Running head: IMMIGRATION AND INTERCULTURAL CLASSROOMS

Immigration and Intercultural Classrooms

What Is Immigration and Who Are Immigrant Students
Giulia-Nemeye Giubertoni
University of Regina

IMMIGRATION AND INTERCULTURAL CLASSROOMS

Abstract
This paper explores three published articles that report on modern social phenomena such as
globalization, immigration and education, being the three of these realities deeply modern and
interrelated. A study of the interrelation that exists between these three has been carried out at the
very beginning of this century (Orozco, 2001).
A very recent research (Arizpe, Bagelman, Devlin, Farrell & McAdam, 2014) has already proposed a
method for teachers use. In detail, the use of visual texts could be an extremely interesting and
stimulating activity to propose to a class group characterized by the presence of immigrant students.
Finally, it has been shown how community experience can make a difference when it comes to the
teachers understanding of the challenges non-English speaker immigrant student face (Tilley-Lubbs,
2011). As a matter of fact Education students are often not enough prepared for dealing with children
with backgrounds which are different from their own.
Introduction
The aim of this paper is to outline how information about globalization and intercultural
awareness can facilitate a teachers when determining his role and curriculum and facilitate him in
making good methodological decisions in the case of multicultural classrooms, which he aims to be
not only intercultural but efficient, too.
Adequate efforts by all the involved actors seem to be necessary in order to facilitate
knowledge about migration and to improve the welfare of all the people directly or indirectly
affected by migration. The intention of this is the creation of a healthy and good intercultural sense
of community something any society could gain from.
Immigration is an important question. It is and will continue to be a powerful vector of
change. We need a better understanding of it to examine the long-term causes and consequences of
such a thing like global immigration dynamics. In detail, it appears extremely necessary for

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educators to have a better awareness, and therefore sympathy, of the stories of immigrants and their
paths forward a long-term adaptations in a foreign country. Dialogue is needed.
Analysis and acknowledge of a process like globalization can help a teacher for a better
understanding of the experiences of any immigrant child he is very likely to encounter during his
experience as educator.
1. Globalization, immigration, and education (Orozco, 2001)
1.1 Globalization: a very recent term for a modern phenomenon
Under the concept of globalization go all the fast social, cultural and economic formations
of the new 21st century that have consisted of all the processes of change and the centrifugal forces
whose result is the deterritorialization of important economic, social and cultural practices from
their traditional origin in the nation state.
Globalization comprehends also the interaction among the people, companies, and
governments of different nations and their consequent integration, which has effects on the
environment, culture, political systems, economies, and societies all around the world (Castles,
2002). This characteristic makes the phenomenon an extremely wide one. As a consequence the
study of globalization has interest in vary disciplines, including education, field of interest in this
paper.
1.2 Globalization and its effects
Globalization has presented three main consequences in modern-life: new information and
communication technologies, emergences of global markets and, ultimately, levels of immigration
never heard before (Orozco, 2001, p. 345).
All these phenomena have profound implications for the study of societies, and therefore
education, of the new century consequently making it a topic a good teacher should not forget to
consider. Any students chances and future opportunities will be eventually shaped by globalization.

IMMIGRATION AND INTERCULTURAL CLASSROOMS

Schooling has always been a process which profoundly shapes the present well-being of any student,
as well as their future opportunities in their lives.
It has been proven that globalization represents an innovative process if compared with
previous processes of economic, social and cultural change. As aforementioned, fundamental
characteristics of globalization are powerful market forces. These forces easily bypass national-state
borders and internationalize goods and services generating the so-called global taste. Secondly,
globalization is related to new communication technologies that let people to be instantaneously
connected, consequently changing the nature of social relations.
As a result of globalization, regions and nations have become more interdependent.
Globalization enables corporate firms to place their economic activities in different countries and
regions by taking advantage of the local market conditions. This has generated different kinds of
workforce demand in different countries, creating new opportunities for social mobility. In this
sense, a feature of globalization would be the large-scale immigration (Orozco, 2001, pp. 348-349).
1.3 Immigration: a delicate and modern phenomenon
Immigration is a world issue, transforming the populations of entire continents. People can
decide to migrate for many different reasons. For example, one could decide to leave his or her
country either to improve his economic income, re-unite with already moved family members, or
avoid persecution in the country of origin (due to social political issues). A large number of migrants
obviously decide a more secure living environment, such as developed countries, as destination.
Nevertheless and regardless of the destination, immigrants will experience not only important
economic and social consequences after their arrival to the designated country, psychological
consequence will take place too. As a matter of fact, as much as migrating would involve a new
better-salaried job, it implies losing the old social ties, having to establishing new ones (in a context
where the language is different - where communication is not therefore easy) and having to deal with
the cost of missing the homeland, too. These are high prices to pay.

