ERIC Number: EJ1451509
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jan
Pages: 30
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0042-0859
EISSN: EISSN-1552-8340
"At School, It's a Completely Different World": African Immigrant Youth Agency and Negotiation of Their Adaptation Processes in US Urban Schools
Lydiah Kananu Kiramba; Hanihani Moundiba Traore; Guy Trainin
Urban Education, v60 n1 p249-278 2025
African immigrant youth adaptation processes in US schools remain under-researched. Using qualitative case study, this article examines West African immigrant middle- and high-school youth adaptation experiences in US urban schools. Findings show that racialized experiences, English proficiency levels, and multilingualism affected social relationships (both supportive and conflicted) with families, communities, peers, and school contexts. These experiences crucially influenced African immigrant youths' adaptation processes. Participants drew from community resources and developed resilience skills to negotiate acculturative stressors when seeking friendship, belonging, and an integrated sense of identity in their new home. Recommendations for further supporting positive adaptive strategies are discussed.
Descriptors: Immigrants, Personal Autonomy, Acculturation, Urban Schools, Middle School Students, High School Students, African American Students, Youth, Community Resources, Resilience (Psychology), Multilingualism, Adjustment (to Environment), Language Usage, Adolescents
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2993
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A