
the development of many talented people. These people could be significant
contributors to the advancement of the host society. Apart from humanitarian
considerations, the possible benefits to the larger society are wide- ranging.
If barriers were removed , undocumented individuals would be more likely
to find employment in better jobs and become healthier, more productive
citizens.
37
Mommy Far Away:

Transnational Families
Family separation is another frequent result of current policies in immigrant -
receiving countries. There is a growing phenomenon , noted in the research
literature, of families whose members are spread geographically over sev -
eral nation states and whose lives cross national boundaries. These families
are known in the social science literature respectively as “ multi -local” and
“transnational ” families ( Bernhard, Landolt and Goldring 2009; Erel 2002;
Hondagneu -Sotelo and Avila 1997; Levitt 2001; Wayland 2006 ) .
The Harvard Immigration Project reported that 85 percent of immigrant
children have been separated from one or both parents (Suarez - Orozco and
Suarez-Orozco 2001). Studies with a transnational focus are now emerging in
North America and although the difficulties are similar to those documented
in the Harvard study, no other prevalence estimates are available.
In North America, there are two main patterns that lead to family
separation. Many immigrant parents become pessimistic about the lack
of accessible, affordable childcare and early learning programs in North
America and “elect” to temporarily send their children back to their home
country, where they can be cared for by family members. The second pat -
tern is characterized by parents in the face of multiple pressures to migrate,
temporarily leaving their children behind. Both patterns involve tremendous
human cost to the families.
Family separation creates many problems. Interviews conducted one-
on -one by first language Spanish speakers with forty Latin American moth -
ers living in Canada found that the challenges during the separation from
their children and after the reunification were completely unexpected by
the mothers (Bernhard, Landolt and Goldring 2009 ). The emotional and
financial costs hit them hard.
One of the primary challenges faced by multi-local and transnational
families involves extended family separations. While separated , grandparents
or other relatives remaining in the home countries made decisions about the
children. In some cases, the effect on the children was such that the children
no longer considered the mothers as authority figures. In other cases, the
mothers felt pressured to relinquish their rights as primary caregivers and
were reluctant to voice discomfort during times of disagreement.
During reunification , there were many signs of childrens emotional
distress including health problems, problems at school, sadness, anger and
bedwetting. Findings indicated that there was no consistent use of available
social services. Mothers with less than full status did not have access to pro-
grams or services such as childcare, and they feared being deported if they
attempted to access services. Health and social service providers would be
better able to assist transnational and multi-local families if they were aware
38
of and sensitive to the issues and concerns of this population. For many of the
mothers, seeking help from professionals was considered shameful as they saw
asking for help as a sign of personal failure. Parent -child relationships were
permanently affected by children who felt anger and a sense of abandonment
at having been left behind or sent back to the families’ countries of origin.
Nonetheless, transnational and multi -local families are increasingly
common and will continue to be a feature of immigrant - receiving countries.
Despite the tremendous human costs to families, particularly mothers and
children , the policy frameworks that have produced this situation are largely
entrenched , unquestioned and unlikely to change in the near future.
Since the process of reunification takes between one and three years in
most cases — and sometimes up to five years — parents need support in
developing short - term and mid - term plans for themselves and their families
to help them cope with the long wait. Reunification is an extremely challeng -
ing process requiring further support. Part II provides strategies for helping
professionals, especially teachers and school administrators, to provide
transnational families with this necessary additional support.
In Conclusion:
Ignorance Hurts Us
Transnational theorists question the idea of interpreting migrants’ lives within
the context of nation states. Raising children across geographic nation states
implies rethinking the idea of national boundaries, which are often taken for
granted in migration scholarship ( Bernhard, Landolt and Goldring 2009;
Landolt and Da 2005; Levitt and Schiller 2004; Parenas 2001, 2006; Schiller,
Basch and Blanc 1995). Levitt and Schiller ( 2004: 1003) state that analytical
tools “must necessarily broaden and deepen because newcomers are often
embedded in multi-layered, multi-sited transnational social fields, encom-
passing those who move and those who stay behind.”
Social workers whose clients include newcomers cannot assume that
their advice will be accepted as reasonable and acted upon. For example, a
mother living with intimate partner violence might be encouraged by social
workers to call the police and take her children and her belongings to a
shelter. The woman’s rejection of such a plan could be seriously misinter-
preted and her real reasons for staying would not be evident to the worker.
The battered woman might fear deportation. She might fear disrupting her
children’s schooling or their access to health care. For any number of reasons,
an individual newcomer with complex legal status might be disinclined to
access social services.
The following chapter describes the consequences for families living in
unstable, fearful situations.
39
Note
1 Canada is a signatory of the United Nations’ 1951 Geneva Convention relating
to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. The definition of Convention
Refugee, as presented in the Geneva Convention , is incorporated into Canadas
Immigration Act. Refugees and persons needing protection are people in or
outside Canada who fear returning to their country of nationality or habitual
residence.
40
Chapter Four
VOICES THAT HAVE

BEEN SILENCED
Day - to Day Struggles of Newcomers
-
In creating, structuring and running a family, parents play a number of critical

roles. Heath ( 2006 ) , following a long line of sociologists, has distinguished
roles such as love and nurturance from other roles, including guidance and
long- term planning and provision of a moral and spiritual example. Children
need parents to be their safe haven of warmth and reassurance in a large,
cold world. Parents also are needed to provide and model a bedrock of strong
identity and structure in a world of anonymity and confusion.
The confidence parents need in order to provide these functions for their
children and for the family as a whole flow from an acknowledgment and
support of their authority. However, the social position of newcomer fami-
lies has a number of effects on family structure and functioning. A body of
research evidence indicates that the disempowerment and undermining of
self - efficacy in immigrants contribute to the breakdown of family structure
( Ali 2008 ). Children thrive when their parents provide them with nurturance
and a sense of security. It is essential that linkages between parents and chil-
dren be preserved. While children adapt to the ways of the new society, they
need to maintain their connections with their parents and their grandparents.
Children benefit from a sense of pride in their family history, efficacy and
hope for the future. Yet today s migration processes subvert the maintenance
of crucial parental roles.
This chapter discusses the environmental factors that have the greatest
impact on family functioning, including various problems that migrants
encounter. Employment challenges, discrimination , anti- immigrant attitudes,
racism and majority language and culture challenges all impact newcomer
families. Issues of civic engagement or lack of it sculpt families as well.
Challenges such as family violence, child protection issues, lack of support
networks and planning for childrens futures are particularly difficult for
families adjusting to life in an unfamiliar country.
In order to better understand our newcomer students, patients, clients
and neighbours, some of the challenges they experience are highlighted as a
foundation for the intervention strategies that are explored in Part II.
41
You’re Just Not Cool :

Cultural Capital and Social Status for Immigrant Teens
Most adults remember how hard it was to make it through high school.
Cliques, fads, peer pressure, verbal and even physical abuse come with the
territory. Many of us even recall with shame having bought into the culture
of hurtful messages and the acceptance of pressure to change how we looked,
spoke and behaved in order to fit in, regardless of our true feelings and values.
Immigrant children experience significant divergence between the val -
ues and child - rearing practices found in their homes and those prevalent in
schools in immigrant - receiving countries. The ethnic and religious identities
of the children of newcomers are often changed or seriously undermined
by their school experiences due to the profound devaluing of their cultural
capital.
What is cultural capital? The lens of cultural capital provides a unique
and valuable perspective on newcomer challenges. This is explored in greater
detail in Chapter Five. In short summary, cultural capital is the set of dispo-
sitions, values, attitudes and capabilities used by the dominant stratum of
a society to maintain its position. Cultural capital includes knowledge and
know- how, work habits, clothing, vocabulary and pronunciation . Some ele-
ments of cultural capital have direct practical importance, whereas others
are merely accepted status symbols.
The cultural capital of migrant groups has a range of factors, including
religion, traditions, home language, style of parent - child relationships and
clothing. When families are able to affirm their cultural capital, the children
generally attain a positive identity or a view of themselves as worthwhile
members of their community. However, immigrant - receiving societies often
ignore the cultural capital of newcomers or regard it as being of no use in
the new context.
Despite the fact that newcomers bring with them strengths and knowl -
— —
edge, implicit and explicit which have been termed “funds of knowledge”
by Luis Moll and his colleagues some features of newcomers’ cultural
capital may be labelled as hindrances. For example, the use of home lan -
guages or styles of traditional dress may be looked down upon . The poor fit
between families’ funds of knowledge and the cultural capital valued in the
host societies produces family distress and disempowerment . These nega -
tive outcomes give rise to further negative outcomes in the form of despair,
self-hatred, apathy or criminality.
Ideally, the family is a site of transmission of attitudes and values from
one generation to the next. The various forms of capital a group possesses
— —
cultural, social and otherwise are transferred to the children largely
through the family. However, parental authority is undermined among im -
migrant families when the institutions of immigrant - receiving countries,
42
VOICES THAT HAVE BEEN SILENCED
particularly schools, represent values that conflict with the values taught at
home. In the eyes of the children , the lifestyles and values of exemplars in the
new society are fresh and appealing; problems arise when children come to
see their parents as out of touch and hopelessly old - fashioned. The rejection
of ones cultural capital creates a dangerous vacuum.
The well - being of children is affected by their ability to deal with their
traditional background as well as their new social context, but construct-
ing new identity based on maintaining the traditional expectations of their
home and adding the norms and social practices of the new culture requires
a measure of sophistication and strength of identity that most children cannot
maintain. Parents struggling with similar issues in the labour market can end
up contributing to a deepening sense of insecurity and confusion. This sort
of identity dilemma is often expressed in day- to-day conflict.
Another monkey wrench thrown into the jumble of confused immigrant
identity is the influence of consumerism . Children absorb messages about
what to buy and what to wear. These items come to be considered obligatory
and essential for survival and status among peers. This is far from surpris-
ing. Corporations spend billions of dollars to convince children as young as
preschoolers that they need particular styles and brands of clothing. Tensions
arise between children and their parents due to concerns about both cost and
appropriateness of clothing.
Furthermore, a part of youth-centred culture in immigrant - receiving
countries involves staking out ones claims against competing claims by
adults and family. Children may come to regard lying, stealing and deception
as acceptable and even commendable ways to get what they want. Youthful
exemplars on TV shows frequently accomplish their goals despite parents’
objections. These antisocial influences are another strong destabilizing factor
for newcomer families.
The best outcomes occur when immigrants become equally functional
and at home in both the culture of their country of origin and the culture of
the receiving society. Ideally, a broader, new bicultural identity is constructed.
Helping professionals, particularly teachers, can make a big difference in
either facilitating this process or undermining it.
Don’t You Even Know English?”

“
The Double - Edged Sword of Language

One of the major challenges faced by immigrant children is learning a new
language while maintaining fluency in their home language. Many immigrant
children have limited proficiency in the language of instruction in the schools
they attend. These children require between two and five years of explicit
English instruction to develop basic communication skills and between five
and seven years to develop academic language proficiency ( Cummins 1996).
43
According to People for Education ( 2010), 26 percent of elementary schools

in Ontario with ten or more ESL students have no ESL teacher. The provision
of support for preschool and kindergarten children learning English would
be beneficial but it is rarely available.
In the present context, with immigrant groups increasingly maintaining
their home language and customs, the concept of additive bilingualism is
particularly useful. In the best circumstances, the second language acqui -
sition does not interfere with competency in the first language. In other
words, in North America, an ideal outcome would be that the addition of
English or French does not supplant the native language of the immigrant.
Cummins and others have investigated these phenomena in detail and set
out the factors that make for additive as opposed to subtractive outcomes
( Genesee 1987; Harley, Hart and Lapkin 1986; Ianco- Worrall 1972; Lambert
and Tucker 1972).
Why? The home language serves as important basis for the development
of cognitive skills in the second language. The challenges of acquiring a second
language while maintaining the ability to have meaningful conversations with
family members can also have a profound effect on attachment , or a child’s
sense of security and their identity. More than a means of conveying one -
dimensional messages, language is a rich emotional and ideological carrier
embodied with a particular view of the world . Wong - Fillmore’s ( 1991 ) classic
study of one thousand families living in the United States outlined how loss of
home language negatively affects communication between children and their
families. For many immigrant families this is a significant issue ( Bernhard
and Pacini - Ketchabaw 2010). Unfortunately, a number of minority language
communities are, within a single generation , likely to have no young adult
speakers of their language.
An early study incorporating various immigrant communities ( Bernhard ,
Lefebvre, Murphy Kilbride, Chud and Lange 1998) examined the language so -
cialization of children , highlighting ways in which the education system tends
to encourage assimilation, contributing to the eventual loss of children’s home
language. In this pan -Canadian study of childcare centres, it was found that, in
some cases, 80 percent of the children in a particular language group were in
centres where there was not even one staff member who shared their language.
Studies conducted with Latin American parents ( Bernhard , Freire, Torres
and Nirdosh 1998; Pacini- Ketchabaw, Bernhard and Freire 2001 ) found that
elementary school -age children tend to lose their mother tongue during
the “normal processes” of institutional functioning of Canadian schools.
Although parents saw Spanish maintenance as a way to foster family unity,
Latino identity and professional advancement, the strong assimilative mes-
sages received from the schools resulted in parents doubting the desirability
of openly speaking Spanish at home.
44
Many parents became convinced that in order to get ahead, children

needed to become quickly immersed in English . They did not realize, how-
ever, that acting on this belief often meant that the first language could be
lost in a very short time.
Numerous studies have shown the alarming rate of home language loss in
the first years of schooling, particularly when children do not have a chance to
practise their home language. Not only do children lose the valuable social and
cognitive benefits associated with bilingualism , they also face the disastrous
consequences of not being able to talk to their parents and grandparents, or
to receive necessary feedback and guidance from them on aspects ranging
from sexual activity to academic decisions and other normative behaviour
( Chumak - Horbatsch 2008; Pacini - Ketchabaw, Bernhard and Freire 2001;
Park and Sarkar 2007 ).
Because of these concerns, preservation of their home language has
become a priority for some families. One reason for this is the connection
between home language and communication , particularly emotional con -
versations between parents and children. Ways in which professionals can
support home language retention are discussed in Part II .
However, the issue of language is a double - edged sword. The require-
ments of the host society dictate the languages that are crucial to functioning
in that society; in this regard , parents are often at a disadvantage relative to
their own children . Generational problems can develop because children
usually learn the working language of their new community faster than their
parents. The children may operate not only as intermediaries but also as
gatekeepers with schools, doctors or creditors calling the home. As parents
come to rely on their children to be linguistic and cultural brokers, unusual
and sometimes dangerous role reversals and shifts in parental authority may
occur (Tyyska 2007). Some professionals argue that asking children to provide
interpretation for their parents is inappropriate because it may result in the
parents’ feelings of loss of control. Similarly, when they become their fami -
lies’ cultural brokers, children are given the tasks of mediating when issues
present conflicts between the values of home and those of the host culture.
One danger here is that these conflicting forces affect the child’s sense
of belonging to either or both of the cultures. In fact, the phenomenon is
complex. A number of researchers have found positive correlations between
language brokering and psychosocial outcomes as well as academic perfor-
mance and self - efficacy. Dorner, Orellana and Li - Grining ( 2007 ) proposed
that the issue of the effects of brokering is a function of several variables,
including the culture, the relation of the parents to the culture, ages, the
gender of the child and the level of skills.
45
The House Cleaner with a PhD:

Employment and Identity for Newcomers
In Canada and other immigrant - receiving countries, medical doctors trained
abroad struggle to receive residency placements; academics and tradespersons
with foreign credentials work as janitors; and other highly trained newcom -
ers work in entry-level positions unrelated to their education and expertise.
Adult family members in immigrant families may become discouraged
and depressed when they realize that they cannot find work that matches
their education levels and experience. Host -country employers may not
recognize foreign credentials and work experience. After depleting their
savings trying to have these credentials recognized , many immigrants seek
jobs in the service sector.
It is often newcomer women who find work first as nannies, helping with
the elderly, cleaning and comparable jobs. This professional and marital role-
reversal begins a downward spiral for many couples. Disproportionately, many
immigrants are in the lowest paying jobs regardless of their education level,
and a good many are unemployed. For university- trained newcomers, the
unemployment rate is 8.6 percent whereas it is 3.5 percent among Canadian -
born university graduates. Additionally, recent immigrants that are university
graduates earn half the income of Canadian - born colleagues ( FCM 2011).
Parents without jobs may have trouble exercising authority. Marital
troubles that many immigrants experience limit their ability to support their
children’s adjustment to the new country. Parents who are unemployed tend
to doubt themselves, and their ability to provide guidance and resources for
their children is compromised.
Cracking under the Pressure:

