1. Chapter 17
Immigration and Settlement:
Confronting the Challenges of Cultural
Diversity
Naomi Levy
EPS 606

2. Basic Definitions
Immigrants: people who have made a relatively
free choice to relocate from one country / region to
another
EX: my sisters have moved to Israel b/c they wanted to!
EX: people who come to America looking for a better life
Refugees: people who are forced to move,
survival usually being main motivation to move
EX: my dad is a Jewish refugee from Egypt and was forced to leave
Sojourners: people who move to achieve certain
objectives (with specific time frame & intent to
return)
EX: diplomats or people who move for work

3. Immigration can be
understood by
Push/Pull factors
Voluntary/Involuntary action of the move
Permanence of the move

4. CULTURE
Culture:
includes common values, beliefs, & norms within groups
who share an ethnic heritage, sexual orientation or SES
class
as a context for meaning (Kagitcbasi)
is knowing the rules by which we live in society (Lonner &
Malpass)
What do you consider you culture?

5. CULTURE cont..
Socialization: formal process of learning rules &
behavior of culture though education and child
rearing practices
VS
Enculturation: informal learning that occurs in
human life in natural settings
Individualistic society: independence from others
& priority of personal needs (EX: USA)
VS
Collectivistic society: group norms & collective
goals come first (EX: Israeli society, Japanese ect…)

6. Acculturation
Involves challenges & changes to one’s culture
Reflects the adaptations that different cultural groups
must make due to contact with others
Considered from perspective of those with least
power in the situation (in CP we recognize the role
power plays!)
Common responses to acculturation: (Berry’s model)
Assimilation (take on new culture)
Integration (keep own culture while adapting with new)
Separation (keeping separate, isolated and with group)
Marginalization (looked down upon, racism…)

7. Diversity within and across
We cannot assume immigrant communities are all the
same; across & within communities as well
Within immigrant communities strong difference can
be present (in terms of political stance, history, SES)
All groups & people experience acculturation
differently
Role of race, gender and ethnicity matter in identity
formation (ex: South African woman in Western
Australia that came apartheid experiences)
Must understand people within the social ecological
context (CP focus on ecology & context plays a role
here too!)

8. An Example of a Response
of Receiving a Community
and Marginalization
My sister is a social worker and works with at-risk
immigrant youth in Israel. The immigrant migrant
workers is a controversial political topic there.
Click on this below link to watch a news clip about this
issue and the possible deportation of this population.
(FYI the website will be in Hebrew but the video is in
English after the advertisement. The video is in the
middle of the page, press play! )
http://news.walla.co.il/?w=/1/1716914

9. Reactions?
What did you think of the video?
Without knowing very much about this population
you can tell that this is an example how how we
can receive a community (the emotional,
economic and political reactions…)

10. Conclusion
Immigration is a complex topic
We must consider several factors when learning
about or working with immigrant communities:
Not all immigrants are the same even if they come
from the same place with same ethnicity
Each person has their our story, culture, narrative and
context (all are which are SO important!!)
We should focus on social support systems & their
role in the immigration process
As a protective mechanisms which can buffer stressors
It is important to do personal critical reflection about
our subjectivity & limits

11. Thanks for watching my
lesson on chapter 17! It
would be better if I presented
in person but nevertheless I
hope you enjoyed and
learned something!!!!!