E.g., 04/23/2024
E.g., 04/23/2024
Education

Education

From early childhood through postsecondary education, immigrants and their children face unique challenges and barriers in educational attainment and access to college compared to their native-born peers. The research here analyzes myriad facets of this topic—from the factors influencing early childhood development through the challenges confronted by students who are not proficient in the host-country language, the gaps that can re-emerge in postsecondary education, and capacity issues and needs for language programs and workforce and vocational training.

Recent Activity

Cover image for El estado de la política migratoria y de integración de Costa Rica
Reports
November 2021
By  Diego Chaves-González and María Jesús Mora
Cover image for The State of Costa Rican Migration and Immigrant Integration Policy
Reports
November 2021
By  Diego Chaves-González and María Jesús Mora
Merchants sell items on a busy street in San José, Costa Rica.
Photo of woman walking around a school campus.
Commentaries
November 2021
By  Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix
A woman stands onboard the U.S. Navy vessel on which she was born.
Articles

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Coverthumb MPIPostsecondaryCredentials FactSheet
Fact Sheets
March 2019
By  Jeanne Batalova and Michael Fix
Coverthumb MPI StrengtheningRefugeeProtection
Policy Briefs
February 2019
By  Susan Fratzke and Camille Le Coz
Integration Futures Final Report
Reports
January 2019
By  Meghan Benton and Aliyyah Ahad
Coverthumb ReceptionReintegration
Reports
January 2019
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas, Luis Argueta and Randy Capps
Coverthumb TwoGen RefugeeIntegration
Reports
December 2018
By  Mark Greenberg, Julia Gelatt, Jessica Bolter, Essey Workie and Isabelle Charo

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ScienceLab MichaelTipton Flickr

More than 1 million international students were in the United States in 2015-16, a significant share of them in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields. While countries increasingly are vying for this population, these individuals face a complex choice upon graduation: to stay or leave? This article examines international STEM students in the United States and the motivations underlying their postgraduation plans.

MexicanGirl CurtCarnemark WorldBank

While Mexican women account for a significant share of migration flows to the United States, there has been little focus on their movement and effects on children in Mexico. This article, based on survey data of children in Puebla, Mexico, explores the impact of maternal Mexican migration on educational experiences and aspirations of the children left behind.

Students and Reading _JMH5036 (1) US Dept of Ed   Flickr

Although the number of U.S. residents who speak a language other than English has grown in recent decades, the share of those who are Limited English Proficient (LEP) has fallen: 40 percent in 2015, compared to 44 percent in 1980—even as immigration rose rapidly. This article examines growing linguistic diversity in the country and sketches a profile of the LEP population, including size, location, and socioeconomic characteristics.

HeadStart PascoCountySchools

The Head Start program—a model for early childhood education programs nationwide—has served more than 33 million children since its inception half a century ago, many from immigrant families. This article examines the role of Head Start in the education of Dual Language Learners, who now comprise one-third of enrollees, and discusses how recent policy changes may affect this population.

IntlStudents SouthernArkansasU Flickr

The number of international students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities has risen steadily since the mid-20th century. Today, the United States represents the top destination for international students worldwide. Learn more about where these students come from, which universities they attend, and the subjects they study in this Spotlight article.

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2016.3.23 Integration Young Refugee Children Webinar   flickr Megenei and Hamza by Kristen341737653_c33a1ec925_z
Video, Audio
March 23, 2016

MPI analysts discuss the findings of a report comparing young children of refugees to other U.S. children on several key indicators of well-being. 

Event PH 2016.1.21 ESSA Webinar   flickr Penn State alumnus Sergio Santiago reads a book to students as a Teach For America teacher
Video, Audio
January 21, 2016

Experts Delia Pompa and Margie McHugh examine provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) related to the success of immigrant and English-learner students during this webinar, answering questions about the new law's implementation and possible impacts.

