Acculturation and children's social development in europe: recent theoretical perspectives and empirical findings

Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781119679028.ch15

This chapter reflects the dynamic nature of acculturation within the context of children's development by first examining classical and contemporary theoretical perspectives underlining developmental mechanisms in the process of acculturation. It outlines empirical research studies that compare native and immigrant children and point to the links between acculturation and both psychosocial and educational outcomes, with a specific focus on immigrant youth in European societies. Children's development and acculturation is intuitively linked to the extent to which children choose acculturation strategies that are successful within the macro-level immigration context. Most contemporary theoretical accounts on acculturation acknowledge that acculturation is a bidirectional phenomenon of change in the immigrant's heritage culture and the mainstream society's culture. Schools often form a central acculturation context where immigrants face various acculturative tasks such as negotiating status and cultural differences. Acculturation strategies are likely to change across age, with different orientations adopted during different developmental periods and in different social settings.