Spousal and Child Abuse
Chronic unemployment and underemployment can result in depression ,
alcoholism and substance abuse. The consequence is often family dysfunc-
tion, with a blurring of traditional roles, breakdown of boundaries, domestic
violence and failure to fill nurturance roles.
While spousal abuse is not uncommon with immigrant families just —
—
as with other families under stress there are particular legal ramifications
for newcomer families. For example, the abuser may threaten to destroy
the status of his abused partner if the abuse is reported and outside help is
requested. Professionals who work with immigrant families need to be aware
of gender issues, which may be at variance with the host community’s values.
Many immigrant parents fear child protection agencies. They see their
authority being undermined by the methods the host society uses to insure
the welfare of children. Child welfare laws are unknown to most immigrant
i 46
parents. For example, local definitions of child abuse and neglect and the
powers of social welfare authorities are usually not understood.
Many immigrant parents run into trouble when trying to discipline their
children using methods that were acceptable in their countries of origin.
They are shocked to hear that the schools tell their children to call 911 if they
feel they are being abused or treated badly. Some children take advantage
of this. In some cases, parents are arrested and the children are removed
from their homes. The child welfare system , despite good intentions, often
undermines the position and efficacy of the parents, and there is arguably
no compensating benefit to the children. We argue that the parents’ view
of the best interest of the child should always be listened to; a professionals
outside view is sometimes off target. What is perhaps of paramount impor-
tance is the child’s rights as recognized in Canadian law and in the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms. Professional interventions that are properly designed
— —
and ensure the rights and even lives of the children are necessary and
deserve our entire support . Examples of young females and wives who have
received death threats from male family members have been in the news,
and such situations urgently require to be addressed within a framework of
basic human rights.
With immigrant families fearful of child protection agencies and lacking
basic information about which disciplinary strategies are legal and appropri -
ate, professionals sometimes unintentionally cause additional difficulties.
In the interests of both children and their parents, it would be beneficial to
ensure that newcomer families have access to parenting programs that explain
the hows and whys of child welfare and introduce positive child guidance
strategies ( Bernhard , Freire and Mulligan 2004).
Parenting in a Vacuum:
Lack of Friends , Community and Supportive Institutions
Parental efficacy never exists in a void. To put it in simpler terms, good par-
ents do not do it alone. Efficient parenting presupposes linkages with other
parents, with the community and an immersion in the culturally approved
norms of child rearing. Kids and parents need babysitters sometimes. They
need good preschools in order for mothers to pursue employment. Fathers
and mothers need a helping hand now and again. This is what makes up the
substance of normal living.
Parents need the support of a network of people of all ages to help with
the difficult task of raising their children, but even those who do have relatives
or close friends nearby are often reluctant and embarrassed to share informa-
tion concerning the problems of their children. The lack of networks that
link home, schools and the community increases the stressors experienced
by immigrant families. Networks help in preserving the history of the family
47
and community. Without this sense of history, the identities of those in the
new generation are precarious.
Immigrant parents face the same problem as other lower- and middle -
class parents with regard to childcare access. It is estimated that in Ontario,
only 16 percent of eligible children have spaces in licensed centres ( Jenson
and Mahon 2002 ). Immigrant parents solve the problem the same way as
others by relying on neighbours and unregulated childcare, which may be
dangerous or apathetic custodial care. For immigrant parents, irregular or
night employment and language issues may compound the difficulties in
finding appropriate, good -quality childcare.
The vast majority of immigrant parents are extremely concerned with
their childrens well - being, and they despair when they find out that there
are so few affordable, well - designed early childhood education programs
that they can access. Many parents know that early education programs can
serve as a foundation for developing literacy, problem solving and enhanc-
ing social skills. Yet there is evidence from the United States that immigrant
children are underrepresented in centre- based care and overrepresented
in parental care ( Brandon 2004; Crosnoe 2007; Matthews and Ewan 2006;
Matthews and Jang 2007). Unfortunately, since the Canadian National Child
Care Study ( Lero, Pence, Shields, Brockman and Goelman 1992 ) , there have
been no Canadian studies documenting the characteristics or backgrounds
of children enrolled in childcare centres.
Given the increased and continuing shortfalls in funding for childcare
in Canada, there has been little improvement in immigrant childrens access
to childcare (an exception may be the province of Quebec ). Canadas spend -
ing on childcare as a percentage of GDP is the lowest among OECD countries
(OECD 2008). There is no information on the care and education arrange-
ments of children who are not attending regulated childcare settings. Not
only are parents likely to have difficulty finding culturally respectful care for
their children , but they also face financial barriers. Childcare in Canada is
not a public service. It is not an entitlement like the kindergarten -grade 12
school system. Because of the high cost of childcare, newcomers and other
low-income families rely on informal, unregulated babysitting arrangements,
which vary in quality.
In addition to the lack of resources and inadequate support networks
characterizing many early childhood education and care ( ECEC ) programs,
there are often high turnover rates and shortages of qualified staff willing to
work for the low wages paid to childcare personnel. As a result, even when
parents are able to find spaces for their children in a childcare program , the
quality of the care provided is often questionable. As discussed earlier, these
frustrations can lead parents to send their children back to their country of
origin for a period, a decision that often creates more problems than it solves.
48
Immigrant parents generally have unrealistically rosy dreams about

their childrens future in the new country. They work two jobs to ensure the
childrens material needs are met. They have high hopes and expectations
behind their efforts to support the children at school. In a chilly climate
with reduced opportunities, parents lose hope and become demoralized, and
families become destabilized.
Recent years have seen restrictions being increasingly imposed on mi-
grants’ access to colleges and universities, as well as eligibility for financial
assistance. Perhaps unknowingly, applicants may lack proper papers required
to gain admission or financial assistance to enter post -secondary programs.
Dreams and aspirations are killed as doors slam in young immigrants’ faces.
Hopes for the future twist into depression and desperation.
Paved with Good Intentions:

Professionals as Expressions of a Dominant Culture
Professionals dealing with newcomer families are products of the culture in
which they live and work. In immigrant - receiving countries, the pre-service
education of professional should require preparation to work with diverse
populations. Similarly, the organizations that set standards of practice for
professionals must encourage in -service training and provide professional
development opportunities to ensure their members are able to work effec-
tively with newcomers.
Professionals strive to act in the child’s best interest. Professional analysis
of what is in a child’s best interest may conflict with the views of parents.
Immigrants, particularly those in precarious circumstances, may analyze a
situation in terms of the interests of the family as a whole, which is not to
say that the child’s interests are ignored. Rather, the view is that the child’s
interests are advanced when the whole family thrives. The family is seen as
the matrix in which the child develops and in which the child’s interests come
to be defined. It is difficult for many immigrant families to comprehend the
view of child protection professionals that a child’s interests are furthered by
removal from the family. To the parents, it makes no sense and causes great
fear, anxiety and self- blame.
Psychological and social well - being are essential to positive family func-
tioning. Disorders and shortcomings, formerly called mental illnesses, cannot
be understood apart from an individual’s cultural context. The importance
of cultural context is broached in DSM - IV, and it is now receiving some at -
tention from professionals. Cultural context is still controversial, and there is
no consensus among professionals who assess psychological well - being. For
example, the diagnosis of depression is not conceivable within some cultures.
Although a professional using the DSM - IV may see obvious depression, the
immigrant family may make much less of the symptoms and simply call
49
them ataque de nervios, or a nervous reaction. Indeed, many cultures limit

the concept of mental illness to the most clearly psychotic states and obvi -
ously bizarre behaviours. The North American interest in “ helping” families
with problems and seeking counselling over minor issues such as anxieties
is foreign to some newcomer cultures.
Professionals who recommend interventions and treatment for psycho-
logical problems may find that newcomers are mistrustful and resistant to
receiving support. Even in cases of serious trauma such as PTSD, professionals
must tread lightly and be able to explain the process to their patients. Feeling
shame over being in a bad state or needing help is typical. Gaining the family’s
trust and working to overcome the shameful view of what has happened is
critical in order avoid exacerbating problems.
Particularly in cases involving immigrant families, the process of helping
has to be welcomed and assisted by the client or patient. The individual and
their family have to see it as being in their interest. Trusting relationships
require good communication between professionals and families. In some
cases, qualified interpreters are essential.
The principle of family empowerment should be incorporated into as-
sessment practices. The family itself, except in rare cases, must be the ultimate
judge of whether they need help, how much and on what terms they will
receive it. All helping professionals must take the family’s values into account.
Discrimination Is Ugly but Common

Issues of minority rights and the elimination of discrimination have been
prominent on the agendas of most immigrant - receiving countries for the last
few decades. Nevertheless, there are still many people who resent immigrants.
While overt and blatant discrimination is now illegal, more subtle forms of
discrimination continue to make life difficult for newcomers.
Although migrants experience chilly climates in immigrant - receiving
countries and a lessening of sympathy for their difficulties, instances of overt
discrimination are simply the tip of the iceberg. Immigrant families frequently
come up against more subtle forms of discrimination . Although blatant dis-
crimination still exists, the fight for social equality of minorities has taken on
a new shape. The claim is to rights of equal rewards of the society and equal
benefits under the law. Outcomes are under scrutiny. The new approach goes
beyond that of equal opportunities and proposes that specific measures be
taken to ameliorate the conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups.
Although affirmative programs are in place in Canada and other immi -
grant- receiving countries, in the United States they have become controversial
as the chill toward minorities deepens. Affirmative or diversity - oriented
admissions policies of universities and professional schools have been called
reverse racism, and “colour blind” approaches have replaced them .
i 50
Disadvantaged groups still experience higher than average unemploy -

ment , subtle discrimination , difficulty accessing rental housing and high
dropout rates ( Anisef, Brown , Phythian , Sweet and Walters 2008), even in
the absence of overt discrimination. Prohibiting overt discrimination is not
sufficient to create a just society or eliminate the conditions that yield poor
outcomes for some newcomers.
Because these subtle exclusionary pressures are hard to quantify, it is
easy to say that the poor outcomes are the result of people not trying hard
enough . This incorrect assumption is unfortunate because it has the effect of
letting policy makers avoid assuming responsibility for systemic inequality
and the continuing barriers to opportunities for prosperity.
In Conclusion:
Up- Hill Battle
At present , as parents struggle with learning a new language, poverty, un -
deremployment , less - than - full legal status and perceived discrimination,
childrens health and well - being are negatively impacted. Immigrant children
—
—
are profoundly affected by the challenges faced by their parents and in
some cases, by their grandparents as well while they are adapting to their
new environments.
However, in spite of numerous challenges, it is important to keep in mind
that with a little help most newcomer families eventually succeed. Although
the process may require more than one generation, supportive educational
and care environments can help children to mediate the repercussions of these
common migration experiences. The following section provides theoretical
perspectives and practical tools that helping professionals need to make a
difference in the lives of newcomers, particularly children.
51
Part II
RECLAIMING OUR FUTURE
Exploring New Paradigms of Collaboration and

Inclusion with Immigrant Children and Families
53
Chapter Five
THINKING OUTSIDE
OFTHEBOX
Theoretical Frameworks for Meaningful Dialogue and
Intervention with Immigrant Children and Families
Many studies have described interventions that produced “evidence of

favourable outcomes” with newcomers. What has been missing has been a
consistent overarching theoretical perspective and vision of excellence. This
is not to suggest that obtaining specific improvements, as some have done,
is without benefit. It is simply to call for a broader conceptual understanding
of interventions with newcomers.
Helping professionals enter relationships with their clients/ patients/
students assuming their basic capability to improve their lives. By making a
commitment to empower newcomers, professionals can build on these rela -
tionships and provide assistance and support that will make lasting positive
impacts in the lives of immigrants.
Paulo Freire:
Learning the World through the Word
The philosophical foundation for the empowerment of newcomers can be
traced back to the work of radical educator Paulo Freire, who worked to
empower oppressed communities in Brazil. Freire believed that the oppressed
should not be “marginals” nor should they live “outside” society. His solution
was not to integrate them but rather to transform the entire structure ( Freire
1999, 2004). Freire held that the interaction between teacher and student did
not occur in a vacuum, but rather in an elaborate social context in which
the pupils did not passively reproduce the information presented to them .
He suggested that an educational program would only be successful when
it began at the grassroots level and used a collaborative problem -solving
model rather than a “ banking” model, wherein information is “deposited ”
within students.
By empowering students and using cultural references, he tapped into
sources of strength and ideals. For example, when Freire worked with peas-
ants to teach them to read, he found that in order to be effective, the learning
opportunity needed to be experiential and emotionally engaging. Freire’s
insight was to start with the position of the people themselves and their
understanding of it. Further, he emphasized the importance of their coming
54
THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX
to see that what were considered legitimate structures were not set in stone
but could be challenged and altered.
For Freire, the point of departure must always be with men and women
in the “ here and now.” To do this authentically they must perceive their state
—
not as fated and unalterable, but merely as limiting and therefore challeng-
ing. Whereas the banking model of education directly or indirecdy reinforces
peoples fatalistic perception of their situation, the problem - posing method
presents this very situation to them as a problem ( Freire 1999 ).
Following Freire’s approach, learners take charge of their own lives and
acquire a sense of agency. In this manner, they gain power in their situation
and the ability to alter their circumstances. His teaching methods relied upon
discussion and dialogue rather than repetition and memorization. He found
that dialogue allows for the development of joint responsibility:
Through dialogue, the teacher-of- the-students and the students-of-

the- teacher cease to exist and a new term emerges: teacher-student
with students - teachers. The teacher is no longer merely the-one-
who- teaches, but one who is himself taught in dialogue with the
students, who in turn while being taught also teach. They become
jointly responsible for a process in which all grow. ( Freire 1999: 61)
The format and the content were both important. Freires lessons focused on
helping the peasants become aware of their situation and the ways in which
it could conceivably be improved. The topics of his lessons mattered deeply
to the students and gave them the motivation to learn to read in order to
understand how their individual problems were in fact part of systemic is-
sues that led to their marginalization. The process of becoming conscious of
their place in the system was labelled conscienticization, or conscientizagao
( Portuguese). Learning to read became relevant , desired and recognized as
an integral part of a broader picture.
Freires methods were outlined in The Pedagogy of Hope ( 2004), a book
that has inspired educators worldwide to encourage their students to read
the “world through the word.”
Pierre Bourdieu:
The Power of Cultural Capital
The concept of cultural capital has been borrowed from the French social the-
orist Pierre Bourdieu (1986). Bourdieu used the term to refer to dispositions
( habitus) and capabilities that establish a person of a particular background
and social stratum in a set of social relations. This is how Bourdieu takes
account of the strengths and resources of disempowered people. Bourdieu
focused on the relationships that the individual creates and sustains. The social
55
groups defined by their relationships have or do not have power. Those who
have power define what cultural capital is and who, other than themselves,
is entitled to have it.
Bourdieu has deepened our understanding of power and its modes of
operation. He saw power as diffused in institutions and everyday practices of
society ( Bourdieu 1986; Canella 2002; Corson 1998; Looker 1994 ). Without
being aware of it, the individual is highly constrained by these practices and
has lost any vision of alternatives available to them .
Bauder ( 2008b) provides this example: a passport can function as a form
of cultural capital. It is a signifies a mechanism that gives those who have it
the capability to tap into employment opportunities, professional recognition
and so on. Those without citizenship tend to be vulnerable or exploitable.
Bauder goes on to explain the very subtle ways in which members of the elite
group show their status:
Bourdieu suggests that the members of an elite social group may
signify their status through embodied cultural capital in the form
of subtle “gestures or the apparently most insignificant techniques
—
of the body ways of walking or blowing one’s nose, ways of eating
or talking.” In this case, those who do not possess the code to read
or interpret these cultural performances lack access to important
symbols of power. Another process of distinction exists in the form
of institutionalized cultural capital represented by educational di -
plomas, certificates or other types of institutional acknowledgment.
( Bauder 2008b: 318)
In the same way that Bourdieu and Bauder discuss membership in elite
groups, we can discuss ethnicity. Ethnicity is not as an inherent group
characteristic, but primarily an ongoing ascription and construction by
those constituting themselves as the dominant group( s) ( Darder, Torres and
Gutierrez 1997; Dei 2001 ). The same applies to other terms for groups which
may lack established status. For instance, the terms “ immigrant ,” “refugee”
and “displaced persons” themselves can be viewed as constructions of official
discourse. They are terms that communicate deficits.
For example, many educators have reported feelings of frustration due
to the lack of school involvement on the part of newcomer families. They say,
with some justification , that the parents are not involved in school activities;
they do not come to meetings; and they do not seem to have the motivation
or interest to participate in their childrens schooling. What these teachers call
immigrant parents’ lack of motivation and interest may be an expression of
the dynamic of their devaluation. Teachers are often unaware of the traumas
immigrant families and children are experiencing. Typically, teachers are
i
not kept informed about the issues their students are dealing with at home.
56
Without that information, teachers are unable to provide support or make

referrals that could assist their students and their students families.
It is clearly an advantage to children if their parents are able to skilfully
advocate on their behalf , intervene, make inquiries and, if necessary, express
dissatisfaction with school practices and policies. Well-established and
economically secure parents are typically more confident and assertive with
all authorities; they understand how to effectively interact with institutions
and are able to have their concerns addressed. They are able to ensure their
childrens best interests are protected . The cultural capital of families with
these abilities enables them to facilitate their childrens success.
Luis Moll :
Drawing upon Unique Funds of Knowledge
Luis Moll coined the phrase “funds of knowledge” to refer to knowledge
and know - how that are “ historically accumulated ” and circulated within
marginalized communities and come to act as resources that are “essential
for household or individual functioning and well - being” ( Gonzalez, Moll
and Amanti 2005). Funds of knowledge are components of a family’s cultural
capital and can contribute to the success of children in the education system.
Among immigrant children , the knowledge the family possesses may be
viewed by teachers and by the families themselves as unhelpful or irrelevant
in the new context.
The tendency to ignore or devalue immigrant parents’ cultural capital is
further exacerbated by educators’ pre-service training that emphasizes the
age-stage theories of child development. These theories describe childhood
as a fairly narrow range of ages and stages without considering background
discrepancies. It is now increasingly recognized that childhood milestones
and definitions of “optimal development” are diverse and culturally dependent
( Bernhard 2003; Bernhard, Gonzalez- Mena, Chang, O’Loughlin, Eggers-
Pierola, Roberts Fiati and Corson 1998; Garcia - Coll 1990; Hedegaard 2009;
Lerner 1988, 1991; O’Loughlin 2009; Onchwari, Onchwari and Keengwe
2008; Rogoff 1990 ). Despite that recognition, immigrant children growing up
with different sets of priorities than those of the education system are often
construed as behind and needing to catch up with their age- mates. Socially
dominant groups were used as the subjects when normative paths of child
development were defined during the twentieth century. The developmental
milestones used to define what is considered normal were derived from stud -
ies of the progress of advantaged children in elite university communities.
Teachers who only apply ages and stages perspectives often focus on
deficits or ways in which their students differ from the norms, and they miss
the many ways children demonstrate strength and competence. Educators’
assessments of children’s development will be incomplete and skewed un -
57
r
less they turn to parents for information about their child - rearing goals, the
families’ cultural capital and their unique funds of knowledge ( Gonzalez,
Moll and Amanti 2005).
Jim Cummins:
Bilingualism , Identity and Engagement
The fourth theorist whose perspectives and research inform work with new -
comers is Jim Cummins. Cummins’ focus is on bilingualism and bicultural -
ism (see also Ada 2003; Corson 1998; New London Group 1996 ). His studies
revealed the connections between developing a positive identity and increased
academic achievement. Nurturing students’ identities involves recognizing
the forms of prior knowledge ( including home languages ) they bring to the
class and incorporating them into classroom learning ( Cummins 2001, 2004,
2008). Insight into students’ home environments and cultural contexts pro-
vides ways of understanding how children make sense of the world (Taylor,
Bernhard, Garg and Cummins 2008; Westby and Atencio 2002). Cummins’
research suggests that educators should direct their efforts toward learning
and understanding how children experience the world. It also suggests that
when educators strive to become familiar with the complex context, includ -
ing culture and language, in which students, educators and families live and
learn, they are better equipped to respond to students’ needs and concerns
(see also Artiles and Klingner 2006; Klingner and Artiles 2003). Instruction
in children’s first languages and inclusion of their prior knowledge and per-
sonal experiences promote academic success among immigrant students.
Cummins emphasizes that language is one of the strongest elements
in one’s self-definition as an individual and as a social being. Attending to
and valuing a child’s home language in the school context shows respect for
the child and their family, community and culture. Children benefit from
retaining, developing and enriching their heritage languages while at the
same time learning a national language. Retaining one’s first language while
learning English is personally advantageous, providing students with a wider
range of employment options (Cummins and Sayers 1995; Fishman 1989;
Krashen 1999).
Besides providing children the social grounding they need and allowing
them to access the cultural wealth of their heritage language, studies have
linked bilingualism with superior cognitive development . Areas of cognitive
development that have been positively linked to balanced bilingualism in-
clude metalinguistic awareness, concept formation and analogical reasoning.
Metalinguistic awareness involves the ability to objectify language, focus-
ing on the form rather than the meaning of sentences. Research has shown
metalinguistic awareness to be an important element in intellectual devel -
opment ( Hakuta 1986) and school participation ( Lindfors 1991). Bilingual
58
children outperform monolingual children on awareness of language features

such as component sounds, word - meaning correspondence, rules of gram -
mar, semantics and ambiguity ( Lee 1996 ).
Cummins’ latest approach posits the centrality of identity negotiation
and identity investment in any conception of teaching for deep understand -
ing. Teacher-student interactions and other interactions within the learning
community create an interpersonal space within which knowledge is gener-
ated and identities are negotiated. Learning will be optimized when these
interactions maximize both cognitive engagement and identity investment
(Cummins 2001).
In Conclusion:
Looking through Different Eyes
Freire, Bourdieu , Cummins and other theorists have elaborated on concepts
such as empowerment and agency, oppression in mainstream institutions,
marginalization, cultural capital, linguistic dominance and personal identity
as negotiated by disadvantaged groups. All of them stress the potential people
have to make changes and overcome problems. Part III of the book discusses
some practical means by which helping professionals can be of assistance to
newcomers. We will now look at specific issues for newcomer children in
school and childcare settings.
59
Chapter SLx
HOW SCHOOLS ARE LABELLING

