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41. Redesigning U.S. Assistance to Africa in the Post-Pandemic Era

Author:
Mark Wentling
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
American Diplomacy
Institution:
American Diplomacy
Abstract:
It is my opinion that the interest of the United States is best served in most African countries by improving the basic welfare of their people. The effectiveness of U.S. aid in Africa can be enhanced by focusing on the least developed countries. Helping address basic human needs, notably in the areas of education and health, should be top priority, especially the education of girls. Increasing agricultural production to improve nutritional health also deserves greater attention. Assistance funding needs to be stable and independent of political and diplomatic considerations. The composition of U.S. overseas missions and cumbersome bureaucratic processes must be revised to permit the effective and timely implementation of this new strategy. These changes are necessary to raise hopes for a better future for millions of Africans and to strengthen the role of the U.S. in Africa.
Topic:
Education, Health, Foreign Aid, Pandemic, and Girls
Political Geography:
Africa, North America, and United States of America

42. The Patchy Landscape of State English Learner Policies under ESSA

Author:
Leslie Villegas and Delia Pompa
Publication Date:
02-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
When the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law in 2015, it was hailed as a significant step forward for English Learner (EL) students. The law aimed to raise the profile of accountability for ELs, including in terms of their progress towards English proficiency and their performance in academic subjects. More than four years on, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have submitted plans to the U.S. Department of Education describing how they intend to meet their commitments under ESSA. But despite anticipation of a clear vision for the future of EL education policy, these plans offer a rather fractured picture and considerable variation. This report provides a detailed breakdown of key aspects of EL education outlined in these state plans. It examines policies governing how students are identified as ELs, assessed, and eventually exited from EL status once they reach proficiency; how their academic achievement is tracked; and the extent to which they are included in state accountability systems. On the whole, the authors conclude, ESSA has fostered more consistency within (though not between) states on matters such as EL identification and reclassification procedures. However, the law has significant shortcomings in other critical areas. For example, it provides no guidance to states on how to address cases involving ELs who do not reach proficiency within the state-determined timeline. The complexity of ESSA’s state accountability framework—with elements pertaining to ELs scattered across it—can also make it difficult to understand how and how much ELs’ performance counts in school accountability ratings. While it is too soon to understand the full impact of ESSA on EL students' academic outcomes and English acquisition, the report points to a number of key areas that merit careful attention from education policymakers and researchers in the coming years.
Topic:
Education, Immigration, Law, Language, and ESL
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

43. Immigration Enforcement and the Mental Health of Latino High School Students

Author:
Randy Capps, Jodi Berger Cardoso, Kalina Brabeck, Michael Fix, and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
As public discourse around immigration has become more highly charged and immigration policies have seen sweeping changes in the United States, immigration enforcement has generated fear in immigrant communities across the country—fears that extend beyond the unauthorized immigrant population to immigrant families with U.S.-born children and legal immigrants. This report explores how fear of immigration enforcement is related to the mental health and school engagement of young Latinos, the fastest-growing group of high school students nationwide. It also considers the role of other stressors, including discrimination and economic hardship, and factors that may support students’ resilience, such as spirituality and strong family relationships. This analysis draws its findings from a study that was conducted by researchers from the Migration Policy Institute, University of Houston, and Rhode Island College during the 2018–19 school year and that had two components: self-assessments completed by hundreds of Latino students in 11 high schools, and semistructured interviews with dozens of education professionals and community experts. The two study sites—Harris County, TX and Rhode Island—offer contrasting immigration-enforcement contexts. Among the study’s findings are: A majority of the students in both Harris County and Rhode Island (67 percent versus 52 percent) feared that someone close to them would be arrested and deported. While fears were more common among youth in Harris County, which has a higher level of immigration enforcement, these findings suggest deportation fears are not limited to places where enforcement is widespread. More than half of the students reported symptoms of mental-health conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or depression at levels high enough to warrant treatment. Students who feared immigration enforcement most acutely—and who changed their behaviors as a result—had the worst mental-health outcomes. Almost one-third of students in the study had changed their behavior as a result of enforcement fears. In interviews, educators also described school and community strategies for supporting Latino students’ mental health, including approaches to establishing a welcoming environment, reforming disciplinary practices, and connecting students with in-house and external mental-health resources.
Topic:
Education, Immigration, Law Enforcement, Mental Health, Deportation, and Latino Issues
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

