DR. VITUS BLOG

A school for the children of white migrant farm
workers, circa 1945
Children of migrant workers struggle to achieve
the same level of educational success as their
peers. Relocation causes discontinuity in
education, which causes migrant students to
progress slowly through school and drop out at
high rates. Additionally, relocation has negative
social consequences on students: isolation from
peers due to cultural differences and language
barriers. Migrant children, defined as those who
relocate because of involvement with agriculture-
related industries or other seasonal work, [1] are
also at a disadvantage because the majority live
in extreme poverty and must work with their
parents to support their families. These barriers
to equal educational attainment for children of
migrant workers are present in countries all over
the world. Although the inequality in education
remains pronounced, government policies, non-
governmental organizations , non-profits , and
social movements are working to reverse its
effects.
Barriers to educational
success
Cultural differences
Cultural differences that cause difficulties in
assimilation and also lead to prejudice and
xenophobia against migrant families are
common deterrents from receiving equal
educational opportunities. These prejudices can
be formalized by restrictive regulations, or they
can be informal but negatively affect the learning
atmosphere of a school. Students who don't feel
welcome or wanted because of their migrant
status are less likely to remain in school. [2][3]
[4] Additionally, students who struggle with
cultural adjustment often fail to form connections
and make friends in school, which affects their
academic achievement. [5]
Language differences
Language differences are another common
barrier to educational success. Migrant students
that speak a language other than the region's
dominant language struggle with basic
comprehension and literacy , which affects
success in school. [2][3] Even students who are
fluent in the regions dominant language but face
challenges with the written or academic form of
the language are often placed in lower-level or
special education classes that have the potential
to undermine their academic proficiency.
Additionally, while a student may have a high
level of language acquisition, cultural differences
that include short answer responses, unexpected
expressions, and mannerisms, can be
misunderstood as language deficit. Schools that
have contemplated a separate program for
second language learning face challenges with
limited resources and an insufficient amount of
participating students. Language challenges
amongst migrant students create a significant
barrier given that language deficiency is often
tied to alienation and ridicule from peers, and in
some cases, academic punishment. [6]
Lack of information
Migrant parents are often unaware of their
children's right to education or are unfamiliar
with the structure of the local public education
system. For example, many migrant farmworker
parents in the United States do not know they
have a right to hold copies of their children's
transcripts and school records, which are needed
to enroll students in new schools. This makes
transferring schools more difficult, taking time
away from the student's education. [7] After
moving to a new place, parents must focus their
energy on finding work and providing for their
families, which often means that they do not
have time to explore educational options for their
children. Additionally, most migrant parents
speak a different language, which also affects
their ability to receive information. [3]
Psychological difficulties
Trauma and other psychological difficulties are
common among migrant populations, especially
refugees who are forced into migratory status
due to political, social, or religious turmoil at
home. Adjustment to a new culture, language,
and home is also difficult and can lead to
psychological strain on migrant families. [3]
According to a 2008 study conducted by the
Universities of Melbourne and Hong Kong,
migrant students are more prone to depression
and separation anxiety than their non-migrant
peers. [8] This is apparent in the United States
where undocumented students who succeeded in
making the difficult journey across the border
face psychological difficulties due to fear of
being separated from their families through
deportation. [9] Another factor contributing to
increased rates of depression and anxiety among
migrant youth is discrimination in school. In the
University of Melbourne study, the demographic
that faced the most psychological difficulties
were migrant teenage boys who had experienced
discrimination in school and/or domestic
conflict. [8]
Residential dislocation
Many difficulties arise due to the movement of
migrant students from one school to another.
Children often must adjust to new curricula,
testing requirements, and they also must
navigate different systems of credit accrual. [10]
When migrant students move during the middle
of a school year, they are often discouraged from
enrolling mid-way through a semester, which
disrupts education and has lasting psychological
effects. Additionally, when students (especially
those in migrant farmworker families) anticipate
frequent dislocation, they are less likely to enroll
in advanced classes that would increase their
prospects of attaining a post-secondary
education. [7]
Living conditions
This large field is filled with mobile
homes. Temporary accommodation for
many migrant workers working on the
acres of orchards of Selling Court Farm.