NEWCOMER CHILDREN
What Is “Normal”? The Example of Latinos
My own research over the last fifteen years has looked at the experiences
of Latin American migrants, particularly as they interact with mainstream
Canadian education institutions. My work has been ethnographic, action
based and interdisciplinary. I have interviewed over one hundred Latin
American families who immigrated to Canada. I have participated in the chil -
drens classrooms, inspected their school records and conducted interviews
with teachers, principals and children . In the childrens homes, my colleagues
and I interviewed the families and went over school correspondence with
them. We also documented the discussions of groups of mothers as they
participated in monthly meetings regarding the education of their children
(Bernhard , Freire, Pacini-Ketchabaw and Villanueva 1998; Bernhard , Freire,
Torres and Nirdosh 1998; Bernhard, Gonzalez- Mena, Chang, O’Loughlin ,
Eggers- Pierola, Roberts Fiati and Corson 1998; Pacini - Ketchabaw, Bernhard
and Freire 2001; Bernhard 1999, 2003; Bernhard, Evans, Cosentino and
Marmoleja 2009).
I have concluded that what is needed is rethinking of the assumptions
about childhood and the body of knowledge relied on to guide our under -
standing of children. It is crucial to note that this is not an abstract academic
debate, but one whose outcome affects our practices with children and fami
lies. These principles build on the work of many investigators and theorists.
They have labelled themselves as contextual, socio- historical and systems -
based (e.g., Bronfrenbrenner 1979; Cole 1996; Kagitcibasi 1996; Lerner 1991 ).
The previous chapter looked at some of the assumptions about child -
hood, particularly those in the field of education . This chapter elaborates
on the theories and discusses how they deal with the crucial issues of child
development. The problems and perceived problems of immigrant children
and families are a function of enduring acceptance of mistaken assumptions
regarding what is “normal” in child development ( Apple 1992; Garcia Coll
et al. 1996; Greenfield and Cocking 1994; Kagitcibasi 1996; Lubeck 1994;
O’Loughlin 1992; Super and Harkness 1986 ). In particular, the validity of
universalistic assumptions about childhood is questioned. The dominant
perspectives on childhood have informed research and interventions with
immigrant families. These families have tended to be labelled as different, if
k 60
HOW SCHOOLS ARE LABELLING NEWCOMER CHILDREN
not defective or deviant. The view presented here is that cultural differences
penetrate to the core and are fundamental ( Geertz 1973). These differences
should be honoured rather than remedied or ignored.
—
For instance, one cannot understand manual dexterity a biologically
shaped ability — apart from the use of tools, which are cultural artifacts.
Anthropologist Clifford Geertz ( 1973) eloquently made the argument for
the centrality of culture in development:
We are, in sum , incomplete or unfinished animals who complete or

—
finish ourselves through culture and not through culture in gen -
eral but through highly particular forms of it: Dobuan and Javanese,
Hopi and Italian , upper-class and lower-class. ( 49)
This chapter illuminates family spaces and the broader contexts of cul-
tural and institutional spaces. I have been seeking to document and interpret
the voices of children and families as a way of discovering how their identities
are affected by national and corporate structures.
A tremendous shift has been taking place in the last thirty years with
respect to growing appreciation of the cultural variation of childhood. One
of the roots of this shift can be found in the writings of noted anthropologist
Franz Boas, who, as early as 1920, concluded there is no cross culturally valid
standard of development ( cited in Stocking 1968).
Beginning in 1979, there is evidence that developmentalists and psycholo-
gists were taking seriously the question of the influence of culture on child -
hood ; a number of developmentalists had begun a critique of universalistic
approaches to childhood and its allegedly universal characteristics and stages
(e.g., Cole, Gay, Glick and Sharpe 1971; Harkness 1980; Misra and Gergen
1993; Spindler 1987; Walkerdine 1984 ). These investigators made a number
of crucial points that inform the framework of this chapter. It is essential to
think of development and culture together. Culture defines what constitutes
development , what behaviour is appropriate and the forms of life within it
( Vygotsky 1962 ). Milestones or periods of life are culturally defined .
Finders, Keepers:
Social Dominance as the Basis for Academic Success
In any given society and historical period, there are always struggles between
modes of representing the world. The upshot of this is that knowledge, includ -
ing knowledge of human development, is socially situated and its production
reflects social dominance. The results of a power struggle determine the
dominant representations that are accepted as “truth.” This position has been
defended by a number of theorists including Foucault ( 1972 ) and others.
Moreover, Bourdieu and Passeron ( 1977) pointed out that educational
61
institutions are charged with enforcing this “truth.” Included in this process
is the assessment of children according to more or less arbitrary cultural
standards. These views of power relations are discussed in the classic La
reproduction (1977). Education systems direct people to their “proper” level
in society alongside suggestions that these destinies are entirely merit - based.
However, the arbitrary nature of the tasks used as indices of merit show this
merit system to be deeply flawed.
For example, when Monica was two years old, her family emigrated from
Nicaragua. Neither parent speaks English; their factory jobs require only its
marginal use. Monicas family prizes its Nicaraguan heritage, which is partly
Aboriginal. They see themselves as sojourners in Canada and talk about the
eventual return to their native country. Her parents pride themselves on hav-
ing brought up an obedient and respectful child who speaks good Spanish
for her age. Monicas family plans to return to their native country when she
turns ten years of age so that she will grow up having respect for her family.
Her mother explains:
For me [ knowing how to speak Spanish ] is important . .. at home

she always remembers, we too, we always speak it, we always remind
her that it is beautiful there too . . . we always remind her so when
we will go back, she will know. [ In this country] the children , one
loses them, there is no love and tenderness toward the parents .. . I
don’t want this to happen to my daughter. That’s why we decided we
are going back to Nicaragua as soon as she turns ten.
At this time, Monica is eight years old and in grade 3. In the last year or so,
it has become evident that Monica has difficulty in school. Her parents are
very supportive of her education and want to help in any way possible. The
main concern the parents have is the lack of match between Monica’s efforts
at school and her marks.
I would like to know how . .. what it is that Monica needs? Why in

the report cards the teacher says she needs more math , more read -
ing and at home, although we do not speak much English, we are
always helping her in everything. She always does her homework
and knows everything we ask her, but the report card always arrives
as if she is failing.
In discussing the situation with Monica’s parents, they suggest that being in
a split -grade class has resulted in unrealistic expectations being placed on
their daughter. The teacher shares the puzzlement over her performance. He
agrees that in spite of putting tremendous effort into her schoolwork, she is
not doing well.
i 62
Monica is having difficulties . . . academically . .. she’s reading about

a year below grade level ... she’s a dedicated worker, tries really hard
but has just had a bit of difficulty learning the process of reading,
learning to recognize words. My sense of the family is that they are
very supportive ... they work with her on a regular basis and they
have reward systems so she’s always really keen to do her spelling.
The teacher theorizes about the source of Monica’s difficulties.
They [ Monica’s parents] are concerned and want to do what they

can to work with her at home but are in that difficult situation of
wanting to help the child in a language which they don’t know and
are not really quite sure what to do .... I think they feel a bit at a loss
as to how to help her.
She [ Monica ] has difficulty with vowels in English as opposed
to vowels in Spanish , and so being able to learn both the sounds in
English and Spanish and to sound out words is difficult. And I think
her home is almost entirely Spanish spoken .. . I’m not sure direcdy
what sort of impact that has but I think that may well make it more
difficult for her to be picking up reading English.
In spite of strong motivation and parents who take time each day to
support her with her schoolwork, it appears that, without intervention,
Monica is not headed for academic success. She will likely lack high - school
level proficiency in any language and will continue to underachieve, and she
and her parents will become increasingly marginalized. Monica has already
lowered her expectations for herself.
Does Monica herself actually have a deficiency? I do not dispute that her
performance does not look as good as that of her classmates, according to
the standards enforced. But arguably she is enrolled in an education system
where children are categorized according to their performance on relatively
arbitrary tasks ( the basis for such labels as “gifted,” “adequate” or “deficient”).
Because the system is geared to the needs and expectations of dominant
groups, Monica will show up poorly in a mainstream assessment. Monica’s
teacher suggests that Monica and her family are, in fact, seen as deficient:
You see Monica is a very diligent worker but she still is on the low
average. I tried to explain to him [her father] that he didn’t need to
worry. Sometimes parents think that their kid is the worst in the class.
She is not. Certainly there are other children who are at Monicas
level. She’s reading at grade 1 intermediate level. That’s a year behind.
Although several of the stakeholders remain unsure as to the source of
63
Monicas problems, our unique position of hearing multiple perspectives

enables us to propose the following approaches for consideration .
Monicas health seems excellent . Her temperament is good - natured
if somewhat docile. She avoids conflicts and disagreements with others.
Monicas cooperativeness and non -assertiveness have a cultural basis, yet the
overlap of gender and class factors must also be considered . This explanation
is corroborated by one of the teaching staff at the school:
She [ Monica ] is Hispanic and is too good . The parents have taught
her that she has to obey the teacher, that she has to behave well in
class, not to interrupt so if she does not understand something,
she will not put her hand up to ask. In this [ Canadian ] system , if
the children are not aggressive they stay behind. Many times she
[Monica ] misses an opportunity because she is too slow compared
to the others. She has great interest and tremendous motivation .
It is clear that Monicas lack of promoting herself is not simply an

inborn trait; one must look at the context in which the alleged individual
characteristic emerges and how it could be dealt with to her advantage. The
parents’ efforts to train her in obedience are part of their overall commitment
to maintaining her cultural identity. It has been shown how Monica and
her family are, in effect, struggling against the dominant discourse of child
development . Because there is a lack of accord , she is labelled deficient and
slow in progress. The problems of motivation appear to be the results, not
basic causes, of her and her family’s difficulties in the education system . It
should be clear from the above data how strongly and crushingly dominance
is asserted; Monica and her family, without understanding why, are plainly
losing out in their prospects.
Stigmatized in the Childcare Setting:

Institutional Discourses and Standards for Truth
Knowledge is produced, recognized and legitimated within dominant
institutions and according to the criteria and constraints they impose ( Foucault
1972). The institutions act as gatekeepers for “truth.” Discourses representing
legitimate knowledge flourish in mainstream journals. Researchers whose
work is published in these journals, many funded by governments, produce
legitimate discourse, truth. Worldviews of subordinated groups tend to
become de-legitimized . Subordinated groups may share characteristics
such as class, gender, sexual orientation , ethnicity, place of birth , ancestry
or citizenship. Liliana’s story illustrates a de-legitimized worldview. Liliana
is an immigrant from El Salvador. Her mother was of African heritage. Her
four-year-old son, Ricardo, has attended a childcare centre in a large Canadian
i 64
city for six months. Liliana speaks about their situation:
When I bring Ricardo to the centre every day it is the same. I give
him kisses and hugs, and then the teacher takes hold of Ricardos
hand and tells me it is best to leave quickly. As I am walking toward
the door, Ricardo breaks free of the teacher and runs to me so I
stop to reassure him once again before finally leaving. Then I find
out that Ricardo has stayed crying for over one hour after which he
withdrew to a corner of the room until he fell asleep.
I came to visit at lunchtime. I am feeding him and telling him
stories about his grandmother, about when he was a little baby,
things like that . Of course I speak quietly in Spanish so I won’t
bother anyone. Ricardo is listening to me and we both feel good. I
notice the looks the teachers are giving me. I know they think I am
spoiling him and not helping him to adjust to the childcare centre.
Researchers and educators encounter such situations repeatedly; their
likely response would be shaped by the discourse that defines standards of
“developmental appropriateness” ( e.g., Bredekamp 1987 ): Ricardo is not
exhibiting signs of sufficient independence and so the teacher needs to work
with him and his mother toward this goal. In fact, Ricardos teachers made
statements such as “ He is immature,” “ The mother is not letting him learn
independence,” and “ He will likely suffer in the long term and be unable to
get along when the mother is not there.”
The teachers’ assessment of Ricardo, using the dominant perspective,
applies such concepts as “secure attachment ” and “autonomy,” developed by
Ainsworth ( 1973) and colleagues. These investigators followed research pro-
cedures agreed upon by their profession, which are believed to yield “scientific
truth” about human development. ( There is abundant literature questioning
the cross-cultural usefulness of attachment theory and its generalizability
to specific cultures. See for instance, Harwood, Miller and Irizzary 1995.)
A culturally fair assessment approach would seek to determine whether
Ricardo and his mother are on track within their own cultural context. It is
simply a mistake to apply the host country’s standards and say that Ricardo’s
behaviour when his mother leaves is evidence of insecure attachment or more
specifically, anxious resistance. Further, it is noted that if he were not to cry,
some other common label of pathology would likely be applied to him (e.g.,
anxious-avoidant, following Ainsworth 1973).
In Ricardo’s culture, what is prized is the child’s demonstration of affection
and ties to the parents. However, such worldviews are likely to be ignored;
Ricardo is likely to be labelled immature and his mother over- protective. In
institutions, all interpretations are not equal ( Bernhard 1995).
65
The Russian Doll:

Taking a Systemic View
Human development occurs in hierarchically structured and intersecting
contexts. Applying systems theory, one looks at how smaller systems are
nested within larger ones. In fact, this third principle is an essential pillar of
systems theory. A social and contextual analysis demands consideration of
a number of dimensions and intersecting discourses.
In mainstream theory and assessment, Monicas “deficit” is attributed to
her as an individual. Knowledge, when conceived in this manner, is some-
—
thing retrievable like money in a bank account — that the individual
possesses in larger or smaller quantities. This has been the view of many
mainstream developmentalists. In contrast, Monica can be seen relationally
within a hierarchy of family, community and culture. Her individual IQ
score, constructed as her individual characteristic, can be disputed. Instead ,
her IQ score is just a reflection of her functioning on an English test in an
Anglo environment.
In another discourse, Monica is a child, a disadvantaged Latina im -
migrant. Within another discourse, she has a gender disadvantage. As well,
one needs to consider her socioeconomic class and her ethnicity. Because
of these intersecting positions of subordination , her development, for rea -
sons we have detailed, will likely be far from optimal. Monica expressed her
discouragement:
First I thought I was going to be a ballerina; then I thought I was
going to be a singer; then I thought I was going to be a painter; then
I thought I was going to be a doctor for people; then I thought I was
going to be a doctor for pets; then I thought I was going to be nothing.
Her almost certain disappointment clearly extends beyond her migrant

status and her gender. For differing reasons, it is extremely unlikely that she
will be either a ballerina or a veterinarian / doctor. In the latter case, her al -
leged academic deficiencies and lack of remedial science programs for girls
will likely prevent her from accessing university studies in science that are
required for all doctors. It is known that intersecting subordinations have a
multiplicative effect, and this point is underscored by her final expression of
complete discouragement.
A more adequate basis for understanding these situations is found in the
theories of Vygotsky and Rogoff. They propose that learning is a social pro-
cess, occurring among and between individuals in the conditions that bring
people together. Barbara Rogoff s ( 1990; Rogoff et al. 1993) observations of
Mayan toddlers and their mothers have provided a fine example of this ap-
proach. The work of John Ogbu and his colleagues (Gibson and Ogbu 1997;
66
Ogbu 1991 ) also deserves to be mentioned as exploring the ways in which

ethnicity and caste are important in hierarchies of dominance.
Systems approaches have provided useful frameworks for considering
the issue of hierarchical structures. Lerner ( 1991 ) provides a good example of
such theories. His theoretical approach can be imaged in terms of concentric
circles in which a child and her family are situated (see also Bronfenbrenner
1979). Such a diagram is intended to indicate the impossibility of separating
individual and social factors. For instance, intelligence is not simply an indi-
vidual characteristic like eye colour. Penn ( 1999: 9 ) has noted how in many
cultures (e.g., Japanese) the notion of intelligence cannot be separated from
that of helpfulness: “An unhelpful child may have a superficial cleverness
but is essentially a stupid child.” To say a child is stupid, then, is to bring in
the moral standards of his community, characteristics of the larger circles.
The society makes the judgment “stupid,” which brings together not only
the individual functioning but also how it fits or does not fit with the family
and community norms of proper behaviour. All levels or circles are involved.
Systems theories deny simple causal explanations and use, instead, cir-
cular or network accounts of how phenomena are linked. From a systems
perspective, one does not primarily consider a direct arrow from mother to
child. Rather, there are networks of interactions that include all levels in a
complex way. For example, a young child pretended he was going to touch
the plug in order to get his mother to stop talking on the phone and to focus
on him. From a systems perspective, if the mother says, “ Don’t touch that
plug,” and the child complies, it is not a simple causal event initiated by the
mother leading to the child changing his behaviour. In the larger network of
causes, the child’s pretended approach to the plug gave rise to the mother’s
intervention , and so the child is regulating himself and the system is regulat -
ing itself. The system , in one respect, is self - maintaining, and if it is living,
it reproduces itself. The principle of hierarchy and intersecting context may
sound entirely abstract. But it offers a richness of understanding when it is
used to analyze behaviour.
Like Branches of a Tree:

Multiple Paths of “ Normal” Development
Within a given culture, very different paths or routes may reach similar out -
comes. Between cultures, the goals may also be different, and the pathways
cannot be assumed to have common milestones. Nor can difference in the
length of pathway ( complexity) indicate that one culture leads to a more
“advanced” position. If one culture has one pattern and a different culture
another, one cannot reasonably call the former more advanced. Each pathway
shows its own progression, evidences its own degree of adaptiveness and ar-
rives at an outcome as complex as the so-called “normal,” preferred or usual
67
one. It is further assumed that the constraints and micro- influences at certain
points make prediction of a particular pathway impossible.
Many mainstream researchers have been calling for a degree of flexibility
in judging according to universal milestones in considering what is “ within
normal range.” Fischer and Bidell ( 1998) have called this usual framework
a “ladder model” of development, since each person is ideally on the same
path, and the only distinguishable feature is the step or level. Some investi -
gators at the forefront of change have deemed universal milestones entirely
questionable.
Monicas teachers will likely construe her as lagging behind and needing
to catch up. Yet her future choices are not just deviations from the path but
have different potential. If her teachers continue to construe her as lagging
behind and needing to catch up with the “next milestone,” her struggles will
take on the character of further academic and social difficulties. If Monica
is viewed in terms of what is expected developmentally, she and her family
will be made to feel inadequate and ultimately will give up.
In Monicas case, the concept of multiple paths might seem to be merely a
way of understanding why many newcomer and minority students fall short
according to mainstream standards. However, the concept itself is much
broader and can embrace variation in positive outcomes, a fact that is not
well explained in universalist theories.
Consider the case of Isabel, a child who is succeeding in school. Isabel is a
thirteen - year-old student who was born in El Salvador and arrived in Canada
at six years of age. She and her three siblings live with their parents and their
paternal grandmother, who is of Spanish and Aboriginal descent. The father
speaks English at a very basic level, the mother only Spanish . Father works
night shifts in a factory; the mother and grandmother stay home with the
children. The family speaks only Spanish at home and Isabels proficiency in
Spanish is solid. When discussing their values and familial practices, Isabel’s
parents referred to the family closeness as an important part of the child’s
upbringing. These parents believed it was key for the parents to be on top of
their children’s activities and to know where they were at all times and what
issues the children were dealing with .
The parents’ values generated conflicts with those of Isabel’s teachers
regarding the desirability of children’s rights of privacy. Isabel’s teacher de -
scribes her as a strong student who is centred and excelling in all subjects.
The father is perceived as unwilling to cooperate with the school’s efforts and
viewed by the teacher as being too authoritarian:
I think she [ Isabel ] is very afraid of the consequences at home . . .

