Developmental Contextualism and Cultural Adjustment of Immigrant Children

Jennie Park-Taylor

Immigration rates are significantly shifting the demographics of America's public schools. The U.S. public education system is becoming increasingly multicultural, multilingual, and multiracial. In California, for example, immigrant children make up 20% of the public school population (Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-Orozco, 2001), and according to national estimates, it is predicted that by 2010, the number of school-aged immigrant children will rise to 9 million, making up approximately 22% of the entire school-aged population (Fix & Passel, 1994). Given the growing numbers of immigrant children entering today's public schools, educators and school-based professionals are increasingly required to attend to the multifaceted needs of an extremely diverse group of students. For immigrant children and their families, the consequences of immigration for cultural adjustment can be lifelong (Partida, 1996). For undocumented individuals, the added stress related to possible deportation serves as a significant barrier to positive health and mental health outcomes. Upon arrival, some ...

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