Migrant education
Although the inequality in education remains pronounced, government policies, non-governmental organizations, non-profits, and social movements are working to reverse its effects.
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.
[7] 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.
[3] Trauma and other psychological difficulties are common among migrant populations, especially refugees who are forced into migratory status due to political, social, or religious turmoil at home.
[8] 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.
In the University of Melbourne study, the demographic that faced the most psychological difficulties were migrant teenage boys who had experienced discrimination in school and/or domestic conflict.
[10] 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.
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.
[7] Many living accommodations have minimal cooking appliances or refrigeration, which for many migrant students means more time spent preparing meals than studying.
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.
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.
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.
[1] MEP provides support for children of migrant workers through educational services such as extended school days, summer programs, ESL classes, etc.
To be included in the Migrant Education Program, children must have had moved school districts for temporary or seasonal agricultural work within the past 3 years.
In 1994, the definition of who qualified for MEP was further limited to those children who moved school districts for agriculture-related work that represented their family's "principle means of livelihood.
"[1] In 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act re-authorized MEP and mandated that the federal funding is focused on the "neediest students" with the "highest risk of academic failure".
Third, the MEP doesn't resolve the problem of students moving schools across state lines, learning different curriculums, and then struggling with state-specific standardized tests.
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”.
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.
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.
[25] 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.
[5] Because of the complex and interwoven nature of the different issues facing migrant students, there is no consensus of how to solve the inequalities in educational opportunity, attainment, and achievement.
[5] 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.
Historically, this has created a hierarchy between urban and rural citizens because strict regulations give urbanites more access to healthcare, education, food, etc.
Researchers cite the Chinese government's quest for "population quality" as the primary reason for continued exclusionary policies against rural migrants.
[36] 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.