which may make her behave . . . so I am very cautious about what I
tell the father. He [ Isabel’s father ] is always in the school, I see him all
tit 68
the time, he picks them up for lunch, I think there is so much control.
Mr. I. has this attitude, you know, like he is the one that rules every-
thing. Just the other day I heard that Isabel had written something
in her journal about a boy who had asked to kiss her. Apparently the
father read this and wanted to discipline her. Although it was not
her fault . . . also her diary is something confidential, he shouldn’t be
reading this . ... I think now he wants to know the name of the boy.
The parents are suspicious of efforts to “ help” immigrants and have spoken
about negative experiences with their older child in terms of standardized
testing and the special education system. Isabel is articulate in stating her
own views:
I am Salvadoreha , and because my brothers were born here, I am

partly Canadian . When people ask me where I am from, I say I am
from El Salvador but a Canadian resident. We are Hispanos and we
are proud of where we come from and that we speak Spanish. One
never knows if when you grow up you will need it for work so it is
always good to have one more language. I also like it because I can
talk to my family.
In analyzing Isabel’s case, the following points stand out. First, Isabel is de-
veloping her identity in such a way as to be bilingual and bicultural within
English -speaking Canadian society and is poised to take a part in that diverse
situation. She is benefiting from this additive process and can be expected to
be successful in school. It is noted that such additivity is occurring in con-
junction with strong maintenance of Spanish as the language of the home.
As a young Canadian adult, she will have access to many working and social
opportunities given her bilingual proficiency and bicultural identity. Isabel’s
future exemplifies the virtues of a bicultural approach. Her life course seems
to be running rather well, but on a different pathway from that prescribed
by the mainstream norms.
Second , the father’s behaviour is consistent with the family’s cultural
identity. He is attempting to maintain control to ensure his children do
not assimilate too much . In North America, and in this particular case,
the so- called authoritarian parenting style is seen in a negative light. The
teacher quoted above describes the father’s style as being uncooperative.
Although Isabel’s father is a frequent visitor to the school, his relationships
with teachers are tense and there is a lack of trust on both sides. Due to the
limited English ability of the parents, a translator must be used for all com -
munication. The teachers perception of Isabel’s father is that he is overly
strict and unreasonable with his daughter. Without attempting to judge the
finer points of the father’s behaviour, his general pattern is consistent with
69
a particular father role that is normal in his cultural context. Further, it can
be argued that the family’s very uncooperativeness is the source of family
strength in maintaining cultural identity. This style has likely allowed him
to maintain harmony at home and to promote the family’s self - identification
as Latin Americans.
Third, Isabel’s family prizes interdependence among its members;
independence is not a primary goal. They have little concern about her
privacy and continue being involved in every aspect of her life. The fam -
ily’s close involvement in each other’s affairs is cast , according to dominant
North American standards, as intrusive ( e.g., regarding her diary). Their
socialization practices are designed to create closeness and interdependence
within the family. It is important to stress that Isabel’s submission to her
father is apparently not extended to the school’s teachers, although she re -
mains respectful. In the school’s view, she is relatively independent. Isabels
parents think that children can become too stubborn and independent.
They are concerned that their daughter will become too independent and
wish her to maintain interrelationships over the entire life span ; this desire
is culturally based. Family closeness and connections are priorities, rather
than eventual self-sufficiency, which they believe comes naturally without
need for training.
It is clear from the foregoing analysis that using a multiple path analysis,
Monica and Isabel are not “ behind.” They are not on the same path nor will
they arrive at the same “destination” as their Anglophone classmates. Fischer
and Ayoub’s (1996) study of teenage girls reached a similar conclusion . They
studied girls who had been sexually abused as children and examined their
self-descriptions. The researchers found negativity about oneself to be an
important characteristic, but stressed the importance of not labelling the
phenomenon as developmental immaturity. The girls in the study who showed
the negativity bias evidenced no developmental delay or fixation , but instead
normally complex developmental levels for self -description .
If we envision a tree with interwoven branches representing different
developmental pathways, a whole range of paths can be considered normal.
The branchings of the tree are not predictable in terms of individual psy -
chology. There are so many possible contextual factors that we cannot know
how a person will end up. At moments of branching, the subtlest contextual
factors may play a key role.
As with the branches of a tree, at each moment , decisions or events
take young people on different pathways. Early events place constraints on
the choices available later. Although there is less and less variability as one
moves up the branches, the final destination of a particular branch is not
definitively predictable. Someone can begin in branch B and still end up in
the area of branch D. The tree image has the further advantage of indicating
h 70
a range or a circumference of possibilities. We do not say that the top- most

central branches represent the one ideal of growth nor do we say that the
branchings in different directions represent falling away or deviation from it.
In Conclusion:
The Necessity to Broaden Our Assessment Models
This chapter began by describing culture as being diverse and based on
ways of life. It explained how developmental concepts are rooted in culture
— concepts such as babyhood or adulthood. It included a brief review of
attempts to take account of cultural diversity without modifications, the ap-
proach seen in most human development textbooks. The chapter introduced
four principles that could inform a transformed developmental psychology.
The proposed principles were illustrated with examples from my research.
This rich material from several ethnographic studies has corroborated the
principles. Of course, these principles are not the only possible foundation
for practice but they do confirm the need for more nuanced approaches to
working with diverse populations.
There are serious problems with current assessment models and univer-
salistic approaches that rest on the acceptance of “developmentally appropriate
practice.” This analysis is, in fact , a critique of most of the training programs
that exist for professionals working with children and families. Reform of
practice has become a necessity in view of the disservice and harm being done
to minority communities including Aboriginal, African , Caribbean, Latino
and other immigrant groups. Developmental psychology theories need to be
revised to take full account of diversity. It is time for theorizing within the
helping professions to undergo radical change to encourage full development
of human beings from all cultural, linguistic and class backgrounds.
71
Chapter Seven
SHIFTING THE FOCUS

Identifying Present and Potential Strengths
of Newcomer Children and Families
As we have demonstrated , the way we look at newcomers affects how we relate

to them and this in turn affects their capacities in society. This chapter explores
the social and educational assessment tools that can form the foundation of
effective, meaningful relationships and interventions with newcomer children
and their families. The chapter primarily focuses on assessing newcomers in
the context of their strengths, but first, any meaningful assessment begins
with certain basic information. However, research has shown that profes-
sionals who work with immigrant families have insufficient knowledge of the
families’ situations. In fact, most citizens in immigrant - receiving countries,
including policy makers, have very limited understanding of the situation
of immigrants.
For example, one study found that childcare providers were unaware
of basic facts of the home situations and the traumas experienced by the
families attending their programs ( Bernhard and Freire 1996 ) . Without that
information , these professionals could not accurately interpret the childrens
behaviour. Behaviours were labelled and responded to as spoiled and clingy
when they were actually normal post - traumatic stress reactions.
Professionals who work with children and families would be better
prepared if their pre-service training included immigration history and
awareness of such basic information as recent wars in the countries of origin
of immigrants and the world events that have produced refugees. Children
with traumatic pasts often have existing or previous separations from their
main caregivers. A helping professional may be unaware that the adult who
appears to be a child’s parent is actually the child’s aunt and that the primary
caregiver was killed. Ignorance of such basic information is clearly an enor-
mous disadvantage to the teacher.
While there are understandable reasons for families’ failure to disclose
some key information , awareness of details such as exposure to violence, loss
of close family members and other traumatic experiences can enable helping
professionals to tailor their support to the needs of individual children and
families. Wishing to respect families’ privacy and working with the best inten -
tions, some professionals may decline to inquire about the family’s structure,
situation or background. However, an ignorance of the basic background and
context of a student’s behaviour can ultimately prove far more damaging.
72
SHIFTING THE FOCUS
Further, while eliciting essential information is an important beginning,

making a real difference for those in need means shifting the focus from
family shortcomings to family strengths.
Moving beyond a Narrow Problem Focus

It is easy to focus on newcomers’ problems. The existing list of psychological
disorders may be appealing, but a narrow view focused primarily around pat
diagnoses can prove disempowering and unproductive. With undocumented
persons, for example, DSM - IV categories of psychological problems are often
inadequate. A refugee who starts taking Valium to relieve anxiety is not really
dealing with the more fundamental issues that demand attention. For exam -
ple, some of their issues may include the many complex challenges discussed
earlier in this book. In light of these phenomena , Valium may speak to little.
A strategy often more helpful, and certainly concurrently helpful to
medication, is to apply the principle of empowerment and focus on new-
comers’ strengths. This approach is not new. On the contrary, empowerment
and contextual approaches have a history spanning several decades. In 1996,
developmentalists Pianta and Walsh advocated moving away from the cultural
deficit model. They faulted the practice of locating problems in the child, the
family or the school.
A conceptual model is required that locates the problem not in the
child, the home, or the school, but in the relationships between child
and family, and schooling, and the other individuals and institutions
involved in schooling. Problems cannot be placed in some static loca -
tion. Rather, they are distributed across and among ever-changing
contexts. ( Pianta and Walsh 1996: 54 )
These authors criticize the unhelpful focus on what is wrong in these

three places (child, family, school ) as an evil to be counteracted. They propose
a model of development framed by culture and history. Building on Pianta
and Walsh’s work, a more detailed framework is proposed here.
Assuming that everyone has strengths that can be used to manoeuver
within complex and dynamic contexts is encouraging. Even though some
families face more hardships or life hazards than others, resiliency is a power-
ful force that enables them to carry on and do their best. What is advocated
here is a wide- ranging focus on individual, family and community strengths.
When these are recognized and enhanced, they can be activated and brought
to bear on the problems.
Professional service providers need a practical framework for looking
at the development and well - being of families, planning interventions and
assessing outcomes. After considering numerous models, including Eccles
73
and Gootman ( 2002), Land, Lamb and Mustillo ( 2001), Moore and Theokas
( 2009), Unicef Innocenti Research Centre ( 2007) and others, Benson , Leffert,
Scales and Blyths ( 2012) model is recommended. Bensons group drew on
extensive research findings on positive influences on the lives of young
people. They identified core elements to be promoted in children , as well as
the nature of family and community engagement needed to ensure childrens
optimal development.
It is appropriate here to link these variables in optimal development to
the wider social context and the structural advantages and disadvantages of
various groups. The term for the assets prized by society is cultural capital.
Many of the external assets such as neighbourhoods are, in fact, aspects of
cultural capital. Well-established families have cultural capital that newcomer
families typically lack. The situations of newcomer families require that they
attend to a multitude of issues if their strengths and resources are to positively
influence their childrens outcomes.
Components and Contexts in Healthy Development:

The Benson Assessment Framework
The Benson group put forward a list of factors (“assets” ) necessary for healthy
development, including a social focus on areas of family, school and com -
munity life. These developmental assets can be used to guide interventions.
Since the framework is a general developmental one, it has sufficient cover-
age of main issues connected with migrant children and families. The issues
faced by newcomers are not unique but merely different in emphasis from
many, though not all, native- born families.
The framework identifies forty developmental assets that children need
in order to prosper. These protective factors fall into eight areas, four external
and four internal. These might be considered both input variables related to
desired outcomes, and also outcome variables resulting from interventions.
For example, the amount of talk and connection between the parent and child
has status as a predictor variable, but it is also an outcome variable in that a
successful intervention can affect the amount and quality of communication
between child and parents. The Benson et al. ( 2012 ) framework (see table 7-1)
lists specific indicators for contextual influences on development ( external
factors) as well as teachable qualities and skills that children need to develop,
such as disposition to learning and a sense of identity and belonging ( inter-
nal factors). Although Benson and his colleagues have much to say about
individual processes, they have an exemplary understanding of community
contexts. In fact, the upper half of their table deals with actions undertaken
by adults, and they make specific reference to community mobilization.
74
SHIFTING THE FOCUS
Table 7-1 Developmental Assets
Asset Type Asset and Description

External
Support 1. Family support
2. Positive family communication
3. Other adult relationships
4. Caring neighbourhoods
5 . Caring school climate
6. Parent involvement in schooling
Empowerment 7. Community values youth
8. Youth as resources
9. Service to others
Boundaries and Expectations 10. Safety
11. Family boundaries
12. School boundaries
13 . Neighborhood boundaries
14. Adult role models
15. Positive peer influence
16. High expectations
Constructive Use of Time 17. Creative activities
18. Youth programs
19. Religious community
20. Time at home
Internal
Commitment to Learning 21. Achievement motivation
22. School engagement
23. Homework
24. Bonding to school
25 . Reading for pleasure
Positive Values 26. Caring
27. Equality and justice
28. Integrity
29. Honesty
30. Responsibility
31. Restraint
75
Asset Type Asset and Description

Social Competencies 32. Planning and decision making
33. Interpersonal competence
34. Cultural competence
35. Resistance skills
36. Peaceful conflict resolution
Positive Identity 37. Personal power
38. Self- esteem
39. Sense of purpose
40. Positive view of personal future
Source: Benson, Leffert, Scales and Blyth 2012: Table 1 , p. 9.
The developmental assets identified by Benson et al. provide educators

and other professionals with a good starting point for planning the delivery
of supports that benefit immigrant families. A central challenge for people
who work with immigrant parents is to figure out how children can succeed
against their unique challenging backdrops. The one-size - fits-all perfect
intervention does not exist. There is no single recipe that will work for all
children and in all contexts. Rather, success often hinges on intangibles such as
the relationships between adults and children or the interpersonal chemistry
created by particular groups. Professionals will want to look through the list
of asset types as a sort of menu from which to choose, starting from where
there are the most strengths and finding ways to build on those.
What Kind of Support from Others Is This Child

Receiving in Her Development? External Asset Types
The first external asset type listed by Benson et al. ( 2012 ) is the component
of support, which encompasses family, neighbourhood and school support.
In order to thrive, children need positive communication with other family
members who are caring and involved.
There are specific measures that have attempted to operationalize the
factor of external support provided to children. For example, a major UNICEF
study of child wellbeing in rich countries ( UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre
2007) chose to measure the number of meals taken with parents in various
OECD nations as an indicator of the strength of family relations. Significant
differences were found across countries. However, even in the lowest scor-
ing OECD countries ( Finland, New Zealand , United States, United Kingdom ,
Austria, Australia, Greece and Canada ), almost two- thirds of the children still
regularly eat their main meals with their families. The point is that regardless
76
SHIFTING THE FOCUS
of the variety of lifestyles and challenges, families still find the way to provide
this important support for children.
Although socialization takes place mainly in families, these do not exist
in isolation . Communities and neighbourhoods can also offer important
sources of support. Both children and parents have friends and acquaintances
that offer a sense of belonging.
The research literature has shown the importance of networks of all sorts.
In a thirty-year study comparing resilient and non - resilient children living
on a Hawaiian pineapple plantation , Werner and Smith (1992 ) found that
the most resilient adults were those who had the largest networks of supports
during childhood. Not only were family members important, but having
access to teachers, neighbours and clergy members was also important. The
cumulative influences of all the adult role models can make a significant dif-
ference in preventing children from falling through the cracks.
While immigrants tend to group themselves in neighbourhoods, in
many instances, the lack of supportive infrastructure will mean that the
actual support that is generated may be minimal. For instance, the shortage
of suitable affordable childcare and after-school programs often leaves work-
ing parents on their own. Since the immigration of families tends to occur
in steps, it causes the parents to delay bringing children and in some cases
leaves the parent to consider returning children to their country of origin
either temporarily or long term .
The second external asset type in the framework developed by Benson
and colleagues refers to empowerment, the opportunities for children and
youth to become significantly engaged in worthwhile activities in the larger
community. While the primary focus of schools has been on academics,
children benefit from becoming involved in other non -academic pursuits
that enrich their lives. The quality of their community involvement will
affect their sense of engagement with the school and their preparedness
for learning.
Service learning is a promising approach to empowerment of children
and youth . Students take action for social justice causes, such as going to
developing countries to experience directly the social and educational spaces
of those living there. Although there is substantial literature on the positive
effects of service learning on adolescents ( e.g., Scales, Blyth, Berkas and
Kielsmeier 2000 ) , travel costs and limited student resources for associated
expenses prevent wide-scale implementation of these initiatives. Some educa -
tors have sought to bring these experiences to their students by undertaking
their own service learning experiences and bringing these experiences back
to their classrooms, so that they can function in some manner for students as
a substitute for direct , on -site, service learning ( Bernhard, Evans, Cosentino
and Marmoleja 2009). The provision of closer- to-home service-learning
77
experiences has the potential to empower children and youth without the
prohibitive costs associated with international programs.
Another arena for empowerment of children and youth is provided by
religious institutions. A number of authors have focused on the way religion
acts as a protective factor for immigrants ( Bramadat and Koenig 2009; Levitt
2009). For many, religion provides help in steering children away from ob -
stacles that the popular culture eventually presents, such as drugs, alcohol
and inappropriate early sexual activity. While public education systems insist
on the separation of state and religion , educators in secular public school
systems can pay attention to the extent of childrens religious foundations. If
families are already committed to particular religious values and practices,
this can be supported as a component of their funds of knowledge.
Further understanding of how empowerment works as a protective fac-
tor for immigrants is found in a 1993 study by Portes and Min Zhou. They
proposed the concept of segmented assimilation , a process that demonstrates
how empowerment can be facilitated. The recognition of the severity of
structural barriers to succeeding in the mainstream leads many immigrants to
conclude that the obstacles are almost impossible to overcome. Finding these
pathways blocked, they focus on finding a place in their own community and
making contributions there. Segmented assimilation can be quite positive in
that it enables youth to feel empowered and contribute to their community.
Boundaries and expectations are the third external asset type identified
by Benson et al. Parents and other authority figures supply the framework
in which children and youth develop. Boundaries are set in their family,
neighbourhood and school. For migrant families, the issue of parental values,
boundaries and expectations is a crucial one for being able to withstand or
balance the negative effects of poor or violent neighbourhoods. Children
in a new country may resist such boundaries and be inclined to discount
parental and other traditional input in favour of what they hear from the
media and from peers. Maintaining engagement with other family members,
wherever they may be, allows newcomers to develop a hybrid identity with
clear boundaries. The continuing attachment to the new place where they live,
along with the people in their home community, helps families to maintain
clear boundaries and high expectations for their children . Clear boundaries
are not a burden on children and youth. Rather, they are essential for their
growth and future well - being.
The issue of parental authority is intertwined with the issue of language
used in the home. When children lose their home language and start address-
ing their parents in the new language, the authoritative position of the parents
can be undermined. For example, the parents will have trouble understanding
the childrens accounts of any problems, and the children will tend to believe
that parental standards of advice are as irrelevant as their language. Using
78
SHIFTING THE FOCUS
current research methods, this issue tends to be seen as intangible. Indicators