44. Navigating the Future of Work: The Role of Immigrant-Origin Workers in the Changing U.S. Economy

Author:
Julia Gelatt, Jeanne Batalova, and Randy Capps
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Immigrant-origin workers—that is, immigrants and their U.S.-born children—have been the main drivers of U.S. workforce growth in recent years. They were responsible for 83 percent of labor force growth between 2010 and 2018, at which point they made up 28 percent of all U.S. workers. Looking ahead, all growth in the working-age population is projected to come from immigrant-origin adults through 2035. Yet research on the future of work in the United States has largely overlooked this important segment of the workforce. This report examines the jobs held by immigrant-origin workers and third/higher-generation workers (those born in the United States to U.S.-born parents), and which of these jobs are likely to grow versus decline due to automation, offshoring, and other trends. It also considers the implications of the changing mix of jobs in the U.S. economy for both workforce development and immigration policy. Among the findings of this data analysis: Similar shares of Immigrant-origin and third/higher-generation workers held “jobs of the future” (22 percent versus 24 percent) and declining jobs (26 percent versus 29 percent) in 2018. Latinos—both those of immigrant origins and the third/higher generation—were less likely than workers in other major racial or ethnic groups to hold jobs of the future and more likely to hold declining jobs. Black immigrant-origin workers were overrepresented in jobs of the future in 2018, particularly in health care and health-care support, while third/higher-generation Black workers were more likely to hold declining jobs, such as office and administrative support occupations. This report is part of MPI’s multiyear Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy initiative, which aims to generate a big-picture, evidence-driven vision for the role immigration can and should play in America’s future. To learn more about the initiative and read related research, check out the initiative’s home page.
Topic:
Education, Employment, Economy, Immigrants, Labor Market, and Workforce
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

45. Which English Learners Count When? Understanding State EL Subgroup Definitions in ESSA Reporting

Author:
Julie Sugarman
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Data about English Learner (EL) students in the United States are more plentiful than ever. Under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), states must report a wide range of information about their students’ English language arts and math standardized test scores, graduation rates, and more. They must also break these data down to show how students with certain characteristics—subgroups including racial/ethnic groups, students with disabilities, and ELs—are doing. This wealth of data is meant to help policymakers, practitioners, and community members identify schools that need to do a better job of helping ELs learn. But for this to be possible, it must be clear who states are including in the EL subgroup—something that varies across types of data and that is not always clearly marked on state student performance reports or online dashboards. This brief aims to help data users understand how the composition of the EL subgroup varies, and why understanding these technical differences matters when making decisions about how ELs and schools are faring. It also discusses how breaking data out further for certain groups of ELs such as newcomers, students with interrupted formal education, and long-term ELs could benefit decision-making.
Topic:
Education, Immigrants, Language, and Integration
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

46. Native Language Assessments for K-12 English Learners: Policy Considerations and State Practices

Author:
Julie Sugarman and Leslie Villegas
Publication Date:
06-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Standardized tests play a central role in the U.S. education system, shaping how states hold schools accountable for ensuring that all students have equitable access to a quality education. Schools and districts sometimes also use testing data for high-stakes decisions about teacher pay and whether students can move on to the next grade. It is thus crucial that standardized assessments are able to accurately capture what students know and can do. But for English Learner (EL) students, test scores may not fully reflect how much they have learned in a subject if they cannot demonstrate their knowledge in English. The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) encourages states to consider offering native language assessments as a test accommodation for ELs. Yet official guidance and research are limited on how to use such assessments effectively, and only 31 states and the District of Columbia use such tests. Depending on factors such as students’ English proficiency levels and the language(s) in which they receive instruction, these tests may be a good fit for some ELs but not others. This policy brief explores key policy and practical questions for states considering implementing or expanding their use of native language assessments. It also provides an overview of the choices made by the jurisdictions that already use them—including the subjects and languages in which native language assessments are offered and how they were created. Finally, the brief offers recommendations for the federal government, states, and local actors that could help build understanding of when these tests work well and how to make them more widely available.
Topic:
Education, Immigrants, Language, Integration, and ESL
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

47. Educating English Learners during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Policy Ideas for States and School Districts

