Crossing Borders: Exploring the Role of School Social Workers in Immigrant-Serving Schools

Leticia Villarreal Sosa, Benjamin Roth, Sophia Rodriguez

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Anti-immigrant rhetoric increasingly depicts immigrants as undeserving, but schools are social institutions where these perceptions can be challenged and, ideally, where inequities confronting immigrant students can be ameliorated. Existing research suggests that teachers and administrators are central to this task, but it also raises questions about the role of other personnel in immigrant-serving schools. Drawing on the concept of nepantlera, this study examines how school social workers (SSWs) pursue equity for immigrant students by challenging intersecting power structures. The authors present preliminary findings that attest to the importance of nepantleras for SSWs and the importance of SSWs for immigrant-serving schools.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)198-206
Number of pages9
JournalSocial Work Research
Volume45
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1 2021

Keywords

  • immigrant students
  • intersectionality
  • nepantleras
  • school social work

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science

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