Garnering Civic Hope: Social Studies, Expectations, and the Lost Civic Potential of Immigrant Youth

Social studies education is designed to provide a foundation for civic society. In this study we consider immigrant optimism theory within the context of U.S. secondary social studies to examine the civic potential of immigrant youth. Using a mixed-methods approach, we complement analyses of teacher and immigrant young adult interviews with national survey data to explore how adults' expectations shape immigrant youths' civic identity formation. Although immigrant parents consistently express high academic expectations of their children, teachers' civic expectations emerged as a critical factor in immigrant youths' civic development. While teachers and immigrant youth reported rich civic discourse in advanced social studies classes, we counter that limited social studies course taking may restrict exposure to teachers' civic expectations, and result in the unrealized civic potential of immigrant youth. We close with a cautionary note regarding the limits of social studies to develop a transformative, emancipatory citizenry, especially among the increasingly diverse immigrant youth population.