Fight or Flight? Immigration, Status Competition, and LanguageAssistance Resources in Metropolitan Atlanta Open Access

Abstract

Fight or Flight? Immigration, Status Competition, and Language Assistance Resources in Metropolitan Atlanta By Beth Tarasawa

Historically, immigration patterns have provoked a great deal of anti-immigrant backlash and resistance within the U.S. education system. Research suggests that as societies become more ethnically and racially diverse, native-born citizens use the educational system as a way of maintaining their privilege. As Atlanta's Latino and Asian immigrant populations continue to increase, it is not surprising to find heightened perceptions of threat from established groups. Working from a status competition theoretical perspective, I investigate how both Black and White groups respond to these new educational contestants through examination of racial and ethnic segregation patterns and the implementation of language assistance resources in Atlanta-area high schools. Drawing on secondary data from the Georgia Department of Education and the 2000 Census Bureau, as well as primary data on language assistance curriculum offerings, English-only referenda, and attendance boundaries for metro-Atlanta public high schools, I address the following questions: To what degree do racial and ethnic segregation patterns in public secondary schools reflect those in residential catchment areas? How does the number of Limited-English-Proficient students affect White and/or Black enrollments in public secondary schools? Finally, how do status competition factors influence the supply of language assistance resources implemented in public secondary schools, above and beyond demand for such programs? I find that in areas with the greatest racial heterogeneity and the greatest potential for diversity in the public schools, the public schools least reflect the racial composition of the neighborhoods. Furthermore, although primarily driven by demand factors, the probability that a public high school offers language assistance courses is also modestly affected by status competition factors. The findings from this study help inform policy makers and administrators on neighborhood and school-level competition factors which have implications for minimizing ethno-racial differences in education.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction...1 Chapter 2: Literature Review & Analytic Strategy...8 Chapter 3: Background: Demographic Trends in Metro Atlanta...32 Chapter 4: Mapping Segregation: Cross-sectional Analysis of School Catchment Areas in Metro Atlanta High Schools...47 Chapter 5: Pooled Time Series Analysis of Segregation in Metro Atlanta High Schools...74 Chapter 6: Allocation of Language Assistance Programs in Metro Atlanta High Schools...103 Chapter 7: Conclusion...124 References...133

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Sociology
Degree	PhD
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Sociology, Ethnic and Racial Studies
Keyword	Race and Ethnic Relations, Education
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Werum, Regina, Emory University
Committee Members	Callahan, Rebecca , University of Texas at Austin Condron, Dennis, Emory University

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