Theories of Immigration: An Analysis of Textbooks on Human Behavior and the Social Environment

Abstract

Fourteen of the most commonly used textbooks in human behavior and social environment (HB&SE) courses in graduate social work education were examined for content related to theories of immigration. To what extent are social work students informed in theories of immigration to enhance their understanding and inform their practice with immigrant populations? In an attempt to address this issue, a brief overview of some of the major theories of immigration is provided as a context for the analysis of HB&SE textbooks. The 14 texts were assessed for immigration-related content according to three criteria: (a) the manner in which immigration was addressed, (b) the extent to which immigration was described in terms of human behavior, the social environment, and/or the interaction between the two, and (c) the context in which immigration was presented. The findings from this analysis indicate that immigration is not thoroughly or consistently addressed in these HB&SE texts. This analysis concludes with recommendations for incorporating immigration-related content in HB&SE curricula.

KEYWORDS:

• Human behavior
• immigration
• social environment
• social work education

Notes

We acknowledge the assistance of our doctoral colleagues in the initial preparation for this analysis: Sirojudin Abbas, Colleen Henry, Elizabeth Horowitz, Mimi Kim, and Rebecca Matthews.