School Adaptation: A Triangular Process

Abstract

In this article, we present the results of a year-long, follow-up study through vignettes from four of the case studies carried out with a group of 16 first-grade, Spanish-speaking children whose families recently immigrated to the United States. During the 1995–1996 school year, we followed the unfolding of the school adaptation of the children, families, and teachers in the process. Through the findings, we seek to challenge traditional views of school adaptation that focus on the child, on the child and family, and, in the case of linguistic minorities or immigrant children, on their English proficiency. We present a comprehensive perspective of school adaptation that considers the child, family, and school and centers on various factors such as cognitive development, socialization, the cultural and political milieu, and family and teacher expectations. We argue for the role of a home-school mediator as a facilitator of children's adaptation to school.