IMMIGRATION AND INTERCULTURAL CLASSROOMS

In addition to this, it is important to bear in mind that migration is a phenomenon that does
not only affect only those who are directly involved. Various effects emerge at the interface of
migrant and native populations. Immigrants bring with them new cultures, preferences and job
competition. Natives and societies may view the presence of immigrants differently: positively or
negatively. They will therefore form their attitudes accordingly.
Immigrants are a highly diverse and varied population that is not compatible to easy
generalizations. Anyways, the vast majority of immigrants comes from non-European, non Englishspeaking developing countries (Orozco, 2001, p. 352).
As it has always happened in the past, immigrants come to other countries intending to
succeed. Nevertheless, if we compare past immigrants with modern immigrants, the former tended to
be less educated and relatively less skilled than they are today. Taken this into account, among
immigrant there are also many poorly schooled, low skilled workers. A large number of these
workers typically end up in poorly paid jobs, tend to settle in areas of deep poverty and racial
segregation (Orozco, 2001, p. 353).
1.4 Immigrant students: Diversity in classrooms
When dealing with such a wide topic like globalization and schooling, the education of
immigrant young students appears to be critical being it an especially modern topic.
Education of immigrant youth appears an important topic firstly because for many immigrant
children schooling represents their first sustained and close contact with a determined institution
(the school) belonging to the society of the country they have just joined. In other words, schooling
is often the only significant opportunity for a contact with the society of their new country (Orozco,
2001, p. 345).
Todays classrooms can be diverse and varied under many perspectives. This is undoubtedly
related to the growing multiculturalism of our modern societies. For example, with respect the
presence of different nationalities and cultures the students may belong to can connote the classroom

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environment with divergent ideals, values and assumptions regarding. Taking into account the
richness of this, these diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds can become an extremely
stimulating but also challenging opportunity for the teacher and his classrooms group, which
constantly learns together, one from the other.
1.5 Common challenges and issues
It has been discovered that immigrant children are now present in substantial numbers in
school districts throughout the whole world. They are highly diverse in term of language, country of
origin, religion and socioeconomic background.
Immigrant youth often find themselves deeply marginalized in toxic schools offering inferior
education. Such a situation characterized by limited resources, overcrowded classrooms and obsolete
textbooks is surely going to affect their opportunities and experiences. This also sentence students to
non college destinations. Lacking competence in English language does not help immigrant students
either. Furthermore, being their parents most of the time poor, low-skilled, immigrant children are
highly likely to be assigned to schools located in sites overwhelmed by violence (in terms of
presence with reality of drug, prostitution and gangs). The adaptation of immigrant children in
schools is complex.
In conclusion, there are many reasons why a teacher should interest himself or herself and
worry about this phenomenon. As a matter of fact, most of immigrant youth would enroll in public
school, many of which are overpopulated and understaffed. In these environments qualified teachers
are very needed, and the best teachers often leave as soon as possible. In addition to this, the teaching
that takes place in these schools is often neither culturally relevant or pertinent to the realities
students will later have to face in their lives. Bearing this in mind, a teacher could make a little but
significant difference by doing his best at the school he is assigned to (Orozco, 2001, p. 353).

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1.6 Immigration and society: Intercultural vs. multicultural model
The movement of people through ever-increasing phenomena of migration implies both a
change of landscape for the new arrivals, and change of the scenery of the host city itself due to the
contact of two or more diverse languages and cultures in one space.
A society where people with different geographical origins and cultural and personal
background live, two opposite models of social interactions between cultures can take place. These
go under the labels of interculturality and multiculturality.
Interculturality sees people as constructing complex identities based on their position
within new contexts, reconstructing themselves (Arizpe et al., 2014, p. 308). It is becoming
increasingly important in the modern world as more and more people migrate from one country to
another. Interculturality is not easy, because of the presence of acts of racism and xenophobia.
Anyways, it has many benefits such as cultural enrichment and creativity for all the individuals of
the society. Interculturality views education as a process built upon time and through relationships
whose aim is the creation of interactive contexts in which every different individual can develop his
identities. An intercultural model should be the one adopted by teachers facing with multicultural
classrooms.
On the other hand and opposed to interculturality, we find the term multiculturality. It
refers to a reality in which cultural differences appear isolated and integration is not seeked. There is
no interest in the potential of the migration process as a source for interesting connection between
different cultures (Arizpe et al, 2014, p. 308).
2. Intercultural practice on the educational field
In response to new challenges associated with the phenomenon of migration, studies have
recognized the need of moving forward a vision of education that would promote a curriculum
locally and globally relevant to children.

IMMIGRATION AND INTERCULTURAL CLASSROOMS

Through such innovative educative approaches, students are presented with the possibility of
reading and viewing representations, either known or unfamiliar, of themselves and others, implicitly
creating a parallel with what typically occurs in intercultural encounters.
Critical reading of text with an intercultural perspective appears to be useful since it present
the idea of living in complex, culturally diverse world. It allows encounters and awareness of what is
different, letting this way the imagination of alternative realities, forming therefore sympathy of
others.
Children are helped and encouraged in exploring the intercultural world they inhabit. This
way it is given great value on sharing values. They unconsciously practice the basics of democracy
and start becoming active citizens in the world (Arizpe et al., 2014, p. 309).
3. A proposal for the Intercultural Classroom: The Visual Text
3.1 For a Visual and Mobilized World
In their essay, Arizpe, Bagelman, Devlin, Farrell and McAdam define the modern world we
live in as both visual and mobilized (2014).

Visual because reading literature can provide

powerful, life-changing experiences. The power of images (either graphic or mental) combined with
words let the experience of a reader and the text being much stronger.
We also live in a mobilized world. Our world is more and more characterized by migration.
One of the first requirements are language learning and literacy for those who are not native and can
not speak the countrys language. Linked to this must be strategies to support intercultural
communication amongst the different migrant groups and the hosting community, too (Arizpe et al.,
2014, p. 305).
There are mainly three characteristics that schools should present when facing with migrant
children in schools. About the strategies supporting intercultural communication, it has been proven
how the inclusion of visual texts can be an extremely successful method. When one combines a
theme with visual or mental imagery, it becomes therefore more easily comprehensible to those who

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have not lived through that particular experience (Freire, 2008 cited in Arizpe et al, 2014, p. 306). It
consequently encourages the single student to be more empathetic and sympathetic .
Visual methods have proved to be extremely effective when it comes to students presenting
struggles to express themselves, just like immigrant students. Picture books overtake language
barriers (Arizpe et al., 2014, p. 306). The crucial characteristic of such a method is the creativeness
process it implies: it encourages speculations and possibly also creative responses in the students.
Some of the children involved in the project of trying out the method of Visual Text and who
had undergone the experience of forced migration decided to tell their own stories, sharing their
experience with the rest of the classroom. The individual student gets therefore empowered, those
who have lived a migrant experience know more than the teacher. Themes become a catalyst for
meaningful discussion, meaningful in the sense that they are relevant to the group of students. New
arrivals, instead of being positioned outside, are positioned as bearers of valued knowledge and
experience.
3.2 Service-Learning in Immigrant Communities
Teacher education programs prepare its pre-service teachers to teach. Students who have
begun attending faculty university unfortunately tend to socialize within their own groups, often
unaware of others lives. In this sense, if they are given the opportunity to enter the non-university
community in relationship with people outside their own groups, future teacher are able to better
understand social change and all the cultural experiences that can shape their possible future
students life and identities.

When it comes to teachers, a lack of cross-cultural background,

knowledge, and experience of having worked with children with socioeconomic, ethnic, and
linguistic circumstances different from their own can result as an extremely innovative and useful
competence (Tilley-Lubbs, 2011,p. 104).

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Conclusion
Different socio-cultural backgrounds and any possibly unlike previous experience can and do
bring to schools various expectations concerning how education should be developed. This can
concern the roles of teacher and learner in the classroom.
A good teacher should always be ready to re-consider his methodology, making it as good as
possible to better correspond the needs of his group of students. There is a need to develop curricula
and strategies that address the needs and backgrounds of all students regardless of their social
class, gender, sexual orientation, or, finally, ethnic, racial or cultural identity. In detail, a so-called
intercultural approach would be the best choice for multicultural schools, being it based on the
recognition of the crucial importance of education as a means of fighting prejudices which could
arise from lack of knowledge and restricted mentality towards identities which differ from common
national cultural paradigms. Such an attitude also allows young students belonging to the hosting
communities to realize that they live in a complex, cosmopolitan and extremely stimulating reality,
continuously changing.
References
Arizpe, E., Bagelman, C., Devlin, A. M., Farrell, M., & McAdam, J. E. (2014). Visualizing
intercultural literacy: Engaging critically with diversity and migration in the classroom
through an image-based approach. Language and Intercultural Communication, 14(3), 304321. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1651858672?accountid=13480
Castles, S. (2002). Migration and Community Formation under Conditions of Globalization
International Migration Review, Volume 36, Issue 4, 10051269. Retrieved from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2002.tb00121.x/epdf
Freire, P. (2008). Education for critical consciousness. London: Continuum. Cited in Arizpe et
al., 2014.

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Suarez-Orozco, M. (2001). Globalization, immigration, and education: The research agenda.
Harvard

Educational

Review,

71(3),

345-365.

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Tilley-Lubbs, G. (2011). Preparing teachers for teaching immigrant students through servicelearning in immigrant communities. World Journal of Education, 1(2), 104-n/a. Retrieved
from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1030081451?accountid=13480