Migrant and immigrant children are four times as
likely to live in substandard, crowded housing
conditions than are non-migrant and non-
immigrant children. [9] Many migrant
farmworkers live with a large number of
extended family members in migrant camps or
temporary housing. This density of people in a
small, poorly lit and sparsely furnished space is
not conducive to studying. Migrant farmworker
camps are located close to agricultural fields
and not necessarily within walking distance of
the local schools, which poses a problem when
reliable transportation is also an issue for some
families. [7] Many living accommodations have
minimal cooking appliances or refrigeration,
which for many migrant students means more
time spent preparing meals than studying. [5]
Some of the migrant worker's accommodations
also lack fresh drinking water or sanitation
facilities, which increases migrant student's risk
of getting sick. [5]
Cost
The cost of schooling can also prevent equal
access to education. Migrant families, especially
migrant farm-working families, have low
socioeconomic status and can't afford to pay
extra fees on schooling. Even in countries where
there are no extra fees for migrant students,
there is often an economic disincentive to
sending a child to school when they could be
working to supplement their parents' incomes. [2]
[3][4]
In the United States
Demographics
The exact demographics of migrant students in
the United States are difficult to calculate
because they move across state and national
borders, have different levels of citizenship
status, and have limited English proficiency,
complicating survey and census data. [2][11]
However, in 2002, the US Department of
Education , estimated that there are 783,867
migrant children who meet the federal definition
of "migrant" as set forth in the eligibility
requirements for government support (see
Government programs below). This refers to
children who have moved school districts within
the last 3 years due to agricultural work or work
in related industries.
Race
The racial breakdown of these migrant students
is 86% Hispanic, 8% White, and less than 3%
Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and
Asian/Pacific Islander. [1]
Language
84% of these students speak little to no English,
and about 90% speak a language other than
English in their homes. The states with the
highest level of students with limited English
proficiency are Arizona (with 51% LEP migrant
students) and Texas (with 37% LEP migrant
students). [2]
Location
Distribution of migrant students in the U.S. [2]
State/
Territory
Number of
MEP
Percentage of U.S.
Total
California 166,793 30.8%
Texas 95,703 17.6%
Florida 33,068 6.1%
Puerto Rico 21,224 3.9%
Michigan 19,167 3.5%
Oregon 18,494 3.4%
Education
Of all of the foreign-born migrants in the United
States, 22% have less than a 9th grade
education. This percentage breaks down
differently by country of origin, with migrants
from Asia arriving with the most education and
migrants from Latin America arriving with the
least. [12]
Region of
Origin
Percent of population 25+ years
with less than a 9th grade
education
Total
foreign
born
22.2%
Europe 12.7%
Asia 10%
Latin
America 34.6%
Other
regions 7.3%
Native 4.7%
Region of
Origin
Percent of population with
Bachelor's degree or higher
Total foreign
born 25.8%
Europe 32.9%
Asia 44.9%
Latin
America 11.2%
Other
regions 36.8%
Native 25.6%
With regards to educational attainment, only six
percent of foreign-born migrant farmworkers
have completed 12th grade. [13]
Legislation and policy
Starting in the 1960s, the United States'
government has passed a series of legislation
intended to improve the lives of migrant and
immigrant students. In 1968, the Bilingual
Education Act allocated funding to individual
school districts for the creation of bilingual
education programs. As part of the Equal
Educational Opportunity Act (EEOA) of 1974, the
federal government required schools to
recognize the language barriers in migrant
communities and offer support for non-English
speaking students. [14] The No Child Left Behind
Act , however, created new testing requirements
that make it difficult for migrant students who
might transfer school districts before taking a
required test, negatively affecting their ability to
progress in school.
Government programs
Migrant Education Program
In 1965, as part of President Lyndon B.
Johnson's "War on Poverty ", Title I of the 1965
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
was framed to help support economically
disadvantaged students within the United States.
However, this act failed to address the specific
non-economic barriers faced by migrant workers
and their families so it was amended in 1966 to
include the Migrant Education Program
(MEP). [1] MEP provides support for children of
migrant workers through educational services
such as extended school days, summer
programs, ESL classes, etc. Eligibility
requirements are solely based on the mobility of
children and not on their economic or cultural
struggles as migrants. This was because Title I
already focuses on economically disadvantaged
children, so it was assumed that children who
qualify for MEP would be receiving benefits from
those pre-existing anti-poverty programs. To be
included in the Migrant Education Program,
children must have had moved school districts
for temporary or seasonal agricultural work
within the past 3 years. [1] The definition of who
qualifies has changed several times since 1966.
In 1974, the MEP expanded in scope by
including migratory fishing, meat-packing, and
other agriculture-related jobs into the categories
of eligibility. This was also the year that the
period of eligibility was increased from 3 years
to 6 years after relocating school districts;
however, in 1994 with the passage of the
Improving America's Schools Act , it was returned
to 3 years. In 1994, the definition of who
qualified for MEP was further limited to those
children who moved school districts for
agriculture-related work that represented their
family's "principle means of livelihood." [1]
In 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act re-
authorized MEP and mandated that the federal
funding is focused on the "neediest students"
with the "highest risk of academic failure". [2]
Although NCLB re-authorized MEP, the main
goals of the program reflect what was already
laid out in the 1960s. These goals include
supporting educational programs to address
educational disruptions, protecting migrant
children from being penalized for the differences
between State curriculums and graduation
requirements, designing assistance programs to
address the special needs of migrant
children. [15] The Migrant Education Program
also facilitates coordination of educational
services between states. [2] The Migrant Student
Record Transfer System (MSRTS) and the New
Generation System (NGS) collect students'
records and mails them between school
districts, which helps provide continuity in
education for students who move across state
lines. [1]
The primary criticism of the EDEA's Migrant
Education Program is its constantly evolving
definition of "migrant student", which makes
counting the number of migrants and analyzing
statistics difficult. Second, not all migrants are
treated equally by the EDEA: former migrant
families that have permanently settled down are
not included in the definition of "migrant" so they
aren't eligible for the benefits of MEP despite
still being at a disadvantage. Third, the MEP
doesn't resolve the problem of students moving
schools across state lines, learning different
curriculums, and then struggling with state-
specific standardized tests. [16]
High School Equivalency Program
The High School Equivalency Program (HEP) is
designed to assist migratory and seasonal farm
workers to obtain the equivalent to a high school
diploma, to find additional skill training or post-
secondary schooling, or to find employment.
Each year, it serves at least 7,000 students who
qualify for the program by being 16 years of age
or older and not currently enrolled in school. [17]
The HEP is tailored to the needs of migrant
workers by being flexible and allowing students
to attend classes based on their own
convenience. Additionally, the HEP provides free
transportation, and all of its staff members are
bilingual. [18]
College Assistance Migrant Program
The College Assistance Migrant Program
(CAMP) is the only national support program
aimed at supporting migrant students through
the college experience. CAMP was originally
created through the U.S. Office of Economic
Opportunity program of 1972 before being
shifted to the U.S. Department of Labor the
following year and to the U.S. Department of
Education in 1980. CAMP is funded through
discretionary grants that are granted to different
non-profit organizations and institutions of higher
education. These grants are awarded so that
different institutions can provide financial aid,
career counseling, tutoring, summer enrichment
programs, etc. for migrant students. [19] One of
the criticisms of CAMP is that there are not
enough spaces available for every eligible
student who applies for support. Right now,
CAMP only supports roughly 2000 college
students per year. [20] Furthermore, due to an
increase in undergraduate tuition rates, the
number of students supported by CAMP has
decreased. [19]
Migrant Education Even Start
The Migrant Education Even Start Program is
focused on improving the literacy of migrant
children and adults by supporting existing family
literacy projects that operate through the
government, universities, private organizations,
etc. [21] The Even Start program is focused on
increasing children's and families' capabilities by
using migrant families' existing resources,
cultural traditions, and networks to jumpstart
their success. The instructional services included
in this program include Adult Basic Education,
Adult Secondary Education, English as a Second
Language, and GED certification. The downside
to the Even Start program is that many adults are
not able to complete their education due to time
constraints and lack of childcare. [22]
Nonprofit assistance
In addition to government programs, many non-
profit organizations work to help migrant workers
and their children achieve educational success.
Many programs focus on assisting migrant
workers to secure work and decent living
conditions, while other programs focus on
education. Non-profit organizations offer different
types of educational services for migrant workers
and their children. Some work with migrants to
upgrade or teach technical skills that would be
helpful for finding employment. Other
organizations aim to educate migrants on
workplace rights, so that they are knowledgeable
on how to handle workplace abuse, which is
common among undocumented migrant
workers. [23]
The most widely utilized form of non-profit
assistance is English as a Second Language
(ESL) education. Of the 20% of crop workers that
have taken at least one adult education class,
10% took English language classes. [24] After
English language education, many non-profits
offer GED education and tutoring because
passing the GED can increase educational and
occupational opportunities. [25] Organizations
such as Project Avanzando in California provide
GED instruction, and services to help students
transition into college. [26]
For adult learners, participating in these
programs can be difficult due to lack of
transportation, childcare, confidence, or flexibility
in work schedule. [26] Chances of attending adult
education classes are higher for crop workers
with the most previous educational experiences
as well as for authorized workers. Unauthorized
workers have a 10% chance of participating in
classes versus the 32% chance of authorized
workers. [24]
Educational success
The educational achievement gap between
migrant children and non-migrant children is
prevalent across the United States. Migrant
students generally have lower standardized test
scores than the district or state-wide
average. [27] In addition to inequality in test
scores, there is a persistent graduation gap
between migrant and non-migrant students. The
national drop-out rate among migrant farmworker
students is 50%. [15] In the population of
Hispanic immigrants, graduation completion
rates correlate to the age in which the student
migrated to the United States. The earlier a
student immigrates to the United States, the
higher their chances are at completing high
school. [25]
Age when immigrated to US
from Mexico
Graduation
rate [25]
15 – 21 years 28%
5 – 15 years 40%
0 – 5 years 78%
These high drop-out rates are often the result of
too many school absences, which is common
for students who need to support their families
by working in the fields or babysitting younger
siblings. Before dropping out, increased
absences can lead to migrant students being
held back a year in school. The more this
happens, the wider the age discrepancy between
students becomes, which furthers the likelihood
of dropping out of school. [5]
Possible solutions
Because of the complex and interwoven nature of
the different issues facing migrant students,
there is no consensus of how to solve the
inequalities in educational opportunity,
attainment, and achievement. Members of the
University of Texas at Austin argue that the
creation of "advocate educators," whose role it is
to support the rights of migrant students and act
as a solution for bridging gaps between
educational institutions and students. [28] A
2001 study conducted along the Texas-Mexican
border concluded that advocate educators who
demonstrated cross-cultural empathy and an
understanding of the nature, context, and needs
of migrant farmworkers fostered the educational
success of migrant students. [28] Teachers who
are better educated on the experiences of
migrant farmworkers will help eliminate prejudice
and low expectations of students, which in turn,
will encourage students to perform better in
school. Along these lines, it is also argued that
combatting prejudice and racial stereotypes
within the wider community will help decrease
prejudice in school and help migrant students. [5]
Other suggested interventions include finding a
more efficient way of making up absences or
missed curriculum due to school transfers and
increasing the minimum wage of migrant
farmworkers. Studies suggest that students have
to stay after school constantly to make-up
missed work lose motivation and become
quickly discouraged with the educational system.
By raising the minimum wage of migrant
farmworkers, policy makers would decrease the
opportunity cost of education because children
would no longer be needed to financially support
the family. [5]
In China
Classroom in a school for migrant students in
Beijing (Dongba district).
See also: Migrant School
The primary form of migration within China isn't
that of rural-rural farming migration, but that of
rural-urban migration. Through the hukou system,
a form of citizenship registration, the Chinese
government divides citizens into one of two
categories of: urban or rural. Historically, this
has created a hierarchy between urban and rural
citizens because strict regulations give urbanites
more access to healthcare, education, food, etc.
Migration has led to a changing demographic of
cities. According to the 2010 Census, 210
million urban-to-rural migrants are living in
cities, without official hukou registration. Of
these migrants, about 20 million are children
between the ages of 6 and 14 years struggling
to receive quality education because they are not
registered within the school district. [29] Many
local governments require that everyone
complete at least 9 years of education; however,
migrant children weren't allowed to enroll in
urban schools until 1996. The Ministry of
Education issued "Provisional Measures for the
Education of Migrant Children" in 1998, but
because this was not actually legally binding,
many factors continue to prohibit migrants from
receiving education:
The hukou system requires that rural children
must pay extra fees to attend urban
schools. [30]
School administrations require migrant
children to show at least 9 official documents
before enrolling, including a temporary
residence certificate (which requires that the
child's parents have a work permit and money
to pay for the certificate).
Many public schools require fees like the
"education compensation fee" and the
"temporary schooling fee" specifically for
migrant children. [4]
For rural migrant children who do succeed in
enrolling in state schools, discrimination is
prevalent: in most schools, migrant children do
not receive official grades and can not receive
academic honors. Because of this, many parents
choose to send their children to unlicensed,
privately run migrant-specific ("black") schools.
The quality of education in these schools is poor
because they lack the same resources as state
schools—specifically qualified teachers.
Depending on the region, these "black" schools
are also under threat of closure. In 2007 in
Shanghai , every unlicensed migrant school in the
center of the city was closed. However, schools
on the outskirts of the city and in the majority
migrant Xiamen Special Economic Zone , 34
unlicensed schools were allowed.
Researchers cite the Chinese government's quest
for "population quality" as the primary reason for
continued exclusionary policies against rural
migrants. However, there are other
consequences to the continuation of these
policies, as explained by Charlotte Goodburn:
In South Africa
School children in Hermanus, South
Africa
South Africa's migrant population is mainly
composed of refugee groups from other
countries in Africa. The South African
Constitution guarantees refugees and asylum
seekers the right to education. However, in
addition to the widespread xenophobia and
prejudice, migrants face many systemic barriers
that reduce their educational attainment. [31]
One such barrier in South Africa is that many
migrants are turned away from public schooling
because of a lack of documentation (such as
report cards, transfer forms, birth certificates,
etc.) Second, language difference is a significant
barrier for students from French or Portuguese-
speaking countries who must continue their
education in the predominantly English-speaking
South Africa. Third, according to the Gauteng
Department of Education, the recent influx of
migrants has "led to enormous pressure on the
education system, resulting in overcrowding in ...
schools." [3]
South African civil society organizations, such as
People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty
( PASSOP ) and Agency for Refugee Educational
Skills and Advocacy are working to combat the
issue of migrant education. Community based
social movements such as the Equal Education
movement are fighting for educational equality in
South Africa through research, analysis, and
activism. The Three2Six Project, which is donor-
funded, also helps by offering free schooling to
migrant children who are turned away from
public schools. [3]
See also
Achievement gap in the United States
Educational attainment in the United States
Educational inequality
Job migration
Migration in the People's Republic of China
Multicultural education
Office of Migrant Education
Racial achievement gap in the United States
Working class education
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External links
Office of Migrant Education
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