Migrant education

Cultural differences Cultural differences that cause difficulties in assimilation and also lead to prejudice and xenophobia against migrant families are common deterrents from receiving equal educational opportunities. These prejudices can be formalized by restrictive regulations, or they can be informal but negatively affect the learning atmosphere of a school. Students who don't feel welcome or wanted because of their migrant status are less likely to remain in school. Lack of information Migrant parents are often unaware of their children's right to education or are unfamiliar with the structure of the local public education system. For example, many migrant farmworker parents in the United States do not know they have a right to hold copies of their children's transcripts and school records, which are needed to enroll students in new schools. This makes transferring schools more difficult, taking time away from the student's education. After moving to a new place, parents must focus their energy on finding work and providing for their families, which often means that they do not have time to explore educational options for their children. Additionally, most migrant parents speak a different language, which also affects their ability to receive information. This is apparent in the United States where undocumented students who succeeded in making the difficult journey across the border face psychological difficulties due to fear of being separated from their families through deportation. When migrant students move during the middle of a school year, they are often discouraged from enrolling mid-way through a semester, which disrupts education and has lasting psychological effects. Additionally, when students (especially those in migrant farmworker families) anticipate frequent dislocation, they are less likely to enroll in advanced classes that would increase their prospects of attaining a post-secondary education. Many migrant farmworkers live with a large number of extended family members in migrant camps or temporary housing. This density of people in a small, poorly lit and sparsely furnished space is not conducive to studying. Migrant farmworker camps are located close to agricultural fields and not necessarily within walking distance of the local schools, which poses a problem when reliable transportation is also an issue for some families. Some of the migrant worker's accommodations also lack fresh drinking water or sanitation facilities, which increases migrant student's risk of getting sick. Cost The cost of schooling can also prevent equal access to education. Migrant families, especially migrant farm-working families, have low socioeconomic status and can't afford to pay extra fees on schooling. Even in countries where there are no extra fees for migrant students, there is often an economic disincentive to sending a child to school when they could be working to supplement their parents' incomes. ==In the United States==

Demographics The exact demographics of migrant students in the United States are difficult to calculate because they move across state and national borders, have different levels of citizenship status, and have limited English proficiency, complicating survey and census data. However, in 2002, the US Department of Education, estimated that there are 783,867 migrant children who meet the federal definition of "migrant" as set forth in the eligibility requirements for government support (see Government programs below). This refers to children who have moved school districts within the last 3 years due to agricultural work or work in related industries. Race The racial breakdown of these migrant students is 86% Hispanic, 8% White, and less than 3% Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander. Language 84% of these students speak little to no English, and about 90% speak a language other than English in their homes. The states with the highest level of students with limited English proficiency are Arizona (with 51% LEP migrant students) and Texas (with 37% LEP migrant students). With regards to educational attainment, only six percent of foreign-born migrant farmworkers have completed 12th grade. Legislation and policy Starting in the 1960s, the United States' government has passed a series of legislation intended to improve the lives of migrant and immigrant students. In 1968, the Bilingual Education Act allocated funding to individual school districts for the creation of bilingual education programs. As part of the Equal Educational Opportunity Act (EEOA) of 1974, the federal government required schools to recognize the language barriers in migrant communities and offer support for non-English speaking students. The No Child Left Behind Act, however, created new testing requirements that make it difficult for migrant students who might transfer school districts before taking a required test, negatively affecting their ability to progress in school. Government programs Migrant Education Program In 1965, as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty, Title I of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was framed to help support economically disadvantaged students within the United States. However, this act failed to address the specific non-economic barriers faced by migrant workers and their families so it was amended in 1966 to include the Migrant Education Program (MEP). The Migrant Education Program also facilitates coordination of educational services between states. High School Equivalency Program The High School Equivalency Program (HEP) is designed to assist migratory and seasonal farm workers to obtain the equivalent to a high school diploma, to find additional skill training or post-secondary schooling, or to find employment. Each year, it serves at least 7,000 students who