Educational Policy
Volume 31, Issue 6, 2017, Pages 921-947

I Think Immigrants “Kind of Fall Into Two Camps”: Boundary Work by U.S.-Born Community Members in St. Louis, Missouri (Article)

Dorner L.M.* , Crawford E.R. , Jennings J. , Sandoval J.S.O. , Hager E.
  • a University of Missouri–ColumbiaMO, United States
  • b University of Missouri–ColumbiaMO, United States
  • c Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, United States
  • d Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, United States
  • e Greenville University, Greenville, IL, United States

Abstract

To understand how educational policies are created and supported for immigrants and their children, we must explore how community members make sense of broader immigrant/immigration discourses. Guided by theories of “boundary work,” grounded analyses of 27 interviews with U.S.-born residents in metropolitan St. Louis (a community with diverse and increasing immigration) revealed conflicting and ambivalent discourses. Respondents’ opinions shifted as they conceptualized affiliations and borders—real and symbolic—between themselves and foreign-born individuals. The discussion will address how the “hardening” or “blurring” of such boundaries can affect the development and support of educational policies for immigrants and refugees. © 2017, © The Author(s) 2017.

Author Keywords

immigrants Public opinion Integration contested spaces boundary work Immigration Educational policy

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85027688894&doi=10.1177%2f0895904817719529&partnerID=40&md5=059fa33d894edb3a3b5cbae75fcf9e4c
DOI: 10.1177/0895904817719529
ISSN: 08959048
Cited by: 2
Original Language: English