Structural Exclusion and Functional Exclusion in the Education of U.S. Immigrant Youth

DOI:10.21742/AJEMR.2018.3.1.01

AUTHORS

Natalia Lishchenko, Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia

Mauro Caresta, Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia

ABSTRACT

With the continuous advancement of globalization, traditional urban research topics in the United States, such as immigration, poverty, and racial discrimination, have also begun to enter an important stage of transformation. The educational development of immigrant youth affects the development prospects of various immigrant groups in the United States, and it is also related to the direction of American society. With the increasing proportion of immigrants in the United States, more and more attention has been paid to the education of immigrant teenagers. However, due to the exclusion of immigrants in many fields in the United States, compared with Native American teenagers, immigrant teenagers are relatively poor in personal development and educational output. This paper combs the evolution of the legal system and education policy related to immigration in the United States from the perspective of social exclusion. From the perspectives of the immigration system, education policy, and economic status, this paper explains the structural exclusion and the functional exclusion caused by a language barrier and cultural differences of immigrant students in the process of receiving education in the United States. Only wider social acceptance and more active social integration of immigrants can improve the quality of immigration education.