Excerpts from media release:
Under the title, Welcoming Newcomer Children: The Settlement of Young Immigrants and Refugees, Colbert explores settlement from the perspective of the child. Although primarily directed to readers with an interest in supporting young newcomers from birth through age 8, much of the information is also relevant to older children.
At the outset, Colbert establishes that young children experience settlement much as adults do, and sets out a definition that echoes throughout Welcoming Newcomer Children. Early on, she also considers the distinctive settlement needs of young children and the relationship between culture and settlement. In exploring cultural transmission by parents, teachers and peers, she invites the reader to examine his or her own role in the settlement process. Finally, focusing specifically on school readiness as the major settlement challenge for young children, Colbert calls for a re-examination of benchmarks of program quality in light of barriers experienced by newcomers.
Welcoming Newcomer Children offers a new perspective on child settlement. It draws on international research in various fields to examine values and beliefs from both Western and Non-Western points of view. It questions accepted practices, priorities and standards, and suggests new strategies for working with young children.