Student academic adaptation of migrants in border contexts.

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyze the academic adaptation process experienced by migrant students in elementary and secondary schools in the city of Arica, a research context characterized by its close proximity to an international border. This study takes on a qualitative approach to appreciate reality as it is constructed from perspective of migrant students. The data collected includes two focus groups and fifteen in-depth interviews. The focus groups gathered input from teachers who work in educational establishments with migrant students and parents of migrant students that attend educational establishments in the city of Arica. The interviews were conducted on school leaders as well as migrant students and in the latter case, maintained an autobiographical focus. An open coding technique was applied to analyze content based on strings of text. The results indicate that the context studied demonstrates limited predisposition to accept interculturality. The schools are based on the premise that it is the student who must adapt to the school system and take on the task of standardizing their own behavior. This fact is justified by the positive learning outcomes obtained by the group of students that are able to do so.