Immigration is a life change generally made in order to improve the immigrants’ overall well-being. Since the country’s inception, media headlines and political debates have cried for immigration reform, specifically regarding the quantity and country of origin of entering immigrants. The student population of immigrants is diverse in its nature, country of origin, and purpose of immigration. Students coming to America differ in their country of origin and social class but have similar life expectations and purposes of education.
The main difference between students’ immigrants is found in their origin and background. Within socialist countries, nations differed substantially in the level of total immigration between 1970-1990. The values of the immigration measure range from a minimum of 17 to a maximum of 209,237. The same pattern of a large variation in total immigration holds for capitalist countries as indicated by the standard deviation of 45,206 for the immigration. Critics admit that such socialist countries as Russia and Slovenia sent a large number of students to study in the United States while other socialist countries including Poland and the Czech republic sent very few. The range of this variable is 2 to 6,490. However, there are a number of exceptions. For instance, all scales related to political and individual freedom (e.g., the political rights scale) display limited variations with smaller means. This suggests that socialist countries had lower degrees of freedom and that most of them were pretty similar in this aspect. In contrast to former socialist countries, capitalist countries sent few students to America (Borjas 28).
Immigrants differ in their purpose of immigration and life choice. For many students coming from Asian and post-soviet countries, the aim of immigration is to stay in the USA while European students want to receive good knowledge in technical and management spheres. There are some important changes taking place that will affect how adult and community education can and will develop. The first and most obvious of these is demographic change. The average age of the populations of developed countries is tending to shift upwards. The twin factors of immigration and greater longevity are creating an aging population. With fewer young people, workers at all levels will need special training to deal with changes that they will need to make in professional jobs and services (Borjas 28). It will result in more middle-aged and elderly people wishing to continue their education, liberal or professional. At the levels of basic and intermediate education, there is a continuing problem in the developed countries of attracting those adults who need basic education back into structured learning.
The main similarity between student populations coming from different countries is that education in America guarantees success because basic knowledge for the job usually comes from education and before employment. Reading assignments, seminar discussions and the post-experience are the main parts of the education process which prepare students for their professional careers. Education at college or University guarantees success because it forms attitudes and motivates people. During college or university years, skill and experience are related closely to the job content. Preparation for jobs are made by giving student assignments, case studies, decision-making exercises, and games to simulate real conditions (Borjas 28). Group projects and role-playing are supplemented planned work experience to enable a person to increase his/her effectiveness. To some extent, college or university education is a drive that is the motivation of the individual who must accept and be committed to the need for learning. Also, it can be seen s reinforcement – information that the learner receives giving an indication of progress – ideally as soon as possible to enable more effective learning to occur (Sterling and Hilliard 445).
The other similarity is found in the high priority for career-related adult education and the need for a lively and high-interest factor has already been noted. Perhaps even more than formal education, adult and community education needs to align itself closely to the social values of the society it operates in, to be able to respond with great flexibility to changes in social and occupational needs (Borjas 28). It must also reflect the ambitions of adult learners and anticipate their wishes. All these points argue strongly for continuous research on the needs of adults, both as individuals and members of communities.
In sum, the main difference between immigrants is caused by the different social and economic development of their native countries. For students from Asian and post-soviet countries, education in America is the best way to stay and obtain good knowledge and skills. For European immigrants, education in America means personal success in their native country. For most of them, education in America opens up doors, it increases the amount of money a person can make, it determines a lifestyle, and it exposes a student to a variety of people and experiences. The difference is found in the age and social position of students. Most students from Asian and post-soviet countries are from high and middle social classes while European students belong to middle and low social classes.
Works Cited
Borjas, G. J. Heaven’s Door: Immigration Policy and the American Economy. Princeton University Press; New Ed edition, 2001.
Sterling, W.J., Hilliard, J. Visions Across the Americas. Heinle & Heinle Publishers, 2003.