Context of Reception and School Violence: Exploring the Nexus of Immigration, Race/Ethnicity, Place, and School Crime

Abstract

Of course, ensuring safe environments in the U.S. educational system is paramount. It is also evident, however, inequalities associated with immigration, race/ethnicity, and situational context can impede school safety pursuits. Although prior research has revealed a pattern between “downward” assimilation and increased experiences with student-level violence and disorder for the children of racial/ethnic immigrants (i.e., first- and second-generation), investigations about school-level rates of violence and disorder associated with the context of reception remain uncertain. Our study seeks to contribute to the research about immigration, racial/ethnic inequality, education, and violence by examining the associations between context, school violence, and crime, and the schooling of children of immigrants by drawing on a context of reception conceptual framework to address three research questions. First, is there an association between an increasing proportion of children of immigrants and school crimes (i.e., violence, property damage, and substance use)? Second, are there differences linked to the context of reception (i.e., urban, suburban, town, and rural) in the association between the increasing proportion of children of immigrants and school crime? Third, are there racial/ethnic differences in the association between the increasing proportion of children of immigrants and school crimes in distinct contexts? Findings indicate that the children of racial/ethnic minority immigrants have significantly distinct associations with rates of school violence and crime across all contexts; however, there are important and distinctive nuances that are presented and examined.

Immigration and School Threat?: Exploring the Significance of the Border

“…These findings are consistent with research that indicates that immigrant populations, both young and old, are less likely to engage in crime and delinquency. Yet, segmented assimilation theory suggests that immigrant youth learn or assimilate deviant behavior in later generations, such as third-generation, because deviant behavior is arguably more normative and expected in the U.S. (Ousey and Kubrin 2009, 2018; Peguero et al 2021; Sampson 2008; Portes and Rumbaut 2014). While our study includes measures for first- and second-generation immigrant students, other studies that find Hispanic youth are associated with more punitive responses in school may be capturing some of the later generations of Hispanic immigrants (e.g., third-generation) in school.…”

“…Several studies argue that increased levels of social control and stringent use of school punishment are negatively affecting school climate and exacerbating racial/ethnic educational inequalities, especially in urban communities (Peguero 2012; Peguero et al 2021; Rios 2011; Shedd 2015). Schools convey information to students in both subtle and overt ways in terms of what race/ethnicity and place mean; who holds power in society; and whose knowledge and beliefs are valued and respected, including in relation to equitable treatment and punishment practices.…”

“…While a handful of studies have examined the association between immigrant youth and school discipline, it is important to make distinctions among immigrant youth, such as generational differences, and their experiences within the school. For example, first-generation immigrant students have strong relationships with teachers in comparison to second-generation immigrant students (Peguero et al 2021). Several studies have shown that this relationship steadily deteriorates over the following generations as they are more likely to experience a “downward” assimilation (Kao et al 2013; Portes and Rumbaut 2014).…”

“…Research demonstrates that many U.S.-born children of immigrants (i.e., second-generation immigrant youth) are identified as having limited English proficiency. Guided by this research, we subtracted the number of immigrant students from the students identified as limited English proficient in order to categorize the second-generation variable in this study (Kao et al 2013;Olsen 2008;Peguero 2011;Peguero et al 2021;Rong & Preissle 2008). With that noted, there are limitations with using these measures.…”

Nested Contexts of Reception and K–12 Schools: Addressing Immigration Status

“…COR can result in positive, negative, or neutral modes of incorporation for immigrant groups (Luthra et al, 2018)-providing a lens to examine incorporation beyond individual characteristics (Marrow, 2011). Recent scholarship has applied COR to investigate school violence (Peguero et al, 2021), teacher preferences in teaching English Learner classes (Dabach, 2011), and unaccompanied minors' development of a legal consciousness (Galli, 2019). In addition, COR has helped better define incorporation.…”