The Children of Immigrants at School: A Comparative Look at Integration in the United States and Western Europe

1. The Integration Imperative: Introduction

1 chapter one The Integration Imperative: Introduction Richard Alba and Jennifer Holdaway Immigration is challenging the societies of North America and Western Europe in ways that could not have been anticipated several decades ago. The wealthy societies of the West have welcomed immigrants at key moments since the mid-twentieth century; and everywhere, immigration has been associated with increasing ethnic, racial, and religious diversity (Castles and Miller 2009). In societies such as Germany or Sweden, which previously thought of themselves as homogeneous, this diversity is a novel fact that they still struggle to absorb. In countries such as the United States, where immigration was already a part of the national story, ever-rising levels of diversity are setting off anxieties among the native majority about its grip on the levers of power and status. All of the wealthy societies will confront a transition of enormous consequence over the next several decades (Alba 2011; Coleman 2006; Myers 2007). This transition involves a decline in the numbers of young people of “native” origins, however defined, and an increase in the numbers of their age mates from immigrant backgrounds. This shift will not unfold gradually and unobtrusively but rapidly and intensely because of another basic demographic fact: everywhere there was a spurt in the number of births in the decades immediately following World War II; and the baby boomers, who are overwhelmingly members of the native majority, will be retiring during the next several decades. The exit of this group, which occupies a disproportionate share of the most skilled and best-paying jobs, will create powerful churning in the labor market. The question that will have to be faced everywhere is: Who will replace the baby boomers? 2 Richard Alba and Jennifer Holdaway One conclusion seems inescapable: these societies will have to rely more and more on young people of nonnative origins to sustain their economic, cultural, and social vitality. These young people will form not only an increasing proportion of the workforce in general, but they will have to make up a larger share of its upper tiers, where highly skilled positions with considerable authority over others are concentrated. The imperative is therefore to integrate young people from immigrant-origin minorities—Turks in Germany , North Africans in France, Mexicans and other Latin Americans in the United States. Integration implies that young people of minority origins are prepared to function in the work force in ways that are similar to those of well-trained natives. If integration falters or remains very incomplete, these societies risk losing their competitive position within the world economy, suffering a decline in the living standards of their populations, and perhaps failing to be able to support their growing elderly populations. The imperative of integration follows not only from the utilitarian calculus of demographic and economic forces, but also from the moral logic of social justice. First-generation immigrants enter host societies that are more or less welcoming, but the new arrivals are not expected, and indeed do not always wish, to become full members of the national community. Their children , however, are generally citizens who should have equal rights to all the opportunities and public goods provided to the children of native parents. The processes endowing children with capabilities that unfold during adulthood are determined at levels beyond the reach of individuals and families (Sen 1999). Nevertheless, the children of immigrants are equally entitled to realize their full potential as individuals, workers, and citizens; and to do this they must acquire what James Fishkin (1997) refers to as “the essential prerequisites for adult participation in society.” In this context, integration takes on a broad meaning and involves full and robust membership in the new society. Obviously, the success of integration depends to a great extent on the performance of educational systems. The ability of schools in the United States and Western Europe to integrate children growing up in low-status immigrant homes is the concern of this volume. In the countries that have taken in large numbers of immigrants, such children pose a variety of challenges to schools: they frequently come from homes where an immigrant language, one other than the mainstream language of schools, predominates; and their parents typically have much lower levels of education than do parents The Integration Imperative 3 of ethnic-majority students. Sometimes immigrant parents are even illiterate . While immigrant-origin students can reach the top of an educational system...