Transitions

An era of mass immigration to the United States has brought newcomers from the most diverse class and national origins, legal statuses, and cultural backgrounds. Their children too come in all castes and hues, sometimes in unimaginable circumstances, and must adapt in highly variable and rapidly changing conditions. This fascinating volumethe most illuminating single book on the subject to dateemploys a wide-angle ecological framework to understand their developmental contexts, processes, and (at times paradoxical) outcomes, from health and mental health to identity and acculturation, language and religion, academic achievement and civic engagement. Transitions is a superb contribution, offering a wise and thorough assessment of a vast field and of future directions for research, practice and policy. -- Rubén G. Rumbaut,co-author of Legacies: The Story of the Immigrant Second Generation
Offers a stunning developmental psychology of childhood in motion. . . . These children enter the U.S. with and without parents or papers, with and without dreams, trauma or bellies full of hope. Through this book we bear witness to stories of the social and psychological processes they enact and embody, and the wildly varied outcomes they produce and endure. Beautifully written for the general public and college students, future teachers, lawyers, social workers and community members with a soul, Transitions is a mirror to yesterday, a GPS to tomorrow, and a vivid history of the contemporary reimagination of America. A gift to psychology and education, this study has been delicately midwifed and tenderly inscribed by creative and talented researchers, Carola Suárez-Orozco, Mona Abo-Zena and Amy Marks. -- Michelle Fine,Graduate Center at the City University of New York
This important new book humanizes the experience of immigrant youth by illuminating how they cope with the numerous challenges they face in adjusting to a new country and culture. Insightful, informative and thought provoking, this book will be an invaluable resource to those who seek to move beyond the headlines to understand the experience of immigrant youth. -- Pedro A. Noguera,Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education, New York University