CHAPTER 6: “Transitions”: Collaboratively Developing a Curriculum on Future Educational Choices for English Learners

English learners in the United States are a multifaceted and growing group that includes children of migrants with low socioeconomic status (Suarez-Orozco, Suarez-Orozco, & Todorova, 2008), immigrants from other educational/social class backgrounds (Curry, 2007), and the increasing category of refugees displaced from a range of locations (Duffy, 2007; U.S. Committee on Refugees, 2009). With changes in geopolitical situations such as war, political oppression, and religious persecution, the refugee populations entering the United States shift accordingly. Schools are the primary contexts through which refugee and immigrant children learn about and are socialized to their relocation community and larger society. However, achieving academically in U.S. schools can be difficult for immigrant and refugee children, who are much more likely to fail or drop out than nativeborn students (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2008). Children whose parents are immigrants may be disadvantaged if the family has low English proficiency and lacks knowledge about how to navigate the U.S. educational system (Ngo, 2006). As a result, 23% of English learners aged 16 to 24 do not have a high school diploma (Morse, 2005). In addition, many refugee children experience interrupted education while living in refugee camps and some arrive in the United States without literacy in any language, as their first language may not have a written form (Duffy, 2007). Thus, refugees can be significantly different from other immigrant students who are more likely to come with consistent experiences of formal education. The urgent need for immigrant/refugee students to achieve academically creates challenges both for English learners in understanding the valued schooling practices of the United States and for schools—teachers, counselors, and administrators—in addressing students’ needs.