This chapter provides some reflections on how the peer cultures of students may change, as they grow older; and on the cultural and structural influences on second-generation academic achievement. Many behaviors in school that are detrimental to academic achievement do not in fact stem from disinterest in academic achievement or a rejection of mainstream institutions and norms, but the quest for peer status. The low achievement among some children of immigrants leads to the requirement of different policies for improving academic achievement. Some key policy recommendations for improving...

This chapter provides some reflections on how the peer cultures of students may change, as they grow older; and on the cultural and structural influences on second-generation academic achievement. Many behaviors in school that are detrimental to academic achievement do not in fact stem from disinterest in academic achievement or a rejection of mainstream institutions and norms, but the quest for peer status. The low achievement among some children of immigrants leads to the requirement of different policies for improving academic achievement. Some key policy recommendations for improving academic achievement among children of immigrants include that schooling should help students' balancing acts between their peer social worlds and academic achievement via code-switching and decision-making skills, and that schools should engage youth cultures.