such as percentage use of English or home language are extremely crude. It
is impossible to draw conclusions about the quality of interactions between
parents and children on the basis of how much or how little conversation is
in their home language.
Any of these factors can be taken to an extreme and the flip side of
parental boundaries is that children can feel they have no privacy. Children
today are under almost constant surveillance. In their country of origin, many
children were able to go off and be with their peers unobserved by adults.
However, this can be seen as dangerous in the new country.
For many parents, the schools expectations are a mystery, and this affects
their ability to monitor their childrens progress in school. Here they face
a number of barriers including report cards that simply describe positive
kinds of behaviour in pre- set phrases. This reporting style reflects educa -
tors’ concern for protecting childrens self - esteem. Concern for childrens
self -esteem also affects the sharing of information with parents about their
childrens progress at school. In order to eliminate the sense of competition
among children and to protect the esteem of the child and of the parent,
report cards have become a cut and paste of pre -set descriptors. For example:
With assistance the child can demonstrate knowledge of most letters

of the alphabet in different contexts. He rarely applies the creative
process to produce a variety of two- and three-dimensional art
works, using elements principles, and techniques of visual arts to
communicate feelings, ideas and understandings.
Even a parent who speaks perfect English would have trouble making
sense of this jargon . The term “ with assistance can demonstrate knowledge”
really means the child does not quite have an adequate grasp of the skill.
Many parents cannot determine how well their children are meeting the
schools expectations for their age and grade. Indeed , schools have shifted
their expectations. They are reluctant to label any children as failing. The
concern for not stigmatizing the slower children has resulted in descriptive
report cards as well as the well - known practice of social promotion (everyone
passes to the next grade with their peers even if they are missing a key skill
like reading ). If the parents do not focus on the key term in the report card
quoted above, with assistance, they might not understand that the child is
not able to independently identify letters. Unless they are familiar with the
prescribed provincial curriculum , they would not know that this means the
child is seen by the school as “ behind” or “delayed” and as having “lower
than average performance” compared with other children in the same grade.
Constructive use of time is the last of the external asset types. Benson and
his colleagues operationalize this asset type as the number of hours a young
79
person spends on creative activities, at youth programs, with the religious

community and at home rather than out with friends “with nothing special to
do.” Children need adults to help them set challenging and meaningful goals
for the future and to develop a variety of skills and interests. There is evidence
that when a community organizes and provides a variety of constructive
opportunities for young people, this influences their health and well - being
(Clark 1983, 1988; Marshal et al. 1997; YMCA 2001 ). Well - established and
success-oriented families create structure in their childrens lives. They real -
ize that their children are always acquiring valuable knowledge and skills.
They limit their childrens screen time, recognizing that it has negative con -
sequences for childrens health and that it takes up time that could be used
more beneficially. Research literature confirms significant differences in the
home lives of children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. A study
of eight thousand eighth graders in San Diego and Los Angeles found that
children left home alone are more likely to drink alcohol and take drugs than
children who are supervised by caring adults. The greater the number of hours
left by themselves, the greater the risk ( Richardson et al. 1989 ).
Because society is increasingly becoming age-segregated, childrens con -
structive use of time is often limited to school hours. Additionally, factors
including childcare costs and limited funding for good programs result in
children being left alone or in front of the television or computer. Because
religious institutions organize many after- school programs, they provide one
of the key mechanisms by which children can be in intergenerational settings
that encourage constructive use of time.
The external factors are all intimately intertwined . For example, con -
structive use of time is related to parental values and involvement. The
caring neighbourhood is a way of realizing expectations of the children.
Opportunities to play sports or participate in recreation programs leads to
fewer unsupervised children aimlessly hanging out and making choices that
will ultimately hurt them.
When external developmental assets are in place, children have the op-
portunity to become responsible, pro-social and value their identity. These
are characteristics that most people want to see in their children . In planning
interventions, helping professionals need to know both specific details and
how the concepts are fleshed out by the parents, who, based on their culture
and personal histories, may have specific goals within these broad categories.
Integrity, to some families, might mean acknowledging sins and gaining
pardon. Responsibility, to some families, might mean looking after parents
when they are old. There are cultural differences regarding what childrens
self-esteem looks like in practice. The parents might wish the children to be
filially responsible as sons and daughters or to become devout practising
Christians, Muslims or Jews. Helping professionals need to talk to the families
80
SHIFTING THE FOCUS
to learn the details and understand the parents’ goals for their children . The
internal assets described below are useful in analyzing needs and planning
intervention programs.
What Individual , Internal Strengths Are Supporting

This Child in Her Development? Internal Asset Types
Hie internal asset types listed by Benson et al. are the commitments, values
and competencies of the individual child that will be conducive to their future
well - being. The adults in childrens lives can provide guidance, frameworks
and stimulus for the development of the necessary skills and competencies.
In a practical sense, parents, educators and others who care about children
and want them to be successful will look for concrete ways of fostering or
supporting the development of the skills that comprise this asset type.
The first of the identified factors is commitment to learning. This is op-
erationalized as having achievement motivation , reading for pleasure, caring
about school and putting a high value on social justice and equality. Immigrant
children benefit greatly when the adults who care for them articulate a shared
vision about the importance of schools, education and achievement.
Commitment to learning is also affected by the school’s approach to
pedagogy. The research literature on how people learn ( Bransford, Brown
and Cocking 2000 ) found that the optimal conditions to foster deep learning
include building on pre- existing knowledge and promoting active learning.
Cummins ( 2004: 88-89 ) elaborated on why this is particularly important for
immigrant students:
Prior knowledge, skills, beliefs, and concepts significantly influ -
ence what learners notice about their environment and how they
organize and interpret it. This principle implies that in classrooms
with students from linguistically diverse backgrounds, instruction
must explicitly activate students’ prior knowledge and build relevant
background knowledge as necessary. The implied acknowledgment
and affirmation of students’ language and cultural background is not
socio - politically neutral. Rather it explicitly challenges the omission
and subordination of students’ culture and language within typical
transmission -oriented classrooms.. ..
Learners should be supported in taking control of, and self-
regulating, their own learning. When students take ownership of
the learning process and invest their identities in the outcomes of
learning, the resulting understanding will be deeper than when
learning is passive.
One of the implications of this principle is that pedagogical approaches
81
that focus on memorization and teaching to the test will not produce a true
commitment to learning. Rather, it is important to acknowledge that learning
is more than a cognitive process. It takes place in a social context. Cummins
again explains:
Learning is not simply a cognitive process that takes place inside

the heads of individual students; it also involves socialization into
particular communities of practice. Within these learning communi-
ties, or what Gee ( 2001 ) terms affinity groups , novices are enabled
to participate in the practices of the community from the very
beginning of their involvement. Lave and Wenger ( 1991 ) describe
this process as legitimate peripheral participation . The learning com -
munity can include the classroom , the school, the family and broader
community, and virtual communities enabled through electronic
communication. ( Cummins 2004: 5-6 )
This important information on what motivates commitment to learning

flies in the face of transmission practices deeply entrenched in education
systems focused on improving students’ test scores. Helping immigrant
families to motivate their childrens commitment to learning is essential to
ensuring academic success.
The second internal asset identified by Benson et al. is the acquisition
of positive values. Caring, equality and social justice, integrity, honesty, re-
sponsibility and restraint “reflect a significant public consensus on values,
with some evidence that they approximate a universal core of values within
advanced technological societies” ( Benson et al. 2012: 10 ) .
The social competencies assets include skills needed to deal with choices,
challenges and opportunities. In order to function adaptively, children need to
develop skills for planning and decision making, interpersonal competence,
cultural competence, resistance skills and peaceful conflict resolution . In the
case of immigrants, we assume that people bring social competencies with
them to the new country. Professionals ought to acknowledge these assets
and help to strengthen them.
The final asset type that can act as a protective factor is positive identity,
which encompasses personal power, self-esteem, sense of purpose and a posi -
tive view of personal future. According to Erikson ( 1968 ) , identity formation
is a critical task of adolescence. Immigrant children might feel they do not fit
in, be ashamed of their identity or see their parents as an embarrassment and
devalue what they have. Having legal papers can enhance a persons sense of
identity and belonging. To build on this asset, professionals focus on strength -
—
ening childrens identity their estimate of themselves and their family.
Individualistic values and materialism promoted by the media get in
the way of retaining family ties and may undercut spiritual or religious
82
SHIFTING THE FOCUS
commitments. Teachers and social workers whose beliefs differ from those
of the families with whom they work do well to pay attention to families’
faith - based values and religious practices because although intangible and
hard to measure, they are assets and a source of support , helping people to
find meaning in their lives.
Part of a positive identity is viewing one’s future as important . What you
see for yourself and what you think is possible are important. In my own work
with Latin American newcomers to Canada, I often ask the children what
they want to be when they grow up. Although it may seem like a very simple
question, it is a very concrete indicator of well - being. If you are telling the
family story, you are implicitly speculating on how the story might continue
and that it does continue.
In Conclusion :
Identifying Assets in Order to Strengthen Them
The chapter began with a discussion of the necessity of involving the com -
munity in efforts to assist families. Families’ problems range from medical
to legal and from economic to personal intra - familial matters. Various pro-
fessionals need to be involved with newcomer families. Educators are called
upon to intervene in increasingly complex situations. Educators are most
effective with newcomers when they learn about the children’s background
and circumstances, and recognize and build upon the family’s strengths.
Problems, of course, have to be canvassed and addressed, but it does newcom -
ers no favour if helping professionals see them merely as defective or define
them as multi - problem families. Assets identified by Benson et al. ( 2012 ) are
proposed as a framework for planning interventions.
All newcomers have assets that can be supported and made stronger.
Professionals will select the protective factors to focus on with specific chil -
dren and families. Exemplary professional practice is not a matter of iden-
tifying deficiencies, defects and shortcomings and then offering charitable
aid. Rather, it involves looking for and working from the assets, strengths
and social competencies that are already there. Helping professionals have a
responsibility to facilitate the expansion of these assets and work with families
to produce positive outcomes and enhance their well - being.
83
Part III
BECOMING THE CHANGE WE SEEK
85
Chapter Eight
BUILDING BRIDGES
A Typology of Intervention Programs
Involving Immigrant Families
Get ready to pull your sleeves up and get hands -on! While Part I laid out the
historical background, legal ambiguities and social complexities that meet
newcomers with various challenges and Part II presented the new ways of
thinking that will allow us to begin digging ourselves out of those messes, Part
III builds on the theoretical foundations for practice introduced in Part II to
introduce real -time solutions to the problems experienced by newcomers.
All of the proposed solutions begin with one basic assumption: immigrants
have strengths. Immigrants have unique knowledge and skills to contribute
to a rich , healthy society. The question for helping professionals is how to
tap into the cultural capital immigrant families are bringing into immigrant -
receiving countries, both for their own well - being and for the well - being and
benefit of the entire community.
What Programs Help Newcomer Families?

Funding and the Problems of Evidence
Happily, there are ways in which family agendas are currently gaining mo-
mentum. Support for parenting is becoming recognized as an important
item on the public policy agenda. Governments have established programs
to deliver supports to families in three major ways: financial, educational
and social. There are, of course, differences internationally regarding the
amount and type of government support for parenting programs (Shulruf,
O’Loughlin and Tolley 2009). However, some things remain common. Broadly
speaking, a primary goal of parental support is ensuring the welfare of the
children. The welfare of children includes a number of components, such as
maintenance of health, receiving quality care and education, and protection
from abuse and neglect. Another primary goal is the empowerment of par-
ents (see Benson et al. 2012; Bourdieu 1986; Cummins 2001), for clearly the
childrens welfare depends first of all on the parents; the quality of parental
decision making is crucial.
Governments have focused on families considered to be disadvantaged
socioeconomically, especially low- income families. For a number of immi -
grant groups, this aspect of relative disadvantage is no different from that
of native- born groups who are living in difficult circumstances. Earlier we
86
BUILDING BRIDGES
discussed the common difficulties encountered by immigrants, and it is worth

repeating the main items for purposes of the present chapter. Difficulties
include poor housing, unemployment and lack of access to health care and
quality childcare. At the same time, there are special characteristics of im -
—
migrant families even those who, in objective terms, are living in poverty.
The background education levels of the parents may differ from that seen
in native- born groups of disadvantaged persons. Further, the immigrant
parents have had different experiences before arriving in the immigrant -
receiving country and they bring different expectations. Often they have high
expectations and optimism about prospects for their childrens educational
opportunities and their future lives. These differences between newcomers
and other disadvantaged families suggest that the programs designed to
empower parents ought to be specifically tailored to immigrant populations.
The problem , as always, is not with good intentions; notwithstanding
these, governments and social service agencies face a number of problems
with the planning and delivery of family support programs for immigrant
families. Governments, concerned about accountability to taxpayers, prefer
to fund programs according to objective criteria and, where there is a social
intervention , wish outcomes to be objectively assessed. ( We are speaking of
cases where a government takes a lead and is not merely trying to cater to the
prejudices of constituencies. ) However, using objective indicators and stan -
dard measures comes more naturally to certain types of programs. Broadly
speaking, the favoured programs are those where professionals determine 1
the desired outcomes before the intervention so they predict variables and
outcomes. Conversely, programs that emphasize parental input in decision
making do not lend themselves as well to providing objective evidence.
There are several reasons for this. Although the best programs have
been able to document gains, they have been unable to demonstrate causal -
ity because of lack of control groups or random assignment. Where modest
gains are reported, a number of factors may be involved which could explain
the effects. Immigrants are often exposed to more than one program at the
same time. Also, if one relies on self- reported satisfaction, it is well known
that many parents do not want to seem ungrateful. Further, small, parent -
driven programs with limited funding are less able to follow the rigorous
procedures of the social sciences. The gold standard of proof in the natural
sciences ( control group and random assignment ) is, in practice, very dif -
ficult to implement. For one thing, all of those seeking help want to receive
the best program and months on a waiting list would seem to be an unfair
imposition. A crossover design might be employed but this feature causes
complications and longer term planning. In short, it turns out to be beyond
the means of small and medium sized programs.
Are we suggesting that the smaller programs should be abandoned or not
87
Jri
funded ? No. Programs in education and social assistance, at least in the short
run, are often based, quite properly, on less- than -solid proof. One makes the
best inferences as to what may work, based on past experiences, analogies and
observed patterns of correlation . As an analogy, consider most decisions and
plans in everyday life, even ones of great consequence, such as choice of spouse
or partner. Small programs in education and social areas need to document
their results. The data they provide become part of the improvement and
planning processes in their areas. Where their evidence is thin , perhaps up
the road more elaborate and rigorous studies will clarify the picture. Often
the issue is not so much rejecting earlier, provisional findings, so much as
seeing and interpreting them in context. When some intervention is found
to “ work” for a given group, the conclusion is not so much “ This works,” as
“This works for group X, in time period T,” where the qualifications are not
necessarily obvious at the time.
Let us consider some specific results from researchers who have looked
into the issue of parenting programs and their assessment . For example,
Boddy and colleagues ( 2009 ) studied in detail parenting programs in twelve
countries, seven of which were considered to be the most advanced countries
in Europe. Their research concluded that some of the most comprehensive
interventions, such as those in Denmark, the Netherlands and France, are not
operating according to objectively assessed outcomes. Rather, the countries
have only used process evaluations, which focus on how the interventionists
feel about the interventions.
Where better evidence as to outcomes is available, the achievements of
many programs as shown in these objective data , have been problematic. In
a review paper, Crosnoe ( 2010) dealt with a number of the larger parenting
programs for disadvantaged parents, such as Head Start and Even Start.
His conclusion is that results generally have been disappointing (see also
McGroder et al. 2000). He noted that part of the explanation is that in many
cases the parents were simultaneously involved in other programs, which
likely undermined the outcomes. Crosnoe also looked at smaller programs
for Latino parents and reported a number of positive changes, particularly
in self- reported parental knowledge about community resources. However,
he emphasized that the benefits of the program needed to be corroborated
in further research.
How do we know what types of interventions will work for the newcomers
we are involved with ? This chapter looks into the rationales for the various
types of interventions, their theoretical foundations and also their evidence
as to success. The chapter also describes the interventions themselves, in -
cluding how they are structured and the research and data collection that
provides their foundations. Through exposure to this typology, this chapter
prepares helping professionals to plan their own interventions and address
88
BUILDING BRIDGES
the problems of collecting evidence. The chapter highlights the challenges

current interventions experience gathering evidence. It may surprise some,
but we hope that this excursion will provide a solid basis for future research
and intervention efforts.
A special focus is on the extent to which parents are genuinely involved
and empowered in interventions. This means, in part, that their input is de-
terminative regarding the setting of objectives and whether they are reached.
I contrast two types of interventions in this category as extremes on a con -
tinuum . Limiting the discussion to two types is necessarily simplifying the
picture, but the intent is to make the contrast easily apparent and thus more
accessible for practical use.
Type 1 Interventions: Parents on the Side

The first type of intervention program includes those that have a minor role
for parents’ determinative input . Professionals determine the program goals
according to an authoritative knowledge base. Focusing on this type of in -
tervention is not intended to disparage the knowledge of professionals or to
criticize all attempts to look at objective indicators. There are good reasons to
look at quantitative measures such as rates of hospitalization, school dropouts,
arrest records and so on . However, implementation of these models, despite
the best intentions of the interveners, can disempower the families. Looking
at it from the other side, the family strengths, their cultural capital, may be
overlooked or disregarded.
There are now hundreds of reports of the results of programs such as Head
Start, Even Start and High Scope that have a primary focus on the children
and a minor focus on parents, usually ensuring that they play a supportive
role in relation to the classroom practices. Parents may be involved, but their
values and goals are not particularly tapped into by those who are intervening
( who are presumed to have superior knowledge of the skills parents need ).
Pushor ( 2007: 3) summarized this point:
With parental involvement, the scripted story of school as protector-

ate does not change. Because the school is still setting the agenda
and determining what roles parents are to play within that agenda,
the hierarchical structure of educators as experts, acting in the best
interests of the less-knowing parents, is maintained.
For this reason , Pushor prefers the term “parental engagement,” since this
implies they are given an opportunity to contribute their skills and knowledge.
It is a more collaborative term. See later in this chapter, under the section
“Ways of Connecting with and Motivating Parents,” for further discussion
of this concept.
89
Type I interventions have been extensively reviewed at the early child -

hood level by Chambers, Cheung, Slavin, Smith and Laurenzano ( 2010). Out
of hundreds of candidate programs, forty were selected for evaluation for
the purpose of finding evidence of effectiveness and / or enduring changes.
Most of these programs have no parental involvement, and almost none refer
to ethnic or immigrant communities. Some have a mild degree of parental
involvement but no effective determinative parental engagement.
Many Type I interventions aim to work with parents with the goal of
improved literacy for their children. Literacy interventions vary in terms of
both the philosophical foundations and their focus. They can be thought
of as falling along a continuum , from a skill - based focus on the mechan -
ics of literacy, to an emphasis on children as active knowledge - generators.
Therefore, the lack of parental input is surprising.
Sustained reading growth requires that students form a bond to literacy
that motivates them to read extensively for pleasure ( Bransford , Brown and
Cocking 2000; Guthrie 2004 ). At this end of the continuum the adults in
childrens lives are key, as it is the family members who can most effectively
emphasize the pleasure of reading and focus on comprehension of meaning-
ful texts and knowledge -generation . These interventions are part of social
services to families designed to improve their functioning and promote the
development of children who are at risk, whether it be from poverty, neglect
or active abuse.
An example of a successful program that illustrates some of the above
issues is that of Pantin and her colleagues ( 2003), who reported on an inter-
vention with 670 families ( half were in control groups). Tfie facilitators used
a series of group meetings to promote parental engagement with the “ worlds”
of the adolescent (family, peers and school ). The investigators worked ac -
cording to predetermined goals regarding parental investment and problem
behaviours. Although the intervention was described as “drawing on Freire’s
participatory learning model” ( 192 ), the objectives were predetermined by
the interveners. To be fair, the goals are worthy ( e.g., fewer arrests and school
expulsions), but the issue of parental strength was not addressed. Rather, the
parents were seen as needing instruction on how to manage their children.
To bring these points together, the problem of objectively evaluating
programs to assist or benefit families remains unsolved. Of course there is a
need for measurable outcomes and funders have a right to insist on account -
ability. At the same time, new forms and methods of assessment are being
developed. If the gold standard of randomized trials is not feasible, there are
other approaches that could yield a reasonable degree of certainty that what
is supposed to be occurring is, in fact, occurring.
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BUILDING BRIDGES
Kids out of Context:

When Parents on the Side Doesn’t Work
Another issue with the replication of evidence- based programs is the use of
a standard , universal model of family functioning and child development.
Where the criteria for success must be pre-specified, it is tempting to appeal
to universal models to state specific desirable outcomes. It is convenient to
appeal to such factors as milestones for children and ways of relating to chil-
dren . However, the problem is that both the local context and the desires of
the specific persons involved have to be considered. A particular prototype
for “ best parenting” may not be suitable in all contexts. According to this ap -
proach , deviations from the model are defects or pathologies. Pathologization
of families and individuals who are not middle-class has been extensively
critiqued ( e.g., Lareau 1989 ). This universal model is especially confining
when applied to immigrants from other cultures. For example, issues of re-
spect for parents are treated very differently in China than in the United States
or Canada ( Diamond, Wang and Gomez 2006; Hutsinger and Jose 2009).
Moreover, where professionals establish a program and use universal
criteria for setting up the desired outcomes, there may be important and
unintended consequences even where objective gains are reported. Parents
might agree that their children are in some ways better offbut at the same time
feel patronized or ignored by the persons running the program. If programs
are to maintain long - term benefits, the issue of the participants’ sentiments
«
cannot be dismissed. For example, a U.K. study involved interviews with 1,754
parents of young children sampled from over 10,000 households in 135 areas
of the country ( Ghate and Hazel 2004). Almost 30 percent of parents surveyed
felt that the professionals took over the process and generally did not respect
the parents’ expertise. It can be expected that immigrants considered to have
language and other deficits are likely to feel especially demeaned by certain
methods of intervention. It is hard to imagine that long- term benefits could
be maintained where the clientele have so many negative feelings.
Another exemplary study that illustrates the problem of alleged universal
criteria for good parenting or healthy children is that of Webster-Stratton and
colleagues ( 2004 ), who designed a broad treatment intervention for children
with oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder; these are official
diagnostic categories from DSM - IV and are in other words very severe psycho-
logical disorders. The parenting program that emerged from this 2004 study
has been scaled up to the entire child population and offered internationally
as The Incredible Years program ( 2011). The participants of the 2004 study
were parents who requested service at a university clinic because their chil-
dren had received the diagnosis just mentioned. They were middle-income,
mostly of European descent. The intervention consisted of three components,
combined singly, in pairs and all together. These were parent training, child
91
training and teacher training. Durations were as follows: child training was
sixteen sessions over six months of “ Dinosaur School,” involving therapists
teaching social and conflict skills to children in small groups; parents re-
ceived twenty sessions involving watching seventeen videos on parenting
and interpersonal skills; and teacher training involved four days. There was
also a control condition and random assignment. The central point of the
hypothesis was that combinations of treatments would be more effective
than those in single conditions. A number of results were reported in great
detail. The investigators were surprised to find that their initial hypothesis
of special effectiveness of the combination of all three components was not
confirmed . In fact, adding the teacher component did not affect the results.
Two or three of the highlights are worth mentioning; in the area of positive
parenting behaviours for mothers but not so much for fathers, child conduct
improved at home but not at school .
The Webster-Stratton study findings are complicated and in some cases
inconsistent. This is because a large number of outcome variables were con -
sidered , and the cases where significant results were obtained are difficult to
interpret . Apart from the specific findings, we can make some general com -
ments about the type of approach that Webster - Stratton and colleagues used.
It was a top-down approach designed for specific conducts and behaviours
that cause a child to be medically labelled oppositional and defiant . The ex -
tent and nature of child behaviour disorders are arguably culture - bound. The
types of behaviour considered problematic may not apply in other cultures.
Further, the group on which the intervention was tested was a white,
middle-class group with common assumptions and values with those of the
program designers. The people in such a group would have no language and
value issues in communicating with the interveners. On the other hand , the
parents that now attend The Incredible Years programs are quite different.
Parents who are undocumented or on welfare will have very different experi -
ences, and their issues may not be addressed. It will be interesting to follow
the outcomes as the program is offered to these more diverse groups.
In our opinion, the focus on medically diagnosed behaviour disorders is
a limitation as to generalization of the findings, especially to culturally diverse
groups, which are the focus of this book. The program is often taken up as
a universal prescription for successful parenting with all types of normally
behaving children.
Going beyond “ I Talk , You Listen”:

Conclusions about Type I Interventions
In conclusion, there have been a number of Type I interventions that have
had worthy goals and have yielded evidence deemed to be objective, valu -
able and convincing. These interventions can be summed up as follows:
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BUILDING BRIDGES
Educational policy makers, it appears, have been promoting a rather narrow

version of evidence - based inquiry. The tendency is to rely on predetermined
and objectively defined shortcomings or disorders. Apart from any critique
of these approaches, it is important to note that the methods and procedures
for data collection in these studies are absolutely required in order to obtain
funding. For example, a report by Shavelson and Towne ( 2002) on scientific
research and education placed great stress on rigorous methods of scientific
research in education . There was some acknowledgment of the value of case
studies and ethnographic approaches and no explicit disqualification of
qualitative approaches.
The concept of empowerment is broad and crucially based on how
participants feel about the interactions and how they interact with those
offering programs intended to benefit them. At the same time, helping pro-
fessionals would not want to claim success in long- range empowerment of
program participants if no objective gains could be demonstrated. In short,
the concept of empowerment is useful when assessing real gains. The issue of
—
how participants feel is directly connected to their level of awareness their
consciousness of the characteristics of their situation. It is common sense that
for people to address an issue, they have to be able to see it clearly. Structural
disadvantage or oppression cannot be addressed in the absence of conscious-
ness ( Allen et al. 1989; Cruickshank 1999; Delgado- Gaitan 1991). Individuals
first need to be aware of the benefits of changing their circumstances in order
to have the ability to do so. Freires emphasis on concientisization (1999)
sensitizes professionals to this essential first step. Parents need to have a say
\
about their own process of participation. If the parents feel they are merely
following prescribed procedures laid down by the authorities, then they
are not truly empowered and one might expect minimal effects. The goal is
participation as full citizens. Of course, the professionals have knowledge
and are well - intentioned about helping participating parents and children.
Yet the issue of genuine empowerment remains.
New immigrant parents often experience a number of difficulties. Some
have high levels of education and resist being expected to play a purely re -
ceptive role in interventions. They are acutely aware that the knowledge of
professionals is given value, whereas their own knowledge tends to be deval -
ued or ignored. As Freire pointed out, the process ofconcientization involves
honest dialogue between all those involved in creating change. Professionals
need to act as supporters and facilitators of parents.
In summary, it is relevant to note that the field of migrant studies itself
is quite new, as is the sub -area of interventions focused on parents. The issue
of evidence and evaluation in interventions for parents is discussed by the
Harvard Family Research project in their evaluation exchange special issue
( Weiss 2004/ 2005). Understandably, researchers fall back on standard test
93
scores, although this emphasis can neglect other vital areas whose impor-
tance will emerge in the long run. These areas particularly concern the issue
of empowerment and include the following: determinative parental input
regarding process and goals; family appreciation of its cultural capital; fam -
ily cohesion; and students’ personal and communal identities. It is crucial to
address these variables in order to bring about long- term gains in the overall
wellbeing of families.
The Type I approaches often appear to have produced benefits, and the
better programs have gathered objective evidence of such benefits based on
standard tests and measurement instruments. All of these efforts are to be
commended. At the same time, issues of parental input and specific ways
of empowering need to be addressed. What can be called Type II programs
— —
represent efforts with more or less success to deal with these issues.
Type II Interventions:
Treating Parents as Equals
The distinguishing characteristic of the second type of intervention programs
with families is full parental involvement . They involve parents in the role
of determining the course of interventions affecting their children . In these
ideal cases, parents are empowered , participate in decision making and are
treated as equals. Four examples are discussed below: La Familia Initiative,
Parents as First Teachers, Abriendo Puertas and Parent School Partnership
Program ( MALDEF ). A fifth example from the author s own research is covered
in the next chapter.
La Familia Initiative, California

A study by Jasis and Ordonez- Jasis ( 2004 ) reported on a parent -organizing
project called La Familia Initiative. Latino parent organizers partnered with
a non-governmental organization ( NGO ) to address the fact that Latinos in
a middle school, in the southwest U.S., were the lowest performing group
in the entire school.
At the start of the project, teachers were interviewed , and they blamed
the Latino childrens low scores on lack of parental participation . Further,
they assured the researchers that they had already tried everything and it
was impossible to get parents to participate. The parents testified how futile
it was to attend parent meetings when teachers patronized them . At the first
official parent meeting, a small steering committee of parents was created and
the eight parents in attendance shared stories about their contacts with the
school. They created an organization that met independently of the school
and managed to phrase their requests in ways that were well received by the
principal and the staff. One area of change was in teaching methods and
student evaluations. The parents met with science and math teachers and
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BUILDING BRIDGES
a change in manner of evaluation of students was put into effect. In a short

time, the parents held a community forum and expanded to five other schools
in the district. Parents began to participate in district - level policy events.
Based on two years of participant observation and two hundred hours
of interviews, the report examined the elements that resulted in the parents
becoming active in school programs and developing an image of themselves
as good parents and community advocates. The school responded positively,
and a more equal dialogue began between parents and teachers. The authors
explain the success of the partnership as follows:
To be successful, this relationship had to be re-constructed on a more
equal basis to overcome generations of negative assumptions about
the perceived lack of interest of these parents regarding their chil-
drens schooling. The school . . . had to begin to see Latino parents as
the most important, positive influence in their childrens schooling,
and as the teachers’ main allies to improve educational outcomes.
( Jasis and Ordonez- Jasis 2004: 38-39)
This example of grassroots democracy and parental determination

resulted in school achievement gains for the children. After two years of
the program , three of the Latino students were in the top ten of the school,
which had never happened before. Also, there were more Latino students
participating in the senior math and science courses when they reached
high school.
\
Parents as First Teachers, New Zealand
Another parent -centred intervention approach is a Maori program in New
Zealand consisting of home visits and group meetings. It served parents dur-
ing pregnancy and continued until their children were age three. The program
was initially adapted from the American Parents as Teachers Program (PAT).
The PAT program was a large, well - funded program whose participants were
five thousand kindergarten children and their parents. An extensive rigorous
evaluation of the process is detailed by Zigler, Pfannenstie and Seitz ( 2008).
The government in New Zealand wished to reach disadvantaged Maori
children and initially set up Parents as First Teachers ( PAFT) based on the PAT
model. Soon after the large-scale implementation of the program, a number
—
of reports examined the assumptions of PAFT in particular, the assump-
tion seemed to be that Maori child - rearing was deficient ( Dalli 1992; Pihama
1996). The program was adapted in the year 2000 to emphasize strengths and
pay attention to key Maori concepts of family life and child development.
The Maori dimension of the program was called Ahuru Mowai, a Maori
term meaning warm and sheltering haven. This component pays attention
to Maori concepts of child - rearing, such as unconditional love, caring for
95
others, relating to others, genealogy, spirituality, roles of older siblings and

the rights of the child as paramount.
It is noteworthy that in this program the values were derived from the
context, not from authoritative manuals written by child development experts
in another culture. Many of the interveners themselves are Maori and have
been recipients of the program . The group of interveners, like the participat -
ing parents, were people with varied cultural backgrounds. Farquhar ( 2002)
conducted an evaluation of the program with four hundred families. While
the majority in the sample were of European descent , a sizable minority
were Maori or mixed ( 17 percent ). There were significant numbers of other
groups such as Asians and Pacific- Islanders. Findings indicated that the
new adapted program resulted in a high degree of parental satisfaction; 94
percent felt their culture was well supported and an additional 5 percent felt
mostly supported. Several of the findings indicated that the ethnicity of the
intervener was less important than their personality. The parents, regardless
of whether they were Maori, mixed or other, felt supported in making deci -
sions about parenting and saw the PAFT visitor as a trusted friend and source
of information , guidance and support.
Abriendo Puertas, California
A parent engagement program that can be categorized as allowing parents
to have a determinative role is Abriendo Puertas, consisting of ten sessions
drawing on dichos, or culturally based sayings that encourage parents to reflect
on their upbringing. In this way, the program reflects the inputs, concerns
and values of the Latino parents. A main premise of the program is that the
parent is the expert and leader of the family. They are taught how to set goals
and achieve them . Other program topics include communication , ages and
stages of development, promoting literacy, choosing preschool and childcare
services, health and nutrition , socio -emotional wellness, Earned Income Tax
Credit and advocating for children , families and communities. There is also
information on the special education system and how it works. The program
is part of Families in Schools, an organization that runs a number of research -
based, culturally relevant programs for Latino children .
Bridges, Cohen , Fuller and Velez ( 2009) conducted a comprehensive
evaluation of the Abriendo Puertas program . The program included 109 low-
income parents born in Central and South America . More than half of the
parents in the sample had completed high school. Surveys were conducted
at three points: beginning, completion and between two and six months after
completion of the program . There were also short questionnaires, field notes
from participant observers and focus groups with participating parents. The
largest program effects were on confidence about parenting skills as well as
knowledge and access to health services in their communities. A small but
96
BUILDING BRIDGES
important effect was that there was a change in the parents’ thinking about
voting. Following the program , they took action to encourage others to vote
on behalf of children.
MALDEF Parent School Partnership Program,

Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston and Atlanta
The Parent School Partnership ( PSP ) program is focused on leadership devel -
opment and guiding parents to take collective action as part of the Mexican
American Legal Defense and Education Fund ( MALDEF), a non - profit organi-
zation rooted in the civil rights movement. It operates in elementary schools
in Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston and Atlanta. The main goal is to empower
parents and encourage them to take the lead in their childrens education and
to recognize and build on their social - intellectual capital. The twelve weekly
sessions include topics such as parents’ rights and responsibilities, the struc-
ture and function of the school system, financial aid and college requirements.
There are also guest speakers who are principals, school board members and
city representatives. Finally, the parents brainstorm their concerns and engage
in collective action projects.
An evaluation study ( Bolivar and Chrispeels 2011) was conducted at two
elementary schools in Los Angeles that served similar proportions of Hispanic
students ( 95 percent and 98 percent ), with most of them qualifying for low-
income subsidies. Data included observations to document dynamics of the
sessions as well as interactions with school personnel. Focus group interviews
explored what parents learned and how this affected their actions. In addition,
focus group interviews were conducted with twenty-eight PSP graduates who
had established ongoing parent groups in other parts of the district.
An important finding was that parents appreciated being supported by an
NGO whose role is to defend their children’s rights. The trust they felt for both
the NGO and the facilitator helped them become more active in the system.
They learned to trust and support one another’s efforts in the system. The
basis for parent empowerment was to understand the system and to learn
how to effectively interact with it . These are skills that are taken for granted
by middle- class families. Gains were also reported in the parents’ ability to
talk to officials in a way that is polite and based on good background knowl -
edge. They learned about implicit and explicit norms involved in interacting
with school officials.
The program yielded a number of benefits. The parents became aware of
their rights to ask questions and make demands upon the system. Knowledge
about their rights and the system also helped many parents voice opinions
and concerns. One parent reported that PSP has made her “realize that she
can question and have an input in decisions being made involving her son’s
education” ( 18).
97
The parents in the MALDEF program worked cooperatively with school

personnel and principals. Where necessary, they also learned to work their
way up the hierarchy in order to ensure their concerns were heard. On an
individual level, they learned to check their childrens cumulative files, to
make appointments with teachers, how to ask specific questions about how
the children were doing academically and how to write letters to the school
if their concerns were not adequately addressed.
The parents’ efforts produced a number of successes. Some of their proj-
ects included obtaining an intersession for their children , opening a computer
centre and changing the cafeteria food. Among graduates of the program ,
three organizations had been established and sustained. One was a parent
centre at a school, another worked at the school district level and now has
non - profit status and a third developed a partnership with a university and
later filed a formal complaint against one of the schools.
Ways of Connecting with and Motivating Parents

The interveners in all these programs made specific efforts to involve parents
in a number of ways. They also focused on particular ways of motivating
parents. We may summarize these points as follows: 1 ) The connections
with parents were based on equality and were non - hierarchical. The central
concept was of partnership, working together for a common goal. 2 ) Parents
were treated as knowledgeable, as experts in their own lives. The professionals
were helping build upon that basis of competence. They were not bringing
professional competence to bear upon a hapless victim of the system . 3)
Those directly involved with the parents were often of the same cultural or
ethnic background and in many cases had common language. It is impos-
sible to overestimate the importance of being able to communicate with a
person in his or her own language, particularly where feelings are concerned .
Issues of engagement and active participation have been extensively covered
in literature on therapeutic and social interventions ( Gitterman 1996; Krill
1996; Saleebeyl 997). Yatchemenoff ( 2005) published a psychometric study
of engagement, identifying four main factors in client engagement. These
were: receptivity ( I need help); buy - in (same as I want ); working relation -
ship ( respect each other ); and mistrust ( I can trust ). This sort of analysis has
promising results. One might question, however, the weight given to the
mistrust factor. We must realize that her primary focus was on non -voluntary
clients, who had some basis for mistrusting the helpers who were assigned
to them. Those clients are involuntary, and that is not the case for the any of
the programs reviewed in this book in detail.
98
BUILDING BRIDGES
Honouring and Building upon Unique Strengths:

Overall Comments about Type II Interventions
The successful programs we have discussed tended to be based on concepts
and assumptions similar to those we set out earlier in this book. From
Chapter 5, the importance of capital (social, cultural, intellectual ) and funds
of knowledge was greatly emphasized and built upon in all of the programs.
The issues of language and identity were given special attention. The programs
incorporated and honoured the norms of various cultures.
From Chapter 6, the programs expressly acknowledge diversity, especially
in the area of knowledge. They tended not to prescribe some single norma -
tive path of development but looked at multiple paths. The issue of social
dominance was faced directly in respect to acknowledging the families’ initial
disadvantage and disempowerment in the situations they faced, particularly
vis-a -vis the institutions that they had to deal with.
From Chapter 7, identification of strengths of families was essential to all
of the programs. The families’ assets of various types were acknowledged and
drawn upon. The programs looked at external assets such as neighbourhoods
and families as well as paying attention to the motivational characteristics of
the person and their assumed caring and commitment to improving their
situation .
It is appropriate to say some words about evaluation of these programs,
especially as it is currently practised. For funding purposes, certain outcomes
have to be defined in standard measurable ways. These might be health -
related , social services - related ( utilization ), school retention and drop-out
rates, or school performance. The programs described here paid attention
to such outcomes and in fact succeeded in standard measures of these. As
well, the programs succeeded in culturally defined outcomes according to
qualitative reports of the parents’ levels of satisfaction. All of the programs,
of course, have a number of areas that could be improved and refined.
In Conclusion:
Reaching Out , Reaching Up
Helping professionals experience dilemmas with no easy solutions. There are
challenges associated with working with children and families in different
ways. The issue of data quality in social sciences is not simply solved by pair-
ing an interviewer and interviewee with the same native language. Likewise,
no helping professionals can claim to be free of ethnocentric bias.
Working with newcomers and people whose backgrounds differ from
our own is challenging. Professionals come face to face with ethnocentric and
professional biases. What professionals generally see is that they are guard -
ians and advocates of an authoritative knowledge base and that they have
99
acquired expertise not found in laypersons. The intent is not to demean the
knowledge and skills of psychologists, social workers, educators and other
professionals, but the problems involved need a wider perspective than can
be achieved within any given professional discipline. The issue of power is
primary, and professionals need to work within collaborative models where
power is shared and where the program participants are helped to gain and
assert their own powers.
Policymakers have generally paid insufficient attention to issues of par-
ticipant empowerment. The complexities of the problem have been ignored.
In some cases, those assessing programs have favoured experimental or quasi -
experimental program evaluation to obtain evidence that will be considered
solid. The wealth of qualitative studies that exist is not appreciated. Policy
makers are not the only ones with problems as to evidence. Educated people
in general simply assume that the evidence gathered must be of a certain type
to be valuable: namely quantitative, control groups and random assignment.
Likewise, none of us can be said to be free of ethnocentric bias.
This is not an attempt to give simple answers for complex problems. In
fact, in line with Portes and Baratz ( 1989), it is likely that even researchers
of the same culture may have biases against others of that culture. It is rec -
ommended that all those conducting research consider these problems. The
issues deserve more airing in professional forums. Professionals need some
humility and realism about the limitations of present approaches.
100
Chapter Nine
NEWCOMER PARENTS AS CONSCIOUS,

ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN THEIR
CHILDREN’S EDUCATION
Personal Initiatives with Newcomer Families
The crucial element of empowerment is to build on families’ strengths and

enlist them in determining optimal outcomes for their children. This chapter
describes some of my own interventions designed to empower families and
summarizes the insights I gained from these studies.
An early project involved eight months as a member of a research team
with a group of twelve working with Latino parents of children in Toronto
schools ( Bernhard , Freire, Pacini- Ketchabaw and Villanueva 1998). We
stressed the parents’ finding their own voices, speaking up and advocating on
behalf of themselves and their children. The group gave the parents support
in their efforts and supplemented their existing networks.
A spin - off from this program was the Canadian Parenting Workshops,
which involved a scaling up of the project for fifty -five Spanish -speaking
1
newcomer mothers in three cities ( Bernhard, Freire and Mulligan 2004).
These mothers attended all or almost all of the sessions and participated en -
thusiastically in their first language. The groups themselves became sources
of support for the mothers. Within the workshops, the mothers were able to
discuss their ideas on child development and reassess some of their tradi-
tional ideas about physical punishment. In surprising contradiction to their
qualitative comments, based on pre- and post -survey results, mothers felt less
positive about their parent - child relationships at the end of the workshops.
This contradiction may have further evidenced their struggle to put what
they were learning into practice.
An important gain for the mothers was their increased understanding
of the education and welfare systems. They reported being comfortable
exercising their rights in communication with school personnel. Generally
they felt more empowered to advocate for their children with schools and
other institutions.
In the teams’ reflections after the project, we realized that certain language
and identity issues could well have received more attention. The parents as
well as the teachers expressed reservations about the effects of Spanish -only
home environments. Indeed, many parents were convinced of the necessity to
switch to English. Further, we found the institutions with which the parents
101
dealt almost entirely exerted their influence in the direction of replacement

of the home language with English.
The Early Authors Program

The first major project that I describe in some detail was the Early Authors
Program, a large-scale, twelve-month early literacy intervention for three-
to five-year-old children ( Bernhard, Cummins, Campoy, Ada, Winsler and
Bleiker 2006). It involved thirty-two childcare settings, sixteen family child -
care providers, seventy-four centre- based care providers, 1,179 children and
eight hundred families. The study involved random assignment to control
and experimental groups. Our investigation relied heavily on Freire, whose
theories and practice were introduced in Chapter Five. To reiterate the most
relevant points here, he worked to empower oppressed communities in Brazil
and believed that the interaction between teacher and student did not occur
in a vacuum, but rather in an elaborate social context in which the pupils did
not passively reproduce the information presented to them. By empowering
students and using cultural references, he tapped into sources of strength and
ideals. For example, when Freire worked with peasants to teach them to read,
he found that in order to be effective, the learning opportunities needed to be
experiential and emotionally engaging. His teaching involved discussion and
dialogue, rather than repetition and memorization. The process of becom -
ing conscious of their place in the system was labelled conscienticization.
Freires methods are outlined in The Pedagogy of Hope ( 2004) , a book that
has inspired educators worldwide to encourage their students to read the
“world through the word.”
Following Freires lead, the Early Authors research team knew it was
essential that the project be based in the languages and cultures of the par-
ticipants. In particular, there should be no question about the value assigned
to the home language. While we realized that the parents and families had to
interact with an English-speaking school system about which they needed to
learn, this in no way detracted from the crucial importance of maintenance
of the home language and culture. The principal elements of the program
were all designed to affirm the participants’ linguistic and cultural bases.
Early Authors was built on a program developed by Ada and Campoy
(2003) for use in elementary schools. Created to improve the possibility of
more equitable outcomes for all children , Authors in the Classroom was
modified and implemented at the early education level under the name
Early Authors Program (see Bernhard et al. 2006; Bernhard, Winsler, Bleiker,
Ginieniewicz and Madigan 2008; Taylor, Bernhard, Garg and Cummins 2008).
The Early Authors Program was first implemented in Miami - Dade
County, one of the poorest areas of the United States. The Early Authors
Program aimed to promote early bilingual literacy in preschool children by
102
NEWCOMER PARENTS AS CONSCIOUS, ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS ...
having the adults and children create bilingual books. Each centre was pro-
vided with a digital camera, colour printer, computer and laminating equip-
ment. A total of 3,286 books were written by children, parents and educators
in both English and the home language of the children, usually Spanish or
Haitian - Creole. The books were based on family histories, the children’s lives
and the childrens interests. The children, their friends, relatives and pets were
often the main characters in their stories. One assumption of the program
was that if children reared in economically and socially disadvantaged situ-
ations were going to grow up to become leaders of their communities, they
needed to be treated as protagonists of their own lives at the moment their
personalities are developing.
The children and adults created the dual language books and read them
together. They took pictures that became the illustrations for some of the
books. Family photographs were also scanned and used to illustrate the books.
Childrens drawings were also incorporated into their books. Lamination
made the books durable enough to withstand repeated use. Copies of the
books were placed in the classroom libraries and other copies were taken
home by the children and added to their family libraries. In addition, copies
of the books were displayed in an exhibition at the local childrens museum.
The Early Authors Program used a pre-test / post -test experimental de-
sign, in which the children in the program were randomly selected from the
larger group of consenting families in the classrooms or centres. Similarly,
children in the control group were randomly selected from the larger group
of centres that were serving the same population of families in the same
neighbourhoods as the experimental group.
Program leaders used the term “identity texts” to describe the literature
created by the children and their educators and parents. The childrens identi-
ties were incorporated into the stories, increasing their pride in themselves
and their families. The books served as mirrors in which the childrens '
!
identities were reflected. Reading these very meaningful books engaged the
children and developed “affective bonds to literacy.” Moreover, the process
was geared toward the acquisition of a strong sense of self-worth and pride
in cultural identity. In terms of identity and self-esteem, one of the literacy
specialists whose language and cultural heritage was English said:
I think making their own books . .. to see themselves in the books

and to talk about themselves . .. there was a lot of pride when the
book was finished . .. When they got their final book, they shared it
with the class and they just beamed. They were so excited to show
their book and they felt so proud.
The process of self-authoring books aimed not only at enrichment of
childrens outcomes but also at the strengthening of links between and among
103
children , their families and educators. Classroom observations and parent

interviews suggest that, in the process of transcribing these compositions in
English and in the home language, the relationship between educators and
family members was reframed, in that parental knowledge became a form
of academic capital.
There were also important academic outcomes. The Early Authors
Program used a rigorous experimental design , and the childrens development
was carefully assessed using standardized instruments. Without going into de-
tail, the outcome measures on standardized instruments were examined , and
these included the LAP - D ( Nehring et al. 1992 ) and the PLS - R ( Zimmerman et
al. 2002). The participating children generally showed significant gains. Our
qualitative data showed a number of positive impressions of the program in
the educators and the parents.
Yet, the program was not without its difficulties and limitations. For
example, we noted possible researcher and new intervention effects. The
presence of researchers made it impossible to determine, in the design that
was used, how much of the effect was due to the inherent characteristics of
the program and thus makes unclear the degree to which the results could
be replicated in a normal classroom with a typically lower level of support.
This problem of transition from research to successful widespread adop -
tion in educational settings is well known in the empirical literature. It is
important to continue implementation and evaluation efforts to determine
where improvements can be made and to understand why certain aspects of
the program were more successful than others. The Early Authors Program
provided early childhood educators with one starting point for tapping into
families’ funds of knowledge and for acknowledging family and community
cultural capital.
Parenting Circles
My next project built on the understandings gained from the Early Authors
Program. For a number of reasons, proactively working with parents to
recognize and build on their own cultural capital, including their home lan -
guage, became my priority. The Early Authors Program data about parents
in Miami - Dade were incomplete and not a proper basis for rigorous analysis.
I decided that a Toronto project based on the same principles should be
set up and specifically structured to allow for the collection and analysis of
parent data. As well, we incorporated a feature of the Canadian Parenting
Workshops, described above, and provided the parents with information
about the education system. The aim of the Parenting Circles project was
to focus clearly on affirming newcomer parents’ linguistic and cultural
identities. In this way, rather than losing their cultural capital, newcomer
families would be encouraged to tap into their own knowledge, resources
104
NEWCOMER PARENTS AS CONSCIOUS. ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS . ..
and experiences to help their children succeed in school. The research team
aimed to be systematically collecting qualitative data over the whole course
of the program . Because it was small and with limited funding, we did not
have a control group.
The research team worked with a group of twenty parents in a six- week
program that combined elements of Freirian dialogue, content from Canadian
Parenting Workshops and an approach to transformative literacy, drawn
from the Early Authors Program, that involved parents writing books for
and about their children .
In addition to the earlier goals of providing newcomer parents with rel-
evant information about the local school system and how to access resources
and networks of support in the community, Parenting Circles incorporated
a creative book authoring element for parents to encourage home language
maintenance and the acquisition of a strong sense of self - worth and pride
in cultural identity.
Both Parenting Circles and the Early Authors Program incorporated a
transformative literacy model in which parents and children self -authored
books or “ identity texts” about themselves, their families and their goals.
Scanned photographs and word processing were used to create the books,
which allowed parents to communicate and share their personal experiences.
The process of involving newcomer students and their parents in self -
authoring books aimed not only at enrichment of childrens print motivation
and increased vocabulary, but also at the strengthening of links between and
among children and their families. The focus of the texts written by the parents
was on affirming the linguistic and cultural identities of their children and
covered such themes as This Is Who I Am , The Story of My Name, A Special
Person in My Life and Hopes and Dreams for My Child.
Prior to the start of the Parenting Circles sessions, the parents were
asked to rate their goals and desires for their children for the next five years.
Fluency in English, adaptation to the new environment and academic success
were the top three goals identified among the participants, with adaptation
and academic success seen as dependent on English fluency. By the end of
the project, there was a heightened assertion and appreciation of the groups
cultural heritage and recognition of the value of transmitting that heritage
to their children .
The following account of the findings is drawn from the excellent dis-
sertation of my masters student Catalina Garcia ( 2008). The data collected
by our team were set out and analyzed in some detail by Garcia, and I have
drawn upon her organization and summary. The following interpretations,
however, are my own.
Our findings from the program were based on pre- and post - interviews
and surveys. A key finding was that we had succeeded in securing a high
105
degree of parental involvement. A great deal of communication and trust

had evolved among the participants. The use of Spanish during the sessions
helped reinforce the idea of the importance of home language maintenance.
Jimena, one the participating parents, said:
Well, what impacted me the most was that at the workshops I learned
that it is true that the children should not forget their mother tongue,
in our case, Spanish, at home. To keep on speaking our language,
Spanish , at home, to maintain the mother tongue and to keep our
roots.
Jimena and other parents had put these ideas into practice and began
encouraging their children to use Spanish at home. Books had constituted
and facilitated new forms of communication . One participant , Marta, said:
Another thing that I really liked was learning to make the books as a
medium for family communication . It was a wonderful experience,
and I will never forget it. My son saw the books and was stimulated,
motivated and happy about the things that I communicated to him . . .
It is exactly the way to communicate with photos, designs, creativity,
with written text, for our children , this type of written communica -
tion is what was really new for me.
When Cintia, a mother in the Parenting Circles, was asked what she liked
most about the group she said, “ la convivencia” ( collective creation , solidar-
ity and bonding ), as the parents could share with each other and talk about
subjects that interested them.
The mothers jumped into the project wholeheartedly. By the end of
the project, the results were that the parents strongly perceived themselves
as experts in their childrens education . The empowerment of parents was
crucially facilitated through the process of their becoming co - leaders of the
sessions. The parents embraced the challenge, and, in the end, this was a
principal reason for their continual participation. This could ultimately result
in them starting their own groups and expanding their support networks.
The parents realized the importance of moving beyond a small kin network
to one that expanded into their childrens schools and their churches. The
purpose of the group was to ensure that the parents were not only able to
apply what they learned in the sessions, but to also create a support network
and eventually administer their own Parenting Circles in their communities.
When the parents were asked to comment on what suggestions they had for
bettering the group, most said to add another session per week or increase the
hours to meet . One such mother was Carolina, who wished that the sessions
were longer so the parents would have more time to get better acquainted:
106
NEWCOMER PARENTS AS CONSCIOUS. ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS ...
I would really have liked it if when we finished, well, if we began at

five in the evening, and we could take two hours or two and a half
hours to do the work and another half an hour to socialize and get
to know one another. Because when we finished, well, for example,
I would go to the sessions with my cousin, and with her sister-in -
law and another friend. We already knew one another, so we could
rapidly discuss certain issues, but to get to know other people, no, five
minutes was not enough . So if at the end of each session there would
have been a little more time for those who wanted to get to know
others, they could do so. Those who didn’t want to, did not have to.
Carolina had family members and a friend who were part of the group,
which added to the dynamic. However, their ability to meet new people with
whom they could exchange ideas after the session was limited. The value of
a family support network cannot be denied, but the addition of other people
to consult is also an asset to them. This becomes increasingly difficult when
the community they feel most attached to and are able to communicate with
is not concentrated in one physical location . Jimena felt that unfortunately
the Latino community was fragmented:
When you get together with other parents you learn that when you
are in contact with other people in your world, in the sense of a com -
mon language, roots, Hispanic people are totally different to other
groups, like Arabic people, Canadians. Where I live in Mississauga
I don’t see that the Hispanic community is very united, everyone is
dispersed , for example, when you see a store where there are people
from India, everyone is Indian , they all help one another. But I don’t
see Latinos as a united group.
Jimena’s observations are accurate and as such make creating an expanded

social network difficult, like in the case of Cintia, Carolina and Jimena, who
travelled from Mississauga to attend the meetings. These types of support
networks helped parents feel less alienated and allowed them to interact with
other people who may have some insight into their current circumstances.
Reducing their alienation is a crucial step not only to their successful settle-
ment but also to their children’s positive adjustment to life in the new country.
A group like this can connect other immigrant parents who want to encourage
their children’s academic success and, with time, can make significant strides
in uniting the entire community.
The Parenting Circles program was designed in such a way that once
the parents completed the sessions they would feel empowered and pre-
pared to establish their own groups. When this idea was first introduced at
the beginning of the meetings, the participants did not seem open to this
107
possibility; however, as the weeks went by, the parents were eager and inter-
ested in beginning their own groups. By the final interview on week seven,
all the parents indicated that they would continue with the sessions in their
neighbourhoods. Juan said he was not yet ready and needed to clarify some
information, but once this was achieved he would be prepared to run his own
sessions. Nevertheless, some parents felt ready to begin groups immediately
and had already spoken to others who might be interested. Cintia took an
active role in speaking to other people who may benefit from the group:
I had already spoken with my cousin about the possibility of getting

help here in the school LINC site to form a group, because there are
many people that are interested , there are many people here, many
Latin - American mothers. And we would need help to get supplies
or for somebody to come and give us some assistance.
Cintia even began to think about the ways in which she could receive help
from her Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada ( LINC ) program
in order to begin her group with other Latina mothers who have children in
various schools. It was inspiring to witness the parents transformation from
being intimidated with the idea in the first few sessions to fully embracing the
possibility of conducting their own group and helping other parents. Maria
said this about starting her own group:
More than anything else what I need is to be informed. I study in

college and there are a lot of people who speak Spanish, a lot of
Colombians, a lot of Hispanics in general. For me, to start some-
thing there, no? With that group of women and also in the childrens
schools.
The success of the Parenting Circles depends on a number of key elements
that we have stressed since the beginning of this book. The overarching goal
was to facilitate the meaningful participation of Latino parents in their chil -
dren’s education. A space was created where the parents felt free to express
themselves. All of the measures taken were with the goal of empowering the
parents and honouring their cultural capital and life competence generally.
Based upon this, trust was established. Many of the parents’ reports empha -
sized their feelings of trust and sense of everyone’s willingness to exchange
ideas. Further, they viewed the authoring of the books for and about their
children as the most poignant of the topics, acknowledging the implications
these texts could have on their children’s language maintenance, self - identity
and self-esteem. The focus on information about the school system and the
sharing of personal experiences prepared participants for their new roles as
important actors in their children’s education . This was also a way to incor-
108
NEWCOMER PARENTS AS CONSCIOUS, ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS .. .
porate their funds of knowledge as a useful tool in their new support group.
Finally, the parents embraced their roles as co- leaders of the sessions, which
were vital for the group dynamic. This was crucial so that they would begin
their own groups in their community.
Absence of funding ultimately undermined the launch of new groups.
Apart from the issue of continuation there are limitations to the conclusions
that can be drawn . In particular, there was no control group, and thus infer-
ences as to the causal efficacy of the program lack a solid basis in the evidence.
Further, the parents were essentially volunteers who self-selected. Therefore,
it is not possible to generalize about the prospects of a program such as this
one, which was conducted with a non - randomly assigned group of parents.
The Parenting Circles created books as an empowering tool, not only
for the parents but for their children as well. We found that convivencia was
important for the parents. Parents’ previous experiences were respectfully
heard and they were encouraged to share their skills. This helped to recog-
nize and make use of their human , social and cultural capital, resulting in
academic and personal benefits. The encouragement given to continued use
of the participants’ home language was key because it helped with identity
and family cohesion and structure.
My findings with the Parenting Circles program and the earlier studies
can be considered in relation to several of the categories of developmental
assets listed by Benson et al. ( 2012 ), discussed in Chapter Seven ( refer
1
to figure 7 -1). The key developmental asset addressed in these studies is
parental involvement in schooling ( asset 6 ). Early Authors, in particular,
encouraged positive family communication (asset 2). School engagement
(asset 22 ) and other internal factors that are part of the framework were also
addressed. More importantly, I aimed in my interventions with families to
demonstrate and encourage a number of the positive values (assets 26-31)
highlighted by Benson et al. ( 2012 ). The concern for equality and justice (asset
27) is a substantial component within Freires and Cummins’ frameworks.
The communications between parents and the interveners were based on
honesty ( asset 29 ) and responsibility ( asset 30). The skills components of
the interventions are resistance skills ( asset 35) and conflict resolution skills
( asset 36 ). Some of the main benefits of the interventions, which Cummins
referred to as identity, overlap with personal power ( asset 37), self -esteem
(asset 38 ) and a positive view of personal future ( asset 40) in the framework
by Benson et al. My experiences as well as my findings confirm the useful-
ness of this framework.
Another way of interpreting our findings is in terms of Moll’s funds of
knowledge. At every point we were eliciting the parents’ ideas and having
them state what they value. We were implementing the approach in terms
of their writing and our celebration of the writing, and the creation of the
109
books helped cement these ideals. Funds of knowledge, a term coined by Luis
Moll (Gonzalez, Moll and Amanti 2005), refers to a person’s or a commun -
ity’s historically accumulated and culturally developed bodies of knowledge.
Learning from Experience:

Application to New Contexts and Future Interventions
The character of an intervention is determined by its context . Although the
content of each of the sessions can be outlined in detail so as to reduce the
preparation time for the workshop facilitators, each program is customized
and delivered in a particular context at a specific moment in time. When used
again , the program could never be replicated exactly, nor should it be. Exact
replication of the techniques and content of the program is not required,
though fidelity to its principles certainly is. The effectiveness of the package
does not depend on replicating fine details of procedure or content. Even
if particular procedures are outlined in detail, it would be inappropriate to
transfer them directly into different environments.
This point about context has implications for all programs based on
the assumption that parents benefit from developing networks and trusting
relationships with other parents with similar backgrounds. From the start ,
my research projects have insisted on homogeneous language groups where
parents can dialogue in their own language. When government policies or
education institutions are not supportive of parents’ home language use, there
is a danger that the program will stray from its principles and be reduced
to lecturing to parents. One clear recommendation for newcomer-serving
organizations, school districts and communities wishing to use these models
is to begin with the translation of the curriculum and resource materials into
the language in which the program will be delivered. In addition , it is es-
sential that facilitators fluently speak the home language of the participants.
Another factor that will contribute to the success of future parent group
programs is for sponsors to clarify and confirm the availability of the resources
needed for program delivery. For example, it is necessary to consider that it
takes time for facilitators to set up and close down each meeting. Tasks such
as contacting participants between sessions and arranging for guest speakers
require investments of time as well. It is also important to make provisions
for childcare for the children of the parents participating in the groups. The
staff-child ratios need to be appropriate for the ages of the children. Transition
time for parents to drop off, settle and pick up their children also must be
planned for.
The parent programs described above were designed to include research
and evaluation components. During each phase of this work, my colleagues
and I were guided by feedback obtained from both facilitators and partici -
pants to determine what participants learned and what gaps still needed to
110
NEWCOMER PARENTS AS CONSCIOUS, ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS ...
be addressed . The consistent use of pre- program and post -session informa -
tion from participants enables facilitators to respond to the priorities of each
group. The Canadian Parenting Workshops published curriculum includes
evaluation materials that can be used by facilitators and those hosting the
workshops. Using external facilitators to conduct participant focus groups
further strengthens the quality of the evaluations.
Additional evaluation work is needed in relation to any specific objec-
tives of sponsoring organizations in local contexts. For example, the program
could be used and evaluated with transnational newcomer families that
have experienced significant separation from their children or with families
with less than full legal status. It could also be used with groups of fathers or
groups of grandparents. Other applications might involve at- risk families and
those with special needs such as families involved with child welfare agencies
and parents of children with exceptional learning challenges. Although the
programs have been developed for and piloted with groups of immigrant
parents, it is likely that native - born parents would also be interested in such
groups. Both the topics and the teaching methodologies appear to have broad
appeal among all parents.
What are the possibilities of setting a program based on the principles
of the Early Authors Program within Canada ? While in theory this mayseem
like a simple or straightforward proposition , a number of practical difficul-
ties would have to be overcome. To date, this has not happened. Existing
programs, especially those with mainstream credibility and “evidence-based
support ” continue to dominate the field. Type I interventions are extensively
marketed , and they appeal to proven results based on thousands of partici -
pants in their interventions. Despite the existence of evidence for successful
outcomes of smaller programs such as the Early Authors Program, they are
generally not well known and their evidence of success is not taken seriously.
In general , school boards and provincial ministries seem attracted to inter-
nationally marked “celebrity programs,” which are apparently proven and
claim widespread success. Throughout the book we have asked: What are the
criteria of success? What is normal in children ? And what do parents have
to offer? The difficulties of practical implementation we have just discussed
show the crucial ramifications of these questions.
Still, what we have called Type II or family-centred programs do have
the potential to be used to benefit families in other settings and on a larger
scale if practical matters can be dealt with. Recent work by Weiss and the
Harvard Family Research Project ( 2010) includes a detailed analysis of scaling
issues. That analysis makes it clear, in hindsight, why our projects, like Ada
and Campoy s ( 2003) Authors in the Classroom project, did not continue or
catch fire and spread into other communities. We have already mentioned
some of the dimensions of this issue in Canada. To continue, designing and
111
marketing materials and securing approval and favourable ratings from key
agencies and institutions requires expertise. Researchers are not always busi-
ness entrepreneurs. Marketing skills and administrative capacity and, above
all, large budgets are needed if useful programs that benefit newcomers are
going to move beyond small pilots led by researchers to be adopted as public
policy and implemented on a larger scale. It is beyond the scope of this book
to address strategies for scaling up what has been learned from research.
In Conclusion:
Valuing Newcomer Parents and Children
Millions of families have come to the immigrant - receiving countries, where
many have achieved visible financial and social gains. However, indicators
such as graduation from high school and placement in gifted education classes
draw attention to the fact that newcomer children of certain backgrounds
enjoy less educational success. Many of these childrens parents did not finish
high school, a pattern known to show some persistence, but school success
is not considered for a number of reasons. Parents must be on - side in the
educational endeavour since they, more than educators, will be the ones to
have a long-lasting influence in their childrens lives.
In spite of policies mandating parent participation in schools and the
best intentions of educators, many newcomer parents do not feel their views
are valued by school personnel and are often unaware of how much they can
contribute to their childrens education . Attempts to empower parents, to
engage them in meaningful participation in their childrens schools, can do
much to alleviate this problem.
Parent participation models promoting equal opportunity have been
largely ineffective. Too often these models are based on the assumption that
it is the experts who should impart facts and the parents who should listen
and alter their present practices. In contrast, the programs described above
recognize the parents cultural, linguistic and social capital.
The beneficial outcomes were all related to the key elements that facili -
tated the meaningful participation of parents in their children’s education .
The incorporation of the children into the process was very important to the
parents. The parents had the option of being reimbursed for childcare fees
but most chose to bring their children to the sessions.
112
Chapter Ten
EM POWER IS A VERB
Putting These Ideas to Work
Throughout this book the topics of immigration and immigrant families

serve as a basis for raising a number of more general issues. The solutions
to the real and perceived problems within immigrant families and between
immigrants and their host countries call for an appreciation of differences
in values. It cannot be assumed that the basics of psychology and child
development that constitute common knowledge in immigrant - receiving
countries are well known elsewhere and that the norms are well established
and universally agreed upon .
Because of the issues of values, I propose that interventions with im -
migrant families need to be reconsidered. While it is true that the families
have universal needs and problems and that professional judgments about
health issues need to be respected, the specific characteristics of the families
have to be considered as well.
The examples presented here include a great deal of specific data. They
are intended to illustrate the detailed ways in which basic principles have
been more or less successfully applied. At the same time, it is important to
remember that the specifics of one case are not necessarily transferable to
other situations. The goal here is to help bring about an increased apprecia-
tion of context and of approaches that empower families and honour their
interests and values. It is impossible to put forward a recipe for successful
professional practice with newcomers. Instead, I propose principles as the
foundation for planning interventions with immigrants.
Interventions must take account of the families’ interests, values and
objectives. It is recognized that this bottom - up approach makes it difficult to
document effects or prove the efficacy of interventions. It is a complex task
to define what will count as evidence of a good outcome and devise ways
to collect such evidence. Of course, outcomes have to be considered for the
children as well as other family members. Interveners need to consider what
newcomers want and say that they want for themselves and their children.
Asking families what they want is a strategy for empowering them. If families
are empowered, they are more likely to get what they want and what family
members consider to be best for themselves. Empowered families are also
of benefit to the whole society. Interventions that increase the well-being of
immigrant families yield many advantages. Families that are empowered tend
to be healthier and more productive members of the larger society. Promoting
113
the empowerment of families represents a win -win approach. As our earlier

demographic data make clear, pressing social issues cannot be addressed in
the absence of measures to welcome and include immigrants as full citizens.
The persons standing to benefit from professional interventions must
have determinative input concerning the services they will receive. Families,
in general, know what is best for themselves. This is not to deny that there are
objective measures or constituents of successful outcomes. The prerequisites
for material and social well - being are widely known by both professionals
and families. There is certainly a place in assessment for hard data , and there
is every reason for seeking objective measures such as rates of high school
graduation, visits to hospital emergency rooms and convictions for criminal
offences.
While parents are often aware of the big picture as far as the life success of
their children goes, parents are often unaware of how to go about improving
the odds of achieving success. They share this uncertainty with professionals.
Professionals often state that they are at a loss when working with newcomer
families and feel unsure about how to make connections with them .
In my many years working with immigrant families I have found that
the education issues they raise are often well- known problems such as
homework, child guidance and discipline, parent - teacher relationships, and
the grading and reporting policies of schools. These are not issues that are
unique to newcomers. The approaches advocated here as a foundation for
professional relationships with newcomers are also relevant and applicable
to non - immigrant families.
Among immigrant families there is a great deal of heterogeneity. In
immigrant - receiving countries school populations are a mixture of cultural
backgrounds, religions, immigration status and worldviews. Responding to
this diversity requires the creation of mechanisms for professionals, parents
and other family authority figures to meet , collaborate and hear one another.
Honouring the process of collaboration and consultation is an intrinsic com-
ponent of an empowerment approach.
Empowerment is not just an abstract concept. This book introduces ex -
amples of approaches that show respect for the wishes and values of families.
The most crucial factor here is recognition of the strengths of families. This
includes their implicit and explicit knowledge of the world, as well as their
skills. The concepts of cultural capital and funds of knowledge are crucial
elements of family strengths. Applying these concepts in practice involves
assuming that the vast majority of families, most of the time, have what it
takes, as opposed to being deficient and needing professionals to supply what
is missing or bring them up to speed. This is not to ignore serious pathologies,
like alcoholism or criminal behaviour. Many of the problems that profession -
als address need to be understood within the cultural context in which they
114
EMPOWER IS A VERB
arise and the solutions to these problems, if they exist, take into account the
family’s values and objectives.
Crucial elements of empowerment include cultural and ethnic identi-
ties derived from the use of home language and immersion in the cultures
of families and their traditions. There has been a marked change in the field
of immigration and adaptation studies over the last fifteen years. There is
now a greater degree of preservation of ties to family members who have
not immigrated. The issue of preservation of linguistic and cultural identities
has come to the fore, and it is apparent that older models that spoke of as-
similating into the mainstream society are no longer applicable. The research
of Cummins and others has stressed the importance of retention of home
language and the children of immigrants becoming additively bilingual and
bicultural, being able to function in both worlds.
Programs for newcomers need to be carefully planned, efficiently admin-
istered and accurately documented and assessed. There are many different
types of measures, both of process and product, qualitative and quantitative,
subjective and objective, pre-determined versus bottom - up and emergent.
There is no conflict between delivering programs that encourage parent em -
powerment and respect parents’ goals and impartial, objective assessments
of program outcomes. Honouring parents’ wishes is not a vague feel -good
approach to issues. Many parents themselves are quite aware of objective
indicators, and it is a mistake to portray programs that acknowledge and
address their wishes as inherently vague or lacking the possibility of rigor-
ous assessment.
The location of data and evidence is particularly relevant to issues of
funding. The programs I call Type II, or parent -determined, all succeeded
in varying degrees in obtaining funding based on evidence and measurable
outcomes. It is beyond the scope of this book to detail the procedures and
strategies for obtaining funding, but the importance of program quality, docu -
mentation and collection of measurement data has been stressed. Likewise,
the issue of scaling, addressed in detail by Weiss ( 2010), is important but
beyond the present scope. Carefully designed, high quality programs based
on parental input are in a good position to scale up as needed and compete
for the necessary financial support from funders.
The central point is that intervention programs must honour the social
and cultural contexts of the participants. Issues such as legal status and fam -
ily history have often been neglected. Governments of immigrant - receiving
countries would be well advised to provide pathways whereby undocumented
individuals and families who are long- established can normalize their legal
status. Families with one or more undocumented members or members
whose legal status is precarious are living with a great deal of stress, which is
detrimental to their well - being. Because of the importance of context, inter-
115
vention projects have to be tailored to specific situations. One implication of

this is that simple replications are neither possible nor desirable. While this
realization requires a departure from usual assumptions about research evi-
dence, the goodness of fit of a program may undercut the ability to replicate
it. At the same time, the principles enunciated ( e.g., respect for families and
soliciting their input ) are replicable and crucial as constituents of effective
programs. These meta -level principles are subject to a type of replication or
corroboration once they are tailored to specific circumstances.
Immigrant families show great diversity as to background. The demo-
graphic data confirm differences associated with gender, education , income,
sexual orientation, country of origin and life experience. This book has
focused on micro-level interventions that take account of heterogeneity and
specific contexts. These are part of a larger picture of efforts to secure the
well - being of newcomers. Families are the place for micro - level interven -
tions. We need to start at the bottom. It is especially important that helping
professionals work with them in ways that empower families in their local
contexts of school and community.
In conclusion, I encourage all helping professionals in immigrant -
receiving countries to commit to and build on this foundation of empow-
ering practices. Your work has the potential to initiate positive change in
your community. By treating newcomers with respect and compassion and
lending a hand when necessary, you will be contributing to the creation of
a better world.
116
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mmigration is an important topic that continues to appear in news
I reports across Western countries. However, few reports examine what

adjusting and integrating into a new country means for immigrant
families. The traditional strategy employed by social workers, teachers
and other social service practitioners is decidedly Euro- centric and treats
immigrants as if they have little cultural or community - based means of
integrating of their own . Judith K. Bernhard argues that immigrants have
deep cultural, familial and communal resources to aid their integration and
that these resources need to be tapped by social workers, teachers, counsel - /
lors, settlement workers, early childhood educators and child and youth /
care workers alike. Providing several alternative, integrated , research - based /
programs that combine cultural resources, traditions and family dynamics, '
Stand Together or Fall Apart will help practitioners to better understand the
struggles of immigrants and thus be better able to assist them as they adjust
to life in a new country.
udith K. Bernhard is a professor in the School of Early Childhood
I Education , Faculty of Community Services, Ryerson University.
- - .- . -
ISBN .' N 7 B 1 5 SSI I SBS 1
FERNWOOB PUBLISHING
critical books for critical thinkers
www. fernwoodpublishing. ca 1 7 A 1552 bb 52 S

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STAND

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in

Editing: Sarah K. Michaelson

Published in Canada by Fernwood Publishing

Fernwood Publishing Company Limited gratefully acknowledges the financial support

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Bernhard , Judith Kutscher, 1955-

Includes bibliographical references.

.1 Immigrants Cultural assimilation - Western countries.

JV6342.B47 2012 305.9*06912094 C2012-903156-9

1. Why This Book Matters 12

2. Meet the Neighbours:

The Myth of the “Illegal Immigrant”: Precarious Legal Status .30

5. Thinking Outside of the Box: Theoretical Frameworks for Meaningful

Paulo Freire: Learning the World through the Word 54

6. How Schools Are Labelling Newcomer Children:

Moving beyond a Narrow Problem Focus .73

PART III - BECOMING THE CHANGE WE SEEK / 85

What Programs Help Newcomer Families?

9. Newcomer Parents as Conscious, Active Participants in

10. Empower Is a Verb: Putting These Ideas to Work 113

Increasing cultural and linguistic diversity is a reality in countries around

higher socioeconomic status students. Additionally, Canada and Australia

BRAVE NEW WORLD

WHY THIS BOOK MATTERS

But I’m Not an Immigrant!

Some subsets of newcomers experience difficulties adjusting and securing

Facing the Growing Antipathy against Newcomer Populations

ingly pluralistic quarters. Communities sometimes superficially recognize

In most cases, professionals have good intentions and are committed to

derive satisfaction from working with newcomers, professionals need more

Part III is devoted to exemplary interventions that have been implement -

MEET THE NEIGHBOURS

Building a healthy community requires an awareness of its constituents. Large

Who Will Pay Your Health Care?

Source: Statistics Canada 2006a.

Figure 2-2: Total Fertility Rate in Germany, 1952-2008

1.0 West Germany V yr

You’re Not as Young as You Used to Be:

Figure 2 - 3: Aging Population in Canada

Source: Statistics Canada 2008.

The Myth of the “Huddled Masses”

Diversity Rising: Todays Real Immigrant Numbers

Figure 2 - 4: Number and Share of the Foreign - Born Population in Canada ,

Source: Statistics Canada 2010c.

Figure 2-5: Percentage of Foreign - Born in the U.S ., 1850 - 2010

Number of foreign born

Foreign born as a percentage of the total US population

Immigrant children already represent the majority in many metropolitan,

Changing Times, Changing Faces:

In 2001, the largest foreign - born group in Canada originated in Europe

Figure 2-6: Region of Birth of Recent Immigrants to Canada , 1971 -2006

United States population was Muslim, and it is projected to grow to 1.7

When Western Countries Stand Up for Human Rights

Source: Migration Policy Institute Data Hub 2011 .

Money Talks, Money Walks:

Source: Orozco, 2011.