qualify for the program by being 16 years of age or older and not currently enrolled in school. The HEP is tailored to the needs of migrant workers by being flexible and allowing students to attend classes based on their own convenience. Additionally, the HEP provides free transportation, and all of its staff members are bilingual. College Assistance Migrant Program The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) is the only national support program aimed at supporting migrant students through the college experience. CAMP was originally created through the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity program of 1972 before being shifted to the U.S. Department of Labor the following year and to the U.S. Department of Education in 1980. CAMP is funded through discretionary grants that are granted to different non-profit organizations and institutions of higher education. These grants are awarded so that different institutions can provide financial aid, career counseling, tutoring, summer enrichment programs, etc. for migrant students. One of the criticisms of CAMP is that there are not enough spaces available for every eligible student who applies for support. Right now, CAMP only supports roughly 2000 college students per year. Furthermore, due to an increase in undergraduate tuition rates, the number of students supported by CAMP has decreased. The Even Start program is focused on increasing children's and families' capabilities by using migrant families' existing resources, cultural traditions, and networks to jumpstart their success. The instructional services included in this program include Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, English as a Second Language, and GED certification. The downside to the Even Start program is that many adults are not able to complete their education due to time constraints and lack of childcare. Nonprofit assistance In addition to government programs, many non-profit organizations work to help migrant workers and their children achieve educational success. Many programs focus on assisting migrant workers to secure work and decent living conditions, while other programs focus on education. Non-profit organizations offer different types of educational services for migrant workers and their children. Some work with migrants to upgrade or teach technical skills that would be helpful for finding employment. Other organizations aim to educate migrants on workplace rights, so that they are knowledgeable on how to handle workplace abuse, which is common among undocumented migrant workers. The most widely utilized form of non-profit assistance is English as a Second Language (ESL) education. Of the 20% of crop workers that have taken at least one adult education class, 10% took English language classes. After English language education, many non-profits offer GED education and tutoring because passing the GED can increase educational and occupational opportunities. For adult learners, participating in these programs can be difficult due to lack of transportation, childcare, confidence, or flexibility in work schedule. but eventually, as the demand grew greater and these programs gained public attention, it gained funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2004 and became a nonprofit network integrated into public school districts across the country. This nonprofit network, “does not function as a regulatory body, but rather as a support system that provides essential services to the schools—including professional development, mentorship, and research—and serves as the engine of new school growth”. Deeper learning goes beyond traditional practices such as lectures, basic homework assignments, and just exams. It is built more on collaborative learning, breaking down and talking through the process, and using the information in a real-world application to ensure these students fully grasp the material being taught. Language of instruction and emotional learning are highlighted. Students learn new languages while at the same time using their home language in school as they adapt. These hands-on educational practices are paired with emotional and career support with counselors and welfare workers to address the significant turmoil these students have experienced. Specialized School Programs Currently there are specialized high school programs that are tailored for individuals of migrant background. This includes the NYC international school program and Oakland International High School to name a few. These programs are tailored for individuals of these backgrounds in order to provide them with a structure that fits their needs. This includes more hands on english education, counseling, and special methods that highly differ from traditional schools in the United States. Within these programs, students are significantly more successful in life since they are able to improve academically. Educational success The educational achievement gap between migrant children and non-migrant children is prevalent across the United States. Migrant students generally have lower standardized test scores than the district or state-wide average. In addition to inequality in test scores, there is a persistent graduation gap between migrant and non-migrant students. The national drop-out rate among migrant farmworker students is 50%. These high drop-out rates are often the result of too many school absences, which is common for students who need to support their families by working in the fields or babysitting younger siblings. Before dropping out, increased absences can lead to migrant students being held back a year in school. The more this happens, the wider the age discrepancy between students becomes, which furthers the likelihood of dropping out of school. A 2001 study conducted along the Texas-Mexican border concluded that advocate educators who demonstrated cross-cultural empathy and an understanding of the nature, context, and needs of migrant farmworkers fostered the educational success of migrant students. Teachers who are better educated on the experiences of migrant farmworkers will help eliminate prejudice and low expectations of students, which in turn, will encourage students to perform better in school. Along these lines, it is also argued that combatting prejudice and racial stereotypes within the wider community will help decrease prejudice in school and help migrant students. Other suggested interventions include finding a more efficient way of making up absences or missed curriculum due to school transfers and increasing the minimum wage of migrant farmworkers. Studies suggest that students have to stay after school constantly to make-up missed work lose motivation and become quickly discouraged with the educational system. By raising the minimum wage of migrant farmworkers, policy makers would decrease the opportunity cost of education because children would no longer be needed to financially support the family. ==In China==

in Beijing (Dongba district). The primary form of migration within China isn't that of rural-rural farming migration, but that of rural-urban migration. Through the hukou system, a form of citizenship registration, the Chinese government divides citizens into one of two categories of: urban or rural. Historically, this has created a hierarchy between urban and rural citizens because strict regulations give urbanites more access to healthcare, education, food, etc. Migration has led to a changing demographic of cities. According to the 2010 Census, 210 million urban-to-rural migrants are living in cities, without official hukou registration. Of these migrants, about 20 million are children between the ages of 6 and 14 years struggling to receive quality education because they are not registered within the school district. Many local governments require that everyone complete at least 9 years of education; however, migrant children weren't allowed to enroll in urban schools until 1996. The Ministry of Education issued "Provisional Measures for the Education of Migrant Children" in 1998, but because this was not actually legally binding, many factors continue to prohibit migrants from receiving education: • The hukou system requires that rural children must pay extra fees to attend urban schools. • School administrations require migrant children to show at least 9 official documents before enrolling, including a temporary residence certificate (which requires that the child's parents have a work permit and money to pay for the certificate). • Many public schools require fees like the "education compensation fee" and the "temporary schooling fee" specifically for migrant children. For rural migrant children who do succeed in enrolling in state schools, discrimination is prevalent: in most schools, migrant children do not receive official grades and can not receive academic honors. Because of this, many parents choose to send their children to unlicensed, privately run migrant-specific ("black") schools. The quality of education in these schools is poor because they lack the same resources as state schools—specifically qualified teachers. Depending on the region, these "black" schools are also under threat of closure. In 2007 in Shanghai, every unlicensed migrant school in the center of the city was closed. However, schools on the outskirts of the city and in the majority migrant Xiamen Special Economic Zone, 34 unlicensed schools were allowed. Researchers cite the Chinese government's quest for "population quality" as the primary reason for continued exclusionary policies against rural migrants. However, there are other consequences to the continuation of these policies, as explained by Charlotte Goodburn: It is difficult to predict precisely what the results of these exclusionary policies will be. However, it seems reasonable to suppose that if these problems are not addressed they will have a serious impact on China's future development. Not only will a large section of the population not have the skills necessary for China's further economic development, but they will also lack the kind of education needed to develop the capabilities for leading decent, happy and successful lives. ==In South Africa==

South Africa's migrant population is mainly composed of refugee groups from other countries in Africa. The South African Constitution guarantees refugees and asylum seekers the right to education. However, in addition to the widespread xenophobia and prejudice, migrants face many systemic barriers that reduce their educational attainment. One such barrier in South Africa is that many migrants are turned away from public schooling because of a lack of documentation (such as report cards, transfer forms, birth certificates, etc.) Second, language difference is a significant barrier for students from French or Portuguese-speaking countries who must continue their education in the predominantly English-speaking South Africa. Third, according to the Gauteng Department of Education, the recent influx of migrants has "led to enormous pressure on the education system, resulting in overcrowding in ... schools." South African civil society organizations, such as People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP) and Agency for Refugee Educational Skills and Advocacy are working to combat the issue of migrant education. Community based social movements such as the Equal Education movement are fighting for educational equality in South Africa through research, analysis, and activism. The Three2Six Project, which is donor-funded, also helps by offering free schooling to migrant children who are turned away from public schools. ==See also==