New American Students' Parents Perceptions of School Climate, Integration and Wellbeing

Background/Purpose: At least 3% of all U.S. K-12 students were foreign-born, with 22% having one foreign-born parent. Immigrant and refugee students, hereafter, New American Students (NAS), may be exposed to individual or transgenerational traumatic experiences before or after resettlement, predisposing them to behavioral and emotional difficulties that impair academic success. The school environment plays a significant role in the rehabilitation and integration of NAS. NAS experience of disrupted learning, language barriers, cultural adaptation, new teaching methods, and laws contribute to unsuccessful outcomes such as higher dropout rates and poorer livelihoods. Teachers note their poor preparation, cultural incompetence, and fear of being misunderstood in meeting NAS needs, and cite a lack of NAS parental engagement and disclosure that can foster positive outcomes. Despite these challenges, there is limited research on how NAS's experience of school climate can improve outcomes. This family-school-community study examined the direct and indirect relationships between individual factors, mental health, school climate, and academic self-efficacy for NAS. This presentation highlights parents’ perspectives on NAS and school climate.

Methods: We recruited a purposive sample of parents of NAS through the school district and via emails, word-of-mouth, and flyers made available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese to accommodate the top languages in two high schools. Trained research assistants and school family engagement coordinators (FECs) served as language brokers and facilitated focus group discussions with parents (segregated by language). Discussions focused on parents’ perspectives of students’ needs, school climate (adapted from the three dimensions of school climate: engagement, safety, and environment), and acculturation experience. The discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed/translated, and thematic content analysis on MAXQDA, following an iterative coding process to elucidate themes.

Results: Most parents (n=14) arrived in the U.S. between one and 10 years ago. Reasons for immigration include escaping violent crime, economic opportunity, welfare provisions, concerns for their child’s future, and family reunification. Parents noted improved demeanors of their children tied to positive treatment and the supportive presence of a high immigrant population. Regarding the school climate, most parents ventured that the students had more safety and security in school, sound transportation, and an easier school system, experienced less bullying, and were motivated by teachers. From the parents' perspective, the most significant barriers ranged from no problems to issues such as language barriers, the need for training to understand American culture, health insurance, limited knowledge of technology, the need for a psychologist or counselor, limited choices for higher education, and lack of understanding of the school system. While most parents feared the school system, they had widespread positive views of the school climate. Parents also suggested items for inclusion in a program for NAS.

Conclusions. Study confirms schools' role as environment for socialization and integration of NAS. Findings highlight need for a multisystem approach to policies and programs to ameliorate barriers and increase parents’ participation. Findings will directly support the establishment of a preventive, sustainable intervention to improve school climate, NAS's educational experience, and overall resilience.