Teaching Immigrant Children

CATALYSTS FOR DEVELOPMENT

Statistics

● In 2016, close to 2.2 million children under the age of 15, or 37.5% of the total population of
children, had at least one foreign-born parent.
● Children with an immigrant background could represent between 39% and 49% of the total
population of children in 2036.
● Almost half of children with an immigrant background were from an Asian country of
ancestry, while less than one-quarter were from a European country of ancestry or the
United States.
● Close to 15% of children with an immigrant background lived in a household with at least
three generations.
● More than one-third of children with an immigrant background spoke only an official
language at home, compared with less than 10% of their parents.
Factors That Affect The Child

Parental Factors: Newcomer parents may have different ideals and set out
different roles for the student at home. Often there is a higher expectation
of immigrant students that can add pressure to classroom performance.There may
also be an expectation that members of the family deal with issues behind
closed doors.

School Resources: Students with access to ESL programs, one-on-one teacher

support and time, and higher immigrant population will do better than students
without these resources.

Different Skill Sets: Children from an immigrant household will may not have
the same literacy skill set. They may not have access to texts at home.
Additionally, the parents may have different ideas of what is important.
Mental and Emotional Health

“the psychological well-being of immigrant students is affected not only by

differences between their country of origin and country of destination, but also by
how well the schools and local communities in their country of destination help
them to overcome the myriad obstacles they face in succeeding at school and
building a new life.”

Not surprisingly, students do better when they feel like they belong in the
community and in the school system. The more the students felt like they
belonged the better they did in school. The mental and emotional aspect of their
school life is extremely important.
Proficiency in Reading

Proficiency in reading is key to all learning. ESL classes

and extra support around literacy is the cornerstone for the
development of successful students.

When students have a good grasp of language they will be able

to navigate both academic and social situations better.

Some schools have teachers who specialize in one-on-one ESL

classes, and this has proven to be extremely effective in
helping students.
 A mindful approach to culture, custom and
societal differences is always best practice when
it comes to immigrant/refugee families and
their children
Watch for signs that a ● How is your child doing in
school?
young newcomer is
● How is he adapting to life at
struggling at school, first school, and schoolwork?
● Has he/she had many
by asking parents
absences from school?
questions such as:
https://www.kidsnewtocanada.ca/mental-health/school
https://www.kidsnewtocanada.ca/health-promotion/youth-resource
https://www.oecd.org/education/Helping-immigrant-students-to-succeed-at-
school-and-beyond.pdf
https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/as-sa/98-200-
x/2016015/98-200-x2016015-eng.cfm
http://facingtoday.facinghistory.org/tasting-history-how-to-teach-immigration-
to-a-class-of-immigrants