Critical Question
What do we need to know to promote the success of
immigrant students?
Goals
• Strengthen cultural awareness and competence
• Deepen understanding of the challenges immigrant
families face
• Provide classroom and school-wide strategies for
working with immigrant students and parents.
WHO WE ARE
Use the polling buttons to indicate yes (check) or no
(X)
Were you born outside of Alberta?

Were you born outside of Canada?
Were one or more of your parents born outside of
Canada?
Do you speak more than one language?
Have you traveled outside of Canada?
Have you lived outside of Canada?
Permanent Residents Admitted in 2011
Rank
Country of origin
1
Philippines
2
People’s Republic of China
3
India
4
United States of America
5
Iran
6
United Kingdom and Colonies
7
Haiti
8
Pakistan
9
France
10
United Arab Emirates
Total Top 10
All Other Source Countries
TOTAL
Number
34,991
28,696
24,965
8,829
6,840
6,550
6,208
6,073
5,867
5,223
134,242
114,506
248,748
Percentage
14.1%
11.5%
10.0%
3.5%
2.7%
2.6%
2.5%
2.4%
2.4%
2.1%
54.0%
46.0%
100%
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Facts and Figures 2011.
Permanent Resident Immigrants 2012
Family class
64,901
25%
Economic Immigrants—Principal
Applicants
68,208
62%
Economic Immigrants—Spouses and
Dependants
92,409
Refugees
23,056
9%
8,936
3%
257,515
100%
Other Immigrants
Total
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, RDM, Preliminary 2012 Data.
Permanent Immigrant by Class
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Temporary Foreign Workers in Alberta
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
37,068
57,561
65,618
57,681
58,228
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Permanent Resident Immigrants
2003
2005
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Calgary
9,271
11,186
11,246
13,039
13,708
16,107
15,060
Edmonton
4,810
6,016
6,540
7,517
8,508
11,008
10,457
Medicine Hat
149
149
163
181
169
207
189
Lethbridge
169
228
279
298
483
556
509
Red Deer
203
322
567
676
537
586
759
1,237
1,503
2,065
2,490
3,612
4,186
3,989
15,839
19,404
20,860
24,201
27,017
32,650
30,963
Other Alberta
Alberta
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
WHAT WAS POSITIVE, MINUS OR INTERESTING?
Positive
Minus
Interesting
New Immigrant Challenges
New Immigrant Challenges
• Language and Culture
• Debt burden
• Climate
• Discrimination
• Lack of social support
• Benefit waiting period
• Employment barriers
• Housing
• Psychological trauma
experienced as a result
of fleeing a conflict zone
New Immigrant Challenges
Language and Culture
 Different foods, housing, clothing
 Different way of life
 Different rules and expectations
 Culture shock
What do you see ?
New Immigrant Challenges
Employment barriers
 No recognition of credentials
 No Canadian experience, poor job network
 Many live in poverty, in spite of holding two jobs
New Immigrant Challenges
Debt burden
 Refugees have to repay government loans for medical
exams and travel expenses
New Immigrant Challenges
Discrimination
•
There are stories of exclusionary and discriminatory
practices in the workplace and community such as:

Denied jobs for lacking Canadian work experience

Devaluation of foreign credentials

Denied rental accommodations, etc.
New Immigrant Challenges
Benefit waiting period
 90 day wait for health care
 Temporary Foreign Workers do not qualify
New Immigrant Challenges
Housing
•
•
•
Primary concern for new immigrants
May be unaware of their rights as renters
Landlords may require letters confirming employment
which may not be possible
Psychological Trauma experienced as a
result of fleeing a conflict zone
•
•
Will have a major impact on both the student and his/her
family and may impede a smooth transition into their new
life
Will impact all aspects of student’s well being including:
academics, socialization, emotional health, etc
For support, CONTACT:
•
•
•
School guidance counsellor
District psychologist
Local Immigrant Services Agency
WHAT DID YOU FIND SURPRISING OR INTERESTING
FROM THE INFORMATION THAT WAS JUST SHARED?
New Moves: An Orientation Video For
Newcomer Students
http://www.settlement.org/sys/library_detail.asp?k=ELEMSEC_SUCCEE
D&doc_id=1004928
New Moves: An Orientation Video for
Newcomer Students
http://www.settlement.org
What are we already doing well to support
immigrant students?
Define culture
The total range of activities and ideas of a group of people
with shared traditions, which are transmitted and
reinforced by members of the group.
The attitudes, feelings, values, and behaviours that
characterize and inform society as a whole or any social
group within it.
Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg (Gary Weaver)
•
Surface Culture
•
•
•
•
LANGUAGE
ARTS, LITERATURE
RELIGIONS, MUSIC, DRESS
DANCE, GAMES, SPORTS, COOKING
•
Folk Culture
//////// awareness level boundary/////\\\
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
NOTIONS OF MODESTY CONCEPTS OF BEAUTY
EDUCATION CHILD RAISING RULES OF DESCENT
COSMOLOGY RELATIONSHIP TO THINGS, ANIMALS & PLANTS
COURTSHIP PRACTICES CONCEPT OF JUSTICE MOTIVATION TO WORK
CRITERIA FOR LEADERSHIP DECISION MAKING PROCESSES DEITIES DEATH
IDEAS OF CLEANLINESS LOCUS OF CONTROL THEORY OF DISEASE PHYSICAL SPACE
•
DEFINITION OF SANITY, FRIENDSHIP, LOVE, MURDER, LIFE, GENDER, FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
•
ROLES IN RELATION TO STATUS BY AGE, GENDER, CLASS, KINSHIP, OCCUPATION, RELIGION,
CONVERSATIONAL PATTERNS IN VARIOUS SOCIAL CONTEXTS, CONCEPTION OF TIME & SPACE
PREFERENCES FOR COMPETITION, COOPERATION, INDIVIDUALISM OR GROUP NORMS, SIN, GRACE
NOTION OF ADULTHOOD, NOTION OF LOGIC AND VALIDITY, PHYSICAL SPACE ARRANGEMENTS, LIFE
Scaffolding for Instructional Success
Constructivist Scaffolding Strategies
• Tap into prior knowledge
• Model what students are to do
• Give students time to process new ideas
• Pre-teach vocabulary
• Use visual aids
• Attend to your language
• Build and nurture learning community
Scaffolding
Tap into prior knowledge
 Relate topic to their own lives and experiences
 Make connection to student background
 Ask students to share their experiences (give hints and
suggestions, if needed)
Scaffolding
Model what students are to do
 Give an example of how final product should look
 Provide criteria for evaluation
 Demonstrate the process through think-aloud
 Make goals explicit
Scaffolding
Give students time to process new ideas
 Provide structured talking time
 Students verbally make sense of the ideas and articulate
that sense with their buddies
Scaffolding
Pre-teach vocabulary
 Introduce words in context
 Have students develop illustrations
 Use dictionary definitions last
Tech tricks!
•
Inside Story Flash Cardsprintable vocabulary
flashcards with striking images and unforgettable
definitions http://insidestoryflashcards.com/
Simple English Wikipedia
•
an online encyclopedia for "people with different needs,
such as students, children, adults with learning
difficulties and people who are trying to learn English"
•
articles are usually shorter and present only basic
information
Scaffolding
Use visual aids
 Demonstrations, graphic organizers, photos, charts,
films, manipulatives, timelines
 Skim the chapter looking at photos and discussing, take
a “picture walk” through the materials before reading the
text
Scaffolding
Attend to your language
 Not too fast, not too slow
 Use body language
 Be careful using humour, idioms, figures of speech
 Use translation when necessary
 Check if you are understood, paraphrase
Scaffolding
Build and nurture learning community
 Work in groups whenever appropriate.
What other scaffolding strategies have you
used?
How do we promote parental
involvement in our schools?
“Before teachers and administrators put expectations on
parents regarding their involvement in the child’s education,
they need to understand parents’ cultural backgrounds as it
relates to education.
For example, it is unlikely that South Sudanese parents will
expect to be involved as partners in the education of their
child since in South Sudan, the responsibility for children’s
education rests solely with the teacher.”
Working with South Sudanese Immigrant Students – Teachers Resources. Canadian Multicultural
Education Foundation
Increase Awareness of Immigrant Challenges
Parents sometimes work two or three jobs to make ends
meet when they immigrate to Canada.
When immigrants first arrive in Canada, like their
children, they too are enrolled in school taking English
lessons provided by the Canadian government.
Where To Begin? Connecting your School
with the Immigrant Family
•
Find out about the family and be sensitive to their cultural
practices.
•
Reach out to families and invite parents to become
involved. Initially, whenever possible, this should be done
with the support of intercultural consultants and other
community leaders.
(page 9 Teaching Somali Immigrant Children: Resources for Student Success. Canadian
Multicultural Education Foundation and the Alberta Teachers Association)
Reaching the Community through Programs,
Meetings and Events
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Meetings for high school completion requirements
Student award nights, art exhibits, math & science fairs
Vision screening and dental checks
Car seat safety checks
Clothing exchanges
Heritage language clubs taught by volunteers
Haircuts and Styling
Help with reading bills, mail, junk mail, etc.
Teaching Somali Immigrant Children: Resources for Student Success. Canadian Multicultural Education Foundation and the Alberta Teachers
Association
Working with Parents for Student Success
For Our Kids
Settlement.org
http://bit.ly/1cDwgjX
WORKING WITH SOUTH SUDANESE AND SOMALI
STUDENTS RESOURCES FROM ATA
School/Home Communication Handbook
for Parents
ATA Publication
Learning Together— Public Education in
Alberta
STRATEGIES I WOULD LIKE TO TRY WITH MY
IMMIGRANT STUDENTS AND FAMILIES
joni.turville@ata.ab.ca
andrea.berg@ata.ab.ca