Chapter 11: High School Immigrant and Refugee Students and Families’ Participatory Educational Transformations

The United States has a history of exclusion, particularly as it pertains to immigrant groups. This exclusion is often reflected in schools and occurs on several levels, so “it is impossible to ignore, then, that schooling practices are related to issues of power and racism in U.S. society” (Moll, 2005, p. 276), especially as it relates to family engagement practices. Typically, the construct of family engagement in U.S. public schools has been exclusive and narrowly defined and as a result not inclusive of immigrant families (Horvat, Weininger, & Lareau, 2003; Jeynes, 2013; Olivos & Darder, 2006). This exclusion often stems from deficit perspectives (Alvarez Gutiérrez, 2015; Jeynes, 2013; Olivos & Darder, 2006; Quijada Cerecer, 2013; Valencia, 2010; Valencia & Solorzano, 1997) and sets the norms for the practices and behaviors that are deemed valuable in schools (e.g., volunteering, attending school events; Dryden-Peterson, 2018; Weiss, Bouffard, Bridglall, & Gordon, 2009; Weiss, Lopez, Kreider, & Chatman-Nelson, 2014). These exclusionary practices stem from dominant structures and epistemologies that sustain racial inequities. Given that schools are main contexts for young people to socialize and learn to become active citizens, they are pertinent places for students to thrive socially, culturally, and linguistically. Unfortunately, there is often a disconnect between schools and immigrant families, and as a result, unsafe schools are created for immigrant communities (Alvarez Gutiérrez, 2015; Horvat, Weininger, & Lareau, 2003; Jeynes, 2013; Olivos, 2006). Despite the many challenges that educators have in relating to immigrant communities, there are many educators and school leaders that work tirelessly to find new ways of ensuring that schools are safe and equitable learning spaces for all students, especially for students who have been historically marginalized in schools.