Pitkänen, Pirkko, Devorah Kalekin-Fishman, and Gajendra K. Verma (Eds.). (2002). Education and Immigration: Settlement Policies and Current Challenges.

	Pitkänen, Pirkko, Devorah Kalekin-Fishman, and Gajendra K. Verma (Eds.). (2002). Education and Immigration: Settlement Policies and Current Challenges. London & New York: RoutledgeFalmer. pp. xi + 196 90 (Cloth) ISBN 0-415-27821-X Reviewed by Karen Monkman Florida State University December 27, 2003 Pitkänen, Kalekin-Fishman, and Verma have complied an interesting selection of chapters that describe past and present immigration policy and implications for education in a variety of countries: Britain, Finland, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, and Israel. The chapters were written as the outcome of a research project funded by the European Commission and carried out in 1998-2000. Much of this work revolves around a basic question relating to "the degree to which the newcomers are required to adapt to the host society" (p. 3). Each chapter focuses on how immigration policy and education policy addresses issues of social integration. Taken together, the immigration policies and population characteristics in these countries reveal many similarities and some significant differences. In addition, in examining immigration policy and education in other countries, readers who are familiar with U.S. (or other) situations will gain a broader contextual perspective within which to comparatively understand their own locale. The book begins with a short introductory chapter by the editors in which they discuss the elusive dynamic of "integration." The central guiding theme of the book—and of their discussion of integration—is whether settlement policies imply a monolithic view of society that is assimilationist, or a pluralistic vision that creates opportunities to maintain primary cultural characteristics while participating as equals in the majority society. The authors then make the point that policies are conditioned by histories and by national concerns about social cohesion; the six countries are introduced in relation to these issues. Educational concerns are then presented as being secondary to immigrants' immediate needs of housing and work. Each of the six country case study chapters is similarly structured in that each discusses historical and political contextual issues, immigration policies, and educational responses. Within these broad categories there is variation as to the themes presented and the depth at which the authors address them. In the chapter on Britain (by Gajendra K. Verma and Douglas Darby), the authors present in some detail the particular circumstances of Britain's main immigrant/minority groups: Indians, Punjabi Sikhs, East African Asians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Chinese, and West Indians. Britain's colonizing past was briefly mentioned, including the right of those born in a British colony to move to Britain and live there. In more detail, they review the immigration and educational policies since WWII, including legislated policy, trends in school practice (e.g., "the beginnings of multicultural education"), and teacher education. A table nicely lays out the trends over time of immigration-related legislation, how equality and cultural diversity are recognized (or not) in that policy, consequences for education, and school practices and concerns. The unique situation in Finland reveals very little experience with immigration and addressing the educational needs of immigrant/minority students and their families. Finland has a relatively small and recently-arrived immigrant/minority population (less than 100,000). The authors (Kaija Matinheikki-Kokko and Pirkko Pitkänen) explain, for example, that there are "no ethnic enclaves" (p. 53) in Finland to help condition adaptation processes. With only 300 refugees arriving in the 1980s, settlement policy was individualized. Then, in the early 1990s with increased numbers of immigrants, the focus was on "normalisation and mainstreaming;" the goal was on "changing immigrants" (p. 57). Policy was then re-directed to a cultural enrichment model in the mid-1990s, recognizing more multicultural perspectives and the necessity of the social institutions to adapt. After 1997 policy has turned back to an individual focus: "local authorities design individual plans" but this time they emphasize "individual differences within certain immigrant groups rather than a variation between different cultural groups" (p. 60). Immigration policies, of course, are directed at families—primarily at adults. How schools reflect or respond to these trends over time are then outlined in this chapter. Currently three principles are important in Finland: equality in education, functional bilingualism, and multiculturalism. Like Britain, France's history as a colonizing nation has impacted its immigration policy, but with some interesting differences. The authors (Didier LeSaout and Aïssa Kadri) frame their discussion around the goal of "equality in regard to culture and education on the basis of a positive morality of reason…" (p. 74). This, they argue, leads to a focus on integration which dissolves individual differences and affirms unity (p. 75), where relatively little is done in schools (or elsewhere) to address mother tongue language, primary cultural orientations, or transition to becoming French culturally. "Since the 1980s, this model of integration … has ceased to function efficiently; state schools appear now to be the focus points of national processes of defeat for certain social groups, and there is endemic violence. Education is in crisis" (pp. 75-76). At the present time, the teaching of the language and culture of immigrant groups totals three hours per week "either during the normal school days or outside them" and by teachers who "are representative of the pupils' home states, and are paid by those governments" (pp. 90-91). The situation of Muslims in France is discussed: there are no Muslim schools although there are other types of private schools, and there are tensions between France's interests in integration and "Islam['s] reject[ion of] integration" (p. 76). The chapter closes with a description of "the foulard affair" (p. 92-93) which reveals a political controversy relating to the schools' prohibition of Muslim girls wearing veils to school. Although the "role of Islam in France is publicly recognized, … practicing Islam must not cause situations where one acts in other than the generally approved ways" (p. 93). Germany's situation is described as a challenge toward the creation of a modern citizenship in need of new immigration policy but fraught with social dynamics such as hostility to foreigners, right-wing extremism, and segregation. Education policy is decentralized so this chapter acknowledges that it cannot report comprehensively; there is no common strategy at the federal level. Historically, however, there are some common themes. The authors (Ulrike Behrens, Sabine Tost, and Reinhold S. Jäger) report that immigrant populations were all but ignored between the mid-1950s and 1973. Beginning in 1973 the focus was on learning German as a second language and assimilation; policy reflected a deficit model of social integration and education. In the 1970s there was a dual focus on both integrating immigrant populations and on encouraging them to return home. In this era, focus on mother tongue languages was intended to enable emigration rather than the later intentions related to acknowledging one's cultural heritage. Now, however, the authors report more attention to both mother tongue language development and learning German, and to an infused cross-cultural education for all students—immigrant and native—in Germany. At the same time, however, mainstreaming children as soon as possible is the goal. Since September 11, 2001, more attention in the public discourse has focused on tightening immigration policy. The authors also analyzed teacher education program documents and syllabi of courses in teacher education programs and in schools. They found minimal mention of multicultural issues in the teacher education documents, and only "hints at strategies that may represent tendencies for the future" (p. 121). With regard to Greece, more attention has been paid to Greeks abroad than to foreigners in Greece (pp. 138-39). Widespread immigration to Greece is recent, mostly in the 1990s, so little research has been done on this population. Over one million people are seeking political asylum, and it is estimated that nine percent of the population in Greece holds foreign passports; immigrants have come from 104 countries. About 1.5 percent of the population are considered to be "minority." To address an indifference toward minority populations in primary and secondary schools, teachers can earn a 50 percent salary increase to teach in "minority" schools, but they must be bilingual and few teachers in Greece have developed language skills in the languages spoken by this population. The author (Nikos Gousgounis) of this chapter feels that the educational system should "turn from its 'introverted' orientation to a more 'extraverted' one" (p. 141). Creating a European citizen is called for, and this "aims at the maintenance of cultural and linguistic polymorphism through the projection of a 'common cultural heritage'" (p. 141). There are also pressures to adopt a model of "coexistence" of multiple cultures. Israel, although not part of Europe as are the other countries in this book, is included as a point of contrast and because of its unique rights of immigration and citizenship. The authors (Devorah Eden and Devorah Kalekin-Fishman) explain that state ideology is both Jewish and democratic, representing both particularistic and universalist interests which are sometimes at odds. Israel is an immigrant society, and perceives itself to be "under siege;" much attention therefore is paid to the nation-building function of immigration policy and education policy. Treatment of immigrant groups varies, however. Some groups are channeled to "absorption centers" where their social integration is highly controlled through language and vocational courses and the like. Other groups are provided with financial assistance for re-settlement and they are able more quickly to acquire housing and participate in community life. In addition to immigrant groups, Arab minority groups and foreign workers are treated separately in policy. Jewish (immigrant) groups are expected to become fully absorbed into Israeli society; assimilation was the pattern before the 1970s and cultural pluralism has been more common since then. Arab groups are expected to share Israeli values and be loyal, but live separately, thus co-existing. Foreign workers are caught in an ambiguous status with no explicit policy regarding their social integration but the government simultaneously excludes (deports them or deems them illegal) them while continuing to issue new visas. Foreign workers' children (only about 1000) are not entitled to social services except for the right to attend school, but without any special services. Schools for Arab populations are structurally separate, use a different curriculum, and receive differential resource allocations. Curiously, no mention is made in this chapter of the new Palestinian text books instituted in 2000 and the ensuing controversies about them. Education policy aims primarily at helping to integrate immigrant populations. Schools are now expected to promote social integration of immigrants in three ways: (1) to teach the Israeli mainstream about the cultures of the immigrants, (2) to encourage students to help immigrant students to become integrated, and (3) to educate the immigrants about life in Israel (p. 163). The book ends with a concluding chapter that discusses similarities, namely, that all of these countries are "dealing with what are perceived to be the 'problems' arising from minority groups and immigrants" (p. 172). Push and pull factors are primarily economic and political in nature, and most of the immigration into Europe is from developing countries or Eastern Europe. While all countries are concerned about the integration of newcomers, some countries (such as Israel) are more interested in assimilation than some of the others (e.g., Finland) which are more accepting of a pluralistic society. In this chapter the authors (the book editors) offer a comparison of immigration and educational policies across countries, and offer recommendations for policy. Settlement policies are sometimes quite different, from Finland's individual integration plans, to other countries all but ignoring integration (at least of certain groups). Israel has three very distinct strategies with three population groups: Jewish immigrants, Arab indigenous minorities, and foreign workers. The situation in Germany is in flux and, because it is highly decentralized, it is more varied than some of the other countries. Britain and France's policies reflect their historical role of colonizers, but their priorities of pluralist identity recognition are quite different. One recurrent theme revealed different interpretations in different countries as to who is counted as an immigrant and who is not counted as an immigrant. Distinguishing returnees from immigrants, foreigners from immigrants, and refugees (of various types) from immigrants is not a simple matter. Similarly the relationship between the definitions of immigrant and minority are not always clear and can be problematic. Indeed, the determination of who is "Greek" or "German" seems to draw more on ethnic heritage than the other countries seem to acknowledge; with such deep-seated notions, access to citizenship for newcomers is more restricted. Categorizations vary somewhat from country to country due to issues such as definitions of citizenship, colonizer-colonized relationships, and population patterns in eastern Europe. Only Israel aligns immigration with religion: it is only possible to immigrate and gain citizenship if one is Jewish. A study such as this is impressive and, in some ways, raises more questions than it answers. Following are several issues that could be pursued in subsequent research of this type, and other issues representing existing avenues of research that would expand on what is already discussed in this book. One such theme is to look more specifically at the experiences of the families and students around issues of integration, and link the micro perspectives with the macro analysis. This approach would enable us to more closely analyze just what is meant by integration. There are likely to be a variety of patterns beyond the processes of assimilation, pluralistic arrangements where multiculturalism is accepted, or where integration is discouraged. Immigration is not always a linear process leading to permanent settlement but can be characterized by return or circular migration, which result in different adaptations patterns (Massey et al., 1987). The development of bi-cultural forms of integration or transnational forms of identity are beginning to emerge in the immigration literature (see Basch, Schiller & Szanton Blanc, 1994; Kearney, 1995; Rouse, 1992; for example). With theoretical orientations such as these, concepts like assimilation and integration are problematized and can help us to understand more of the complexities inherent in migration and education processes. Of course, in studies of official policy, these complexities are often not acknowledged. The relationship between the categories of "immigrant" and "minority" further complicates our analysis, but is necessary in many societies in order to understand processes of integration. In countries like the U.S. immigrants sometimes become minority groups in subsequent generations, and this is complicated when immigration focuses on the second generation (Portes, 1996). Definitions become fuzzy: who is an immigrant in the sense of who physically re-locates from one country to another is quite different than looking at migration processes as long-term and sometimes implicating subsequent generations. As always, defining terms clearly is important. When does an immigrant become a minority? When are immigrants also considered minorities? In Israel, the distinction seems to be quite clear, as it is based on religion and immigrants are a distinct group from the indigenous Arab minorities. In countries like the U.S., it is sometimes more complicated, such as with people of Mexican origin, or immigrants from Southeast Asian countries, to name just a few situations. Also implicated in these dynamics is the relationship between bases of discrimination and assimilation possibilities. Where discrimination exists, certain groups are prevented from assimilating (Gordon, 1964). There is a gap between the policy research on immigration and education, and the research done at the school level or community level as to how immigration and education are actually "lived." For example, most prominently discussed in this book regarding school practices were issues of first language use in the schools, the maintenance of (teaching of) the first language, second language acquisition, learning the culture of the host country, and maintaining one's cultural heritage. These themes were presented as syntheses of national practices, and so, of necessity, lost much of the detailed description of the particulars and of other school dynamics related to immigration. For example, few detailed examples were given of curriculum content, classroom activities, or assessment measures, or even of policy language in official documents. Consideration of the policy research in this book alongside the abundance of scholarship on multicultural/intercultural education, at least in the U.K. and the U.S., would help to reveal more specificity about what types of multicultural/intercultural education are actually practiced in relation to policy. Applying a typology such as Sleeter & Grant's (1994) would provide a more detailed analysis of what forms of integration are promoted through educational practice. In Sleeter & Grant's research on models of multicultural education in the U.S. they found five types which they name teaching the exceptional and culturally different, human relations, single-group studies, multicultural education, education that is multicultural and social reconstructionist. Only the last type aims to transform society to reduce social inequities and injustice which, of course, condition integration processes. The primary area of weakness in this book concerns the reporting of data: the data sources that the authors relied on are not always evident, and at time presentation of data was sparce. Probable sources include primary field research, surveys, or policy analysis; reviews of existing research; data derived from previous experience working in schools with immigrant populations; data from school districts. Often sources were not stated and data was not clearly presented. The chapter on Finland, however, is stronger in this regard in that these authors reference and discuss more actual research studies; the reader gains a sense of what the authors' perceptions and assertions are based on, and also of what is still unknown in this context where research is limited and very recent. For several of the countries (Finland and Greece in particular) immigration has been so recent that there is little existing research to draw on. Other chapters vary considerably, both across chapters and within chapters in the various sections. Whether this funded research project included primary data collection, I'm not sure. Overall, this book contributes meaningfully to a variety of fields including comparative education, foundations of education, policy studies, and others, in that it encourages us to consider more fully the social and political dynamics beyond the schools and families, and look to governmental policies relating to the populations our schools serve, to the reception immigrants receive in their new communities of residence, and to the realities that school personnel have constructed about the students they teach. References Basch, Linda, Nina Glick Schiller, and Cristina Szanton Blanc. 1994. Nations Unbound: Transnational Projects, Postcolonial Predicaments and Deterritorialized Nation-States. Luxembourg: Gordon and Breach. Gordon, Milton M. 1964. Assimilation in American Life: The Role of Race, Religion, and National Origins. New York: Oxford University Press. Kearney, Michael. 1995. The Local and the Global: The Anthropology of Globalization and Transnationalism. Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 24, pp. 547-565. Massey, Douglas, Rafael Alarcón, Jorge Durand, and Humberto González. 1987. Return to Aztlan. The Social Process of International Migration from Western Mexico. Berkeley & Los Angeles: University of California Press. Portes, Alejandro (ed.). 1996. The New Second Generation. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Rouse, Roger. 1992. Making Sense of Settlement: Class Transformation, Cultural Struggle, and Transnationalism among Mexican Migrants in the United States. In Nina Glick Schiller, Linda Basch, and Cristina Blanc-Szanton, eds.,Towards a Transnational Perspective on Migration: Race, Class, Ethnicity, and Nationalism Reconsidered. Vol. 645, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. New York: New York Academy of Sciences. Sleeter, Christine E., and Carl A. Grant. 1994. Making Choices for Multicultural Education: Five Approaches to Race, Class, and Gender. 2nd edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Merrill, Prentice Hall. About the Reviewer Karen Monkman is an assistant professor in the International-Intercultural Development Education program at Florida State University. Her research interests include immigration and education, diversity, the interface of policy and practice, and comparative and international education.