M.A. (Development Studies) / This report evaluates the response of the South African government to migrant unaccompanied minors at Musina and Beitbridge Limpopo province. The report begins by outlining the migration situation at the Beitbridge Border post and the reasons for UAMs‘ migration to South Africa. It also highlights the processesthey follow in migrating, services available and their vulnerability to sexual and gender based violence as they cross the border through irregular routes. The second section outlines the responsibilities of host states in as far as the needs of migrant UAMs are concerned. As this study is focusing on the South African government, the section further develops a narrative informed by international law and the South African Constitution as well as policies and legislationin force in South Africa. This section points to a well developed legal and policy framework for securing the rights of migrant children. The third section concludes by summarising the needs of UAMs and by stating some of the measures that should be implemented by the South African government in responding to the situation. The fourth section of this study presents evidence crucial for evaluation of state responses to its obligations towards UAMs. This section presents evidence gathered over a period of time in Beitbridge and Musina that enables me to evaluate the South African state‘s respond to UAMs in Musina and Beitbridge. The outcomes of this research indicate that South Africa has failed to implement international law and the Constitutional, legal and policy frameworks in as far as the rights of migrant UAMs are concerned. The majority of UAMs are from Zimbabwe and they are running away from social, economic and political instabilities in that country. In addition, these children are migrants in their own right and existing research indicates that where children migrate alone, they are particularly vulnerable to exploitative working conditions, violence and denial of basic rights.Page ix Many children migrated in order to pursue their education as well as to work in order to support themselves and families back home. However, many of the migrant‘s organisations that exist do not specifically address the rights of children or response to their needs. Migrant children‘s ability to satisfy their basic needs is extremely compromised; much of the work is currently done by a few non-governmental organisations and faith based organisations especially with regard to shelter and food provision with very minimal support from the South African government. UAMs have very limited access to government departments and services. The majority of UAMs are crowded in the streets in Musina and others in towns such as Louis Trichardt, Thohoyandou, Dzanini and on farms wherein they fend for their own living and there is no one to cater for their needs. This report concludes by making recommendations for interventions to the South African government for implementing Children‘s rights and strengthening migrant children‘s access to basic rights in South Africa.

This study focuses on investigating the dynamics of language brokering as Korean immigrant families experience environmental challenges associated with immigration. This study was conducted with qualitative research design with purposive sampling of Korean immigrant families. Six parent-child dyads were recruited and participating children were between 12 to 16 years old. Semi-structured interviews were conducted separately with parents and children in either English or Korean. Thematic analysis was employed for analyzing the transcribed interviews. The Dedoose software program was applied to assist the coding process. 12 subthemes were revealed under four main themes, which were aligned to the study's research questions. The twelve subthemes included parents' dependence on children, vulnerability and resilience of Korean immigrant families, children's socioemotional development through language brokering, and the role of first-born daughter in the family. Parent and child responses indicated how language brokering affects can be a risk in relation to children's development (i.e., with responsibility of language brokering leading the child to experience stress or experience the responsibility of translation as a burden. Positively, respondents indicated that the parent and child experienced a greater sense of empathy for each other's roles. The results derived from this study were aligned with the results of previous research conducted in the field in that language brokering affects parent-child relationship and the socioemotional development of children. The study adds to the literature with the interviewing both parents and children, thereby hearing both perspectives and experiences of parents and children on language brokering and parent-child relationships could be obtained. This study targeted Korean immigrant families since there is a lack in literature that have studied this population in relation to language brokering.

I denna undersökning är syftet att undersöka och analysera hur andragenerationsinvandrare beskriver skapandet av sin identitet samt hur de beskriver tillhörighet i samhället. Insamlingen av studiens data har skett via kvalitativa intervjuer genom ett bekvämlighetsurval. Studien har genomsyrats av ett hermeneutiskt synsätt. I empirin framkom det att andragenerationsinvandrare upplever svårigheter i sitt identitetsskapande samt att tillhörighet beskrivs som ett kontextuellt begrepp. Slutsatsen av studien resulterade i att majoriteten av respondenterna beskriver känslan av att vara bikulturell.

Introduction Le Québec accueille 50 000 immigrants annuellement dont 30 % viennent d’Afrique et 27 % d’Asie. Dans les dix dernières années, 200 à 600 enfants ont été adoptés annuellement, majoritairement de l’Asie. Plusieurs régions d’origine des immigrants sont endémiques pour des parasites. C’est pourquoi l’immigration influence fortement l’épidémiologie de ces maladies. La giardiase, la filariose, la schistosomiase, la strongyloïdose et la malaria sont les plus prévalentes. Il existe peu de données sur les maladies parasitaires chez les immigrants au Québec. Cette étude vise à décrire l’épidémiologie de cette problématique dans la province. Méthode Une étude descriptive transversale a été privilégiée. Les immigrants ayant consulté au centre des maladies tropicales de l’Université McGill et les enfants de la clinique d’adoption de l’hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont ont été ciblés. Une grille standardisée a été utilisée pour la collecte des données dans la base de données de GeoSentinel et les dossiers médicaux. Des analyses descriptives et inférentielles fournissent un profil des immigrants atteints et des facteurs associés. Résultats Au moins un parasite se trouve chez 32 % (202/638) des immigrants à l’étude. Les parasitoses les plus prévalentes chez ces cas sont la strongyloïdose (28%), la filariose (21%), la schistosomiase (17%), et la malaria (12%). Le tiers des cas sont des demandeurs d’asile et 43 % (86/202) viennent de l’Afrique subsaharienne. Une proportion élevée d’infection, 50 % (27/56), se trouve chez les Haïtiens. Chez 15 % (73/499) des enfants adoptés, on trouve au moins un parasite; la giardiase et la strongyloïdose sont les plus prévalentes. La majorité (292/499) des enfants à l’étude viennent de la Chine et 69 % (22/32) des enfants Haïtiens sont infectés par des parasites. Discussion et conclusion La littérature appuie nos résultats. La population immigrante est en croissance au Québec ce qui est une des richesses de la province. Par contre, c’est une population qui est vulnérable au niveau de la santé. Environ 1/3 des immigrants et 1/6 des enfants adoptés sont atteints par des parasitoses. Plus de la moitié (57 %) des immigrants atteints sont infectés par des parasites qui ont des conséquences importantes. Des interventions ciblant cette population sont recommandées afin de diminuer ce fardeau.

Ce mémoire traite de la construction identitaire des adolescents appartenant à la deuxième génération d'immigrants. Ces adolescents ont débuté leur socialisation dans leur pays d'origine, mais celle-ci a actuellement lieu au Québec. Leur identité devient donc complexe du fait des multiples appartenances auxquelles ces adolescents se réfèrent. Néanmoins, la famille étant le premier lieu de socialisation, les dynamiques familiales demeurent au centre de cette construction identitaire. L'objectif de notre étude est donc d'analyser l'impact de la migration sur la construction identitaire et, de ce fait sur les relations familiales. Plusieurs éléments sont considérés dans notre étude, soit le réseau social des familles, ce que ces familles croient avoir transmis, le discours sur l'identité, les tensions et les négociations existantes, ainsi que l'expérience éventuelle de la discrimination. Pour ce faire, on ne pouvait passer à côté des concepts d'identité, de mémoire, de réseau et de socialisation. Ceux-ci nous permettent de fournir une base à la compréhension de la problématique des familles immigrantes. En effet, les adolescents de la 2e génération font face à des défis importants, qui ne sont pas nécessairement les mêmes que ceux rencontrés par leurs parents, même si les difficultés vécues par ces deux générations ont un impact sur toute la famille. Pour répondre à ce besoin, nous appuyons notre étude sur des données récoltées dans le cadre de la recherche Liens intergénérationnels et transmission identitaire : regards croisés autour de trois générations (adolescents, parents et grands-parents) sur la notion d'éducation (FQRSC, 2009-2012) dirigée par Annick Lenoir, professeure au département de Service social de l'Université de Sherbrooke. L'échantillon que nous avons constitué pour l'analyse est de sept parents d'origine colombienne et de six adolescents. Ces familles ont toutes immigré avec le statut de réfugié politique et sont installées en Estrie. Elles ont été rencontrées l'été 2010. Ces répondants ont été questionnés avec l'aide de guides d'entretien semi-dirigés. Les données ont été analysées à l'aide du logiciel QDA Miner, avec une méthode d'analyse par filtres (Houtart, 1990). Nous avons croisé les entretiens des deux générations pour tenter de voir sur quels éléments il y a cohérence ou dissemblance. De plus, nous avons aussi tenté de voir si la discrimination avait un impact sur la construction identitaire des jeunes de la 2e génération. Enfin, nous avons également voulu vérifier la cohésion des discours au sein d'une même génération. Les résultats de notre étude montrent un discours familial généralement très cohérent entre la 1ère et la 2e génération, et ce, plus que ce que des auteurs ont observé. Quant aux sources de tensions, elles ne sont pas omniprésentes. Nous avons plutôt relevé une place importante à la discussion et à la communication comme stratégie pour une meilleure dynamique familiale sur les sujets considérés comme importants pour chacune des générations. Ceci vient nuancer les conclusions de plusieurs études qui affirment qu'il y a beaucoup de conflits et de tensions au sein des familles immigrantes. De plus, le réseau social de ces familles, qu'il soit ici ou ailleurs (transnational) joue un rôle important dans la transmission d'éléments identitaires jugés importants par les parents et pour leur adolescent, particulièrement pour ce qui est de la langue maternelle. Enfin, parce que très peu de familles disent avoir subi de la discrimination, il fut impossible d'évaluer l'impact réel de celle-ci sur le discours identitaire des adolescents. Cette recherche permet de mieux comprendre les ressemblances et les dissemblances au sein des différentes générations en ce qui a trait à la construction identitaire et ce en passant principalement par la discussion et la communication. Non seulement pour les membres de la famille, mais également pour les intervenants sociaux qui ont à intervenir auprès de ces familles.

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to examine the relationship between immigrant parental involvement and selected variables which the literature indicates may affect immigrant parental involvement in the education of their children, and (2) how their involvement relates to student achievement. 486 immigrant parents from six schools, 2 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 2 high schools, were participants in the study. The questionnaires were translated into English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Somali, Chinese and Bosnian. A quantitative research design was utilized to conduct the study. Descriptive statistics were done for demographic information in terms of independent and moderator variables. The independent and dependent variables were analyzed with Pearson Correlation and ANOV A statistical tools. The independent variables were immigration status, cultural background, primary language, length of time in U.S., aspirations for their children, and familiarity with American school culture. The dependent variables were parental involvement and student achievement. Moderator variables were age, gender, level of education, cultural background, school type and SES in country of origin. The findings indicated that the relationships between the independent and dependent variables were not significant at the .05 level, however when the relationships were analyzed in terms of moderator variables significant differences emerged for educational level throughout the study. There was a significant difference in the relationship between parental involvement and immigration status in terms of educational level; parental involvement and cultural background in terms of educational level; parental involvement and primary language spoken in terms of educational and school type; parental involvement and length of time in United States in terms of educational level; parental involvement and parent’ aspirations for their children in terms of educational level; parental involvement and familiarity in American School Culture in terms of educational level, cultural background, school type, age, gender, and SES in country of origin. These differences are significant enough to affect the performance of students and schools that they warrant serious attention.

This dissertation features a three-month qualitative descriptive case study that examined the home literacy practices employed in maintaining a heritage language by a Chinese immigrant family living in a mid-sized city in western Canada. Influenced by Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, as well as the foundational concepts of d/Discourse, diglossia, and accommodation without assimilation, the research questions guiding the study were: (1) What activities do Chinese parents use in the home to maintain and develop their children’s Mandarin home language? (2) How do children respond to these activities? and (3) What beliefs and attitudes do the parents and children hold in relation to heritage language maintenance (HLM)? Most of the literature on HLM has focused primarily on post-secondary learners, children in metropolitan areas, or heritage language schools and communities, whereas this research was an in-depth examination of home literacy environment provided by immigrant parents to support their children’s heritage language, with limited community resources. Data were collected through home observations, video recordings selected by and submitted by the parents of their heritage language (HL) activities, semi-structured interviews of individual members of the family, and children’s work samples. Data were inductively analyzed using NVivo 10 software. Four themes emerged from the study: (a) parents’ intentional provision of a rich and robust home literacy environment; (b) a range of children’s responses to Chinese and English literacy activities in the home; and (c) parents’ broad perspectives on children’s language and literacy learning; (d) parents’ expectations and attitudes towards learning Chinese. The research showed that the parents drew on learning practices from both Western and Eastern traditions. One powerful activity that the family used was an extended read-aloud practice in which the mother made innovative use of the same texts/resources in different languages, along with exploratory talk that engaged the children. Various homework practices elicited a mixture of responses, ranging from enthusiastic involvement to mild engagement to frustration. The practices were related to the parents’ beliefs about how language learning occurs. The finding also indicated that the parents faced significant challenges in supporting their children’s HLM in a diglossic society, which offered few opportunities to use Chinese at a high cognitive level. / Graduate

Contemporary labour immigration into the UK has been underpinned by two structural positions: the uneven development within the capitalist system and an intensification of competition driving towards flexibility and precarity. Immigrant workers are overwhelmingly concentrated in secondary sectors of the labour market with low pay, long working hours and poor health and safety and closely associated with non-standard work and informal economy where unions are often not available. How these immigrant workers in highly exploitative industries respond to work-related exploitations poses a great challenge to traditional trade unionism. While community unionism has received increasing attention from researchers and practitioners, an institution-centric approach is dominated in the scholarship which tends to overemphasize the role of institutional entity, such as trade unions and NGOs, in shaping collective agency and consider it as the centrality to immigrant workers activism. In contrast to such union-centred research, this study adopts a social movement perspective to explore whether and how community organizing approach can empower immigrant workers and enhance union organizing when globalization compromises its validity. By conducting the multi-method (interviews, surveys, participant observations and videos) ethnographic studies in an immigrant domestic worker self-help group-Justice for Domestic Workers in London over a year and a post EU-enlargement Polish association and local Polish neighbourhood in South Somerset over five months, the research shows that gendered and cultural space rather than traditional industrial entities could offer a political context in which immigrant workers start recognising structural class exploitations and develop an agency and activism for changes. This suggests that the collective mobilizations of immigrant workers in informal and individualised sectors may require creative leaps of sociological imagination in nurturing such communities of coping, wherever they may be occurring - in social clubs, cafés or churches. Community, however, is not a naturally harmonious and unified group setting. The internal divisions and competitions within immigrant communities pose limits to how far ethnic cohesion can serve as a basis for collective mobilization of immigrant workers. The research points to the potential tensions between immigrant community organizations and trade unions to compete for membership and social influence in the coalition building. There is a risk that the institutional goals of immigrant community organizations, in terms of securing funding and expanding its organizational influence, may take precedence over substantive goals of support provision. The research also suggests that academics and practitioners need to rethink the criteria that define the success of worker organising. To win union recognition and achieve collective bargaining agreements in the workplace is a rare case in community organizing of immigrant workers. A distinction should be made between capacity-building from the perspective of workers and organizations involved in community organizing of immigrant workers. There might be a contradiction between organizational developments and grassroots empowerment. Instead of merely focusing on political outcomes as the existing research indicates, more attention should paid to outcomes in social and cultural arenas and how gains in one arena facilitate or hinder gains in another.

Using cross-cultural and cultural perspectives, this thesis investigated ideals of parenting and the relations between parenting mismatches and youth adjustment in a sample of adolescents from Chinese immigrant families and Canadian non-immigrant families. Asian traditional parenting techniques have been linked to both positive and negative outcomes in Asian immigrant youth. This study sought to clarify these mixed findings by focusing on adolescent interpretations of parenting, specifically their opinions of how parents should behave, which is referred to as parenting ideals. Parental behaviours of warmth, reasoning, monitoring, and harsh discipline were investigated. Results indicated that adolescents from Chinese immigrant families and Canadian adolescents desired similar levels of these parenting behaviours from their fathers and mothers, with the exception of harsh discipline behaviours. Amongst Chinese adolescents, some findings supported the hypothesis that cultural orientation is related to parenting ideals. Parenting mismatches, or discrepancies between actual and ideal parenting, were hypothesized to be related to more depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem. Findings supported this hypothesis in the dimensions of parental warmth and monitoring, but not reasoning. Low endorsement of perceptions, ideals, and mismatches in harsh discipline precluded strong conclusions about this parenting dimension. Directions for future research and implications for parent education and clinical settings were discussed. / Graduate / 0621 / vivienso@uvic.ca

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand Vietnamese immigrant parents’ conceptualizations and practices related to school, family, and community partnerships that support their children’s early learning and development in a Canadian context. The study was guided by three research questions: In what ways do Vietnamese immigrant parents conceptualize school, family, and community partnerships related to their children’s early learning and development? What supports and challenges do Vietnamese immigrant parents have in building and maintaining school, family, and community partnerships that facilitate their children’s early learning and development? What practices related to the partnerships do Vietnamese immigrant parents employ to assist their children’s early learning and development? Joyce Epstein’s (1997) Theory of Overlapping Spheres of Influence and her Six Types of Involvement Framework were employed in this study. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and observations to answer three research questions. Participants of the study included three sets of Vietnamese immigrant parents, three teachers, two Vietnamese immigrant children’s grandmothers, and one friend of a Vietnamese immigrant family who was selected on the basis of relational proximity with the focal child. The findings of this study confirmed those of previous studies that immigrant parents share interests in and responsibilities for their children’s early learning and that the partnerships are significantly beneficial for immigrant children’s early learning and their transition to a new environment out of their home setting. In addition, the findings contributed to previous theories in the field of school, family, and community partnerships. Specifically, guidelines for parental involvement that better represent the involvement of immigrant parents were suggested to extend Epstein’s (1997) framework. Additionally, this study shed light on some misaligned perceptions and interpretations related to language barriers, time constraints, the significance of grandparents’ involvement, the principle of equity and respect for diversity, and the expectation for immigrant children’s academic early learning. In addition to implications for theory, the researcher also attempted to provide some implications for practices and future research. Noticeably, some practices related to “Parenting”, a dimension of the partnerships significantly acknowledged by the Vietnamese immigrant parents, were presented in detail.