Why study the impact family separation during migration on educational success?

1. Family Separation and re-unification as a factor in the educational success of immigrant children in the Unites SatesT.H Gindling, Economic DepartmentSara Poggio Modern Languanges LinguisticsUniversity of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)October 23, 2009

2. Why study the impact family separation during migration on educational success? Facts: Immigrant children are the fastest growing segment in US schools (one in five children of school age are immigrants or children of immigrants). Immigrants from Latin America are the largest immigrant group in the U.S. and in Maryland. Child immigrants from Latin America have low levels of educational success: The high school drop-out rates for young immigrants from Latin America is 44%, compared to about 15% for U.S.-born Hispanics and 7% for U.S.-born whites (Pew Hispanic Trust, 2002). It is common for Latin American child immigrants to be separated from parents during the migration process.

3. Our Research • : Multidisciplinary theoretical Approach and Mixed Qualitative an • and Quantitative, in stages. • I. Qualitative: • Interviews of school counselors and psychologists treating Latin American immigrants in Maryland. • Focus groups of Hispanic immigrant parents in Maryland. • II. Quantitative: econometric analysis of determinants of the educational success of children of immigrants, using a national survey of all immigrants. • III. Qualitative again: • Focus groups of Hispanic immigrant parents in Maryland. Focus group of children of Hispanic immigrants in Maryland. • Survey of teachers in Maryland. • Interviews with school counselors, psychologists and social workers.

4. Our findings in Qualitative Stage I Qualitative Stage From our non-structured interviews with psychologists treating Latino immigrant families in Baltimore, it was revealed that: Family separation has a negative impact on the mental health of family members. Mothers, in particular, experience mental health problems because of separation. Children also report being depressed as a result of family separation.

5. Our Findings Qualitative Stage I (cont) • From our non-structured interviews with school counselors in Prince Georges County, it was suggested that: • Separation during migration, and subsequent re-unification, has an impact on the educational success of high school students. • The counselors we talked to noted that problems at school tend to show up in those who migrated as teenagers more than those who migrated at younger ages • . Children who are re-united at younger ages are respectful of authority and more easily adapt to a new school, while those who are re-united as teenagers are disrespectful and have a difficult time integrating into the academic and social life at school.

6. Our Findings Qualitative (cont) Focus Groups Findings We found that Separation from Parents Children are most affected by separation from their mothers (compared to fathers). In many cases when there is no contact with the mother children will become attached to a new family member (caretaker). When children leave their country to join their mothers in US they are hurt because of separation with the new caretaker (they express grief at their loss).

7. Our Findings Qualitative I (cont) And Reunification with Parents • Reunification is followed by a short period of euphoria, which in turn is almost always followed by problems with family relationships and discipline. • New family members, husbands and siblings find it difficult to accept the immigrant child who feels he/she is the stranger. • It is difficult for the child to accept authority from mother and new relatives. • The newcomer hasmany emotions to deal with : frustration deception, pain, jealousy and the shock of missing caretaker in country of origin. • Even if the child looks happy to be reunited with his/her family, mothers often observed early signs of emotional distress in their behavior at home and/or show signs of stress when they start to attend school.

8. Our Findings Qualitative I(cont) • Immigrant Children Separated from parents during migration have less educational success • Compared to children who immigratd with their parents • Compared to US-born children of immigrants • The impact of separation will be larger for • Those who migrated at older ages • Undocumented immigrants • Separation from mothers (compared with separation from fathers)

9. Our findings in the Quantitative study We looked for quantitative evidence to confirm the insights from the qualitative research using: • the New Immigrant Survey from the Population Research of Princeton University, a national representative sample of new immigrant to US (immigrant from all countries of the world),

10. Our findings in the Quantitative study • We found that Separation and Reunification during migration among Latin American immigrant children • has a negative impact on school performance among Latino immigrant children in US. • has a negative impact on several measures of Educational Success. • Education Gap (are children in a lower grade than others their age?) • Grade Repetition • High School Dropout

11. Our findings in the Quantitative study • We found that • The negative impact of separation on school performance is largest: • for those who migrated when they were teenagers. • if  parent are undocumented • if children are separated from mother and/or both parents • if immigrants are from Latin America (compared with immigrants from other nationalities.

12. Our Findings in Qualitative Stage II • On-line anonymous survey of teachers and school administrators in Maryland. • The challenges facing Latin American immigrant children in school identified by teachers include: • Emotional problems of family separation. Teachers are aware of the prevalence and potential problems of family separation during migration. • Lack of academic preparation because education was interrupted during migration. • Teenage immigrants have a harder time adjusting to the U.S. school system than do younger immigrants.

13. Our Findings in Qualitative Stage II(cont) • Teachers recognize that Latin American immigrant children older than others in their grade • Education was interrupted during migration. • When they arrive in the U.S., immigrant children are assigned to a grade lower than the grade level competed in their home country

14. Our Findings in Qualitative Stage II (cont) • Teachers mentioned existing programs that help in improving the performance of Latin American immigrants in school • ESOL classes. • Spanish speaking counselors familiar with the culture of the Latin American immigrants. • After school help with homework . • Support for parents, including Spanish speaking parent liassons, English classes and workshops to help parents understand the structure of U. S. school system.

15. Our Findings • These conclusions are consistent With Both Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis • Separation during migration has a negative impact on educational success. • The impact of separation only shows up when immigrants are teenagers. • The impact is largest: • for those who migrated when they were teenagers. • if  parent are undocumented • if children are separated from mother and/or both parents • if immigrants are from Latin America (compared with immigrants from other nationalities.

16. Policy Implications Family separation during migration matters and should be taken into account in schools For example, counselors should be aware that separation is a problem, and they could talk to students and parents, have meetings with them at the beginning of the academic year, to aknowledge the situation and prevent some of the problems. One example is the Prince Georges County high schools, through the Immigrant School Counseling Office, a program is in place to ease the transition to U.S. schools for immigrants separated during migration. The program includes individual counseling, groups counseling sessions, support groups including peers who have been through separation and have been in the U.S. for many years, and written information (in English and Spanish) for parents In terms of national immigration policy, our results suggest that policies of family reunification should concentrate on reuniting families while the children are still young.

17. Policy Implications (cont) • Our results suggest that separation has a bigger impact on children when they are in middle and high school compared to elementary school. • Therefore, we suggest that these programs can be most effective if applied in middle and high school.