Event PH 2016.1.13 Unauthorized Parent Children Profile   flickr American Dream   BushBollay
Video, Audio
January 13, 2016

This webinar offers a discussion of the economic, linguistic and educational disadvantage experienced by U.S. children with unauthorized immigrant parents. The MPI researchers discuss their finding that 86 percent of the 5.1 million such children in the United States have a parent who could potentially benefit from the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program.

Event PH 2015.12.17 WIOA signing
Video, Audio
December 17, 2015

A webinar discussing fact sheets that compare the characteristics of immigrant and native-born residents that are relevant to understanding needs for adult education and workforce training services in the United States and the ten states with the largest immigrant populations.

Event PH 2015.12.16 Emigration and Human Capital Development in the Philippines
Audio
December 16, 2015

This briefing in Bangkok launches the MPI-IOM Issue in Brief, Shortage amid Surplus: Emigration and Human Capital Development in the Philippines, which reviews the impacts of the Philippines' successful labor export policy on skills development and human capital growth within the country. While Filipino migrant workers contribute significantly to the national economy with the remittances they send home (over US $27 billion in 2014), this reliance on exporting labor raises an important question: Has the nation’s focus on preparing workers to leave compromised human capital development at home?

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Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars
March 9, 2017

This discussion focuses on practices and options that states could adopt to hold schools accountable for English Learners’ achievement in the fairest and most accurate manner as part of the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act. This webinar marks the release of a set of 13 state fact sheets, available on MPI's web page English Learners and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), that provide a sketch of EL demographics, student outcomes, and accountability mechanisms under ESSA and its predecessor.

Commentaries
March 2017

The selection of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary and President Trump’s immigration enforcement-focused executive orders have left many parents and educators wondering how the new administration’s policies will affect students from immigrant families and the schools that serve them. The simple answer, as this commentary explores, is: It will depend on the actions of state and local policymakers where those students live.

Fact Sheets
March 2017

These fact sheets provide a sketch of key characteristics of the foreign-born and English Learner (EL) populations in select states. The fact sheets look at the demographics of these states, discuss EL student outcomes as measured by standardized tests, and conclude with an overview of state accountability mechanisms that affect ELs under relevant provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act and predecessor No Child Left Behind Act.

Reports
March 2017

This MPI Europe report examines the challenges that cities across the European Union are facing when helping new arrivals access education and training, including limited funding and need for better monitoring of program outcomes. It also highlights innovative ways municipalities support newly arrived migrants as they enter the education system and local labor force, including two-generation and co-located services as well as "whole-place" approaches.

Video, Audio, Webinars
February 28, 2017

Marking the release of a report on the barriers foreign-trained high-skilled immigrants face in the United States, this webinar examines programs and initiatives that assist with credential recognition, employment, and relicensure, as well as recent policy developments. Discussants review recommendations for community-based organizations, employers, and policymakers to expand successful efforts aimed at preventing brain waste. 

Reports
February 2017

Nearly 2 million college-educated immigrants in the United States, more than half coming with academic and professional credentials, are unable to fully utilize their professional skills and instead are stuck in low-skilled work or are unemployed. This report explores a range of programs and policies that are providing cutting-edge career navigation, relicensing, gap filling, and job search assistance to remedy this brain waste.

Video, Audio
January 27, 2017

As the Trump administration assumes office and the DACA program faces an uncertain future, University of California President Janet Napolitano; Donald Graham, cofounder of TheDream.Us; and Ike Brannon, Visiting Fellow at the CATO Institute join MPI's Doris Meissner for a discussion on the possible impacts of rescinding DACA, particularly in the areas of higher education, philanthropy, and the economy.  

Articles

More than 1 million international students were in the United States in 2015-16, a significant share of them in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields. While countries increasingly are vying for this population, these individuals face a complex choice upon graduation: to stay or leave? This article examines international STEM students in the United States and the motivations underlying their postgraduation plans.

Pages