Chapter three. Different Systems, Similar Results: Youth of Immigrant Origin at School in California and Catalonia

This chapter examines the impact of school structures, policies, and practices on immigrant youth in Spain and the United States. Drawing on field research conducted in six high schools, three in Catalonia and three in California, the chapter looks at the contradictions between discourse and practice, on the one hand, and immigrant students' actual experiences in school, on the other. It explores how schools through their structures, policies, and practices influence the social and academic integration of immigrant youth and how immigrant youth perceive and negotiate their integration. It also considers the ways in which the politicalization of borders affects immigrant-origin students' access to resources in school, their sense of membership within the school community, the nature of their participation in school activities, and ultimately their school persistence and academic achievement.