immigrantchildren.ca

The Ottawa Social Planning Council released “Immigrants’ Economic Integration: Successes and Challenges” last week. The report examines the social and economic integration of newcomers to Ottawa and includes discussion of the settlement needs of children. From an article in today’s Ottawa Citizen:

A young person who moves here from another country faces a whole spectrum of things on top of the usual trials of growing up, says Hamdi Mohamed, executive director of the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization (OCISO).

“They live in a community that is really struggling, in a family that is struggling, where the father, the mother, the other siblings are all going through their own settlement experiences,” says Mohamed. “On top of that, the father may have three jobs, the mother may be working as well, so the problems are there, but the role models are not available.”

Mohamed says immigrant children struggle in particular with multiple identities. They are new Canadians who often have strong ties to their homeland, something the Canadian-born may tell them is disloyal….

“The reality of these children is they’re told ‘You must fit in this box or you don’t belong.’ And yet they know they have multiple identities, but they don’t yet know that there are beautiful things about that,” says Mohamed.

In response, OCISO has launched a program that may be piloted in schools and other community locations to assist immigrant children and youth with issues in integration and also in maintaining home language, culture and practices. Other ISOs in the Ottawa area are on board. Read the full article here.

Related resource: See OSPCs 2007 paper “Is Everybody Here? Inclusion and Exclusion Ottawa of Families with Young Children in the Ottawa Area”.

Charles Pascal has completed his two-year long investigation into early learning in Ontario. His report calls for a blending of child care and kindergarten. Read about Pascal, his approach to the work, and dowload a copy of the report, Our Best Future: Early Learning in Ontario, at the Ministry of Children and Youth website.

There is no substantial discussion on immigrant, refugee or newcomer children, but “diversity” appears several times throughout the report:

In Chapter 1, “Our best future is one in which all children are … respectful of the diversity of their peers” (p. 7).

In the section discussing schools as the hub of the community, Pascal admits that “Concerns have been voiced that some schools are often unwelcoming to parents, dismissive of the expertise of community partners, and insensitive to the opportunities that diversity can provide for all students” (p. 17).

In the section on programming, there is a review of the ELECT principles, which include “Respect for diversity, inclusion and equity are prerequisites for optimal development and learning” (p. 26).

Also in the section on programming, and about ELECT, there is mention that any curricula should “reflect Ontario’s diversity” (p. 29).

The parental engagement discussion in the report calls on educators to “be thoughtful about who is involved in the process. Many parents commented that existing policies on parent engagement in schools and early childhood programs did not give enough consideration to the splendid diversity in Ontario. Are we truly involving parents if some educators and school leaders, as I have been advised, avoid the Muslim mother because she wears a hijab, or are confused about how to approach same-sex parents or the many configurations of blended families?” (p. 31).

In the recommendations section: “We must learn from each other. There are excellent examples of critical elements of the new system, across this province – teachers and ECEs working together, school-home based child care, school leaders who know how to engage parents and embrace diversity” (p. 49).

And, finally, a critical success factor in implementing the new system are: “ECEs with excellent child development knowledge, skills and experience already in place, passion for diversity…”(p. 49).

Many workshops at the annual George Brown College Summer Institute this year (held in Toronto) address issues of diversity, including:

Listening to Families: Presenting findings from a research project that demonstrates effective strategies for service providers in meeting the values and priorities of diverse families. Presented by Dr. Mehru Ali, Ryerson University.

See the web page at George Brown for the full details of the 2009 Summer Institute.

The landmark Early Years Study, subtitled The Real Brain Drain, was released on April 20, 1999.

See also a “very brief history” of the Early Years Study posted on the Health Nexus Santé (formerly the Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse) blog in March 2005, including links to the follow-up report The Early Years Study: Three Years Later, recounting how the early years initiative was rolled out in Ontario via the Ontario Early Years Centres.

Fraser Mustard and the Council on Early Child Development continue to work to raise awareness of and support for an early childhood learning and care program for all children and their families across Canada as the first tier to the formal school system.

See the upcoming conference sponsored by the Council on Early Child Development May 13-15 in New Brunswick, Putting Science into Action: Equity from the Start Through Early Child Development.

How responsive have the Ontario Early Years Centres been to immigrant and refugee families and young children?

Announced yesterday, TVO and HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) will partner to develop and deliver literacy programming for newcomer children. From the press release:

Phase I of the partnership, currently underway, involves the integration of new TVO resources for early learners into HIPPY’s in-home training programs for parents.HIPPY home visitors will now be using special epidsodes of Gisèle’s Book Club, helping kids and parents discover together the joys of reading and diversity as well as the complete Gisèle’s Big Backyard Get Ready for School DVD and CD-ROM, which helps demystify the transition from preschool to kindergarten.

For phase II TVO is creating a user-friendly online community set to launch in the Fall of 2009. The site will focus on two key areas of need: delivering skill-based literacy tools that parents can use with their children and addressing the challenges and opportunities related to instilling a sense of cultural identity in New Canadian children as they prepare for Ontario’s school system. Web content will include panel discussions on cultural identity; video profiles of New Canadians telling their stories; instructional videos on How to Read with Your Child … as well as a variety of interactive opportunities, research articles and multi-lingual resources.

From the press release:

TVO examines the immigrant experience through a child’s eyes in a special interactive event beginning with part one of the two part documentary, My New Home. The film is followed by a live, interactive webcast discussion on Your Voice at tvoparents.com on the immigrant experience in Ontario. This event airs during Belong or Bust: Where Do I Fit In?, a week of premier documentaries, dramas and current affairs programs that explore a variety of viewpoints on the themes of culture and identity and our place in society.

My New Home premieres Sunday March 22 at 8pm and again on Sunday March 29 at 8pm on TVO. Directed by Daisy Asquith and produced by Ricochet Productions.

The Best Start Resource Centre, a program of Health Nexus Santé, has release a new informational brochure in PDF entitled “Baby Wants…” with colourful pictures and short descriptions addressing babies basic developmental needs. One of these is “Baby wants to learn your language”.

“Baby wants … to learn your language.

“Babies may begin to learn two languages right from birth. Learning two or more languages is not only a skill for later life, but can also help your baby to be connected to his family, his culture and other cultures. Toddlers who are starting to talk may mix up the two languages a little. This is normal. Over time, the children will learn to speak well in the languages they are exposed to. It is important to provide lots of opportunities in both languages.

“Here are some suggestions that may help your child use two languages in daily life:

• “Visit your local library and ask for books or tapes in the languages you speak in your home. Read these books to your child.
• “Participate in community events and programs that celebrate your language and cultural heritage. Many Ontario Early Years Centres offer resources in many languages and opportunities to meet with others from your community that share your language.
• “Join parent groups where your language is spoken or start your own group.

“Remember, the best thing you can do to help your child learn two languages is to talk, sing and play in the language that comes most naturally to you. You will help your baby feel proud of your language and culture”.

Policy Matters, an initiative of the Joint Centre of Excellence for Research in Immigration Studies (CERIS) has published a summary of recent research on immigrant women learning English.

Reclaiming Voice: Challenges and Opportunities for Immigrant Women Learning English identified barriers and supports to immigrant women learning English. Principal investigator was Kenise Murphy Kilbride. The findings and recommendations resulting from the research have been made available on http://www.immigrantwomen.ca.

The Canadian Association of Family Resource Programs has released a new research report entitled “What Works For Who”. The report is based on a recent literature review on promising practices in parenting education, particularly in working with parents from ‘vulnerable populations’, including parents living in poverty and newcomer parents.

Also, FRP Canada has announced their biennial national conference will take place May 12-15, 2009 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The theme this year is Welcoming Communities. 

Questions to Jill Heckman at 613.237.7667 ext 231 or conference@frp.ca.

Best Start: Ontario’s Maternal, Newborn and Child Development Resource Centre (BSRC) is holding their annual conference Feb 23-25/09 in Toronto. Of interest to immigrantchildren.ca readers, these two workshops (descriptions taken from the conference website):

Giving Birth in a New Land, with Saleha Bismilla, Toronto Public Health

The changing demographics of Ontario have an impact for service providers such as nurses, physicians, midwives, and community workers who work in reproductive health. Women from diverse cultural backgrounds may have different needs and expectations when accessing health services. Service providers should be sensitive to these needs and can help women and their partners to prepare for having a baby in Ontario. 

Child Language Development in Bilingual or Multilingual Environments, with Laurie-Ann Staniforth, First Words

This concurrent session will provide an overview of normal child language development in bilingual or multilingual environments. Bilingualism in the context of language delay or disorder will also be discussed. This session will include practical considerations for service providers such as issues to consider and how to work with and support bi- and multilingual children and families.

The Childminding, Monitoring and Advisory Support (CMAS) is holding their annual conference from Nov 13-14/08 in downtown Toronto. The theme this year is Tools for Growth: Supporting the Newcomer Family. The conference will address the resources, practices, activities and connections that build programs and the profession, while facilitating the healthy development of the children cared for in LINC programs.

The conference is funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and jointly sponsored by the Learning Enrichment Foundation and the Toronto District School Board.

From the Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development

The 2008 R.W.B. Jackson Lecture ~ Brave New Schools: Identity and Power in Canadian Education

We are pleased to present Professor James (Jim) Cummins, a renowned second language education scholar in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, and Canada Research Chair, Language Learning and Literacy Development in Multilingual Contexts.

As the 2008 Jackson Lecturer, Cummins will draw on data from a 5-year research program entitled From Literacy to Multiliteracies to stimulate re-examination of the foundational principles of Canadian education in an era of increasing diversity and urgent global challenges. Influenced by international agencies such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), educational policy-makers in many countries have adopted an increasingly technocratic approach to the promotion of literacy and numeracy.  The focus has been on the identification and implementation of evidence-based “best practices.” However, the frame of reference within which these “best practices” have been generated typically consigns issues related to societal power relations and teacher-student identity negotiation to the margins of consideration.

This lecture will call for a radically different approach to educational policy-making. The constructs of teacher-student identity negotiation and societal power relations will be proposed as empirically validated influences on academic achievement and as fundamental to the development of effective educational policy and practice. Recent OECD research and policy recommendations on the education of immigrant students will be analyzed to show that the marginalization of issues related to power and identity in educational policy-making is an ideological process that is far from “evidence-based.” A very different set of policy options and pedagogical opportunities for Canadian education emerges when the empirical and theoretical frame of reference is broadened to acknowledge the centrality of the multiple forms of diversity that increasingly characterize schools both in Canada and internationally.

The lecture will be held Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at the George Ignatieff Theatre, Toronto. Reception at 6pm, opening remarks and lecture at 7pm. 

To RSVP and/or for more information, call 416.978.1125.