Author:
Julie Sugarman and Melissa Lazarín
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
As schools closed their physical classrooms in March 2020 due to COVID-19, educators across the United States reported that English Learners (ELs), immigrant students, and students in low-income families were particularly difficult to reach with online instruction. The pandemic and the sudden, forced transition to remote learning have brought into sharp relief the inequities that many of these students face in often under-resourced schools. Despite significant effort on the part of educators to support their students’ continued learning through Spring 2020, these efforts fell short for many ELs and students in immigrant families. Among the most notable barriers: a lack of access to digital devices and broadband, school–family communication gaps, parents’ limited capacity to support home learning, and inadequate remote learning resources and training for teachers on how to use them effectively. With the 2020–21 school year underway, and many schools continuing to operate partly or entirely remotely, this policy brief takes stock of the impact schools’ response to the pandemic is having on ELs and immigrant-background students. It identifies key challenges states and school districts must overcome, and outlines policy recommendations to help them ensure these students are adequately supported in this academic year and beyond. These include prioritizing ELs for in-person instruction when schools buildings begin to reopen, professional development on digital instruction that includes a focus on working with ELs, strategies for strengthening parental engagement, and funding mechanisms to shield high-needs students from the brunt of expected budget cuts. As the authors note, “depending on how states and districts adapt in the coming year, schools could emerge from this crisis having built stronger and more resilient systems on a foundation of equity for ELs and immigrant-background students.”
Topic:
Education, Science and Technology, Immigration, Inequality, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

48. Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families through Home Visiting: Innovative State and Local Approaches

Author:
Caitlin Katsiaficas
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Home visiting programs are increasingly popular in communities across the United States. A two-generation model for health and social service provision, home visiting is designed to support both young children and their caretakers to promote their health, well-being, and long-term outcomes. For immigrant and refugee families, home visiting can also offer integration-related supports, such as by helping parents navigate unfamiliar early childhood, health, and social service systems. But even though they make up an important segment of the at-risk populations these programs aim to serve, immigrant and refugee families are less frequently enrolled in home visiting programs than families in which the parents are U.S. born. This brief highlights strategies adopted by some states and counties to address this gap. To do so, it looks at four case studies: King County, Washington; San Diego County, California; Illinois; and Massachusetts. Working with different populations and in varied funding environments, these state and local efforts illustrate key steps policymakers and program administrators can take to boost the equity and quality of home visiting services for immigrant families, such as by: explicitly including at-risk immigrant families in program needs assessments and prioritizing them for services alongside other at-risk families; incorporating community input into program design; adjusting procurement processes to level the playing field for community-based organizations that seek to offer home visiting services and are well positioned to connect with families of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds; and supporting research on what program models work well for immigrant and refugee families.
Topic:
Education, Refugees, Immigrants, and Integration
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

49. Uncertain Days for Scholars as Sino-U.S. Tensions Rise

Author:
Jeremy A. Murray
Publication Date:
09-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
Cultural and educational exchanges between the United States and China have become pawns in an increasingly fraught relationship. But maintaining and deepening these ties will prevent a return to the dangerous mutual ignorance of the Cold War.
Topic:
Cold War, Education, Nationalism, Bilateral Relations, Culture, and Academia
Political Geography:
China, Asia, and United States of America

50. Spring 2020: The International Student Journey

Author:
Allan E. Goodman, Robert A. Scott, Gretchen Dobson, Meredith Doubleday, Darla K. Deardorff, Lindsay Addington, Peter Baker, Elisabeth Bloxam, Niki Kerameus, Jennifer Evanuik, and Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute of International Education (IIE)
Abstract:
International students are a core part of any institution’s internationalization strategy. Beyond boosting enrollment numbers, institutions are increasingly focused on understanding what makes for a successful international student experience. In the Spring 2020 issue of the IIENetworker magazine, The International Student Journey, professionals from around the world share their strategies and perspectives on international student success from outreach and recruitment to the on-campus experience through to alumni initiatives. How do institutions recruit as the global landscape for international students has expanded? What can be done to ensure that your international students are as integrated on your campus as domestic students? And once they leave campus, does your relationship with these students end?
Topic:
Demographics, Education, Youth, Institutions, and Higher Education
Political Geography:
Greece, North America, and United States of America