During 2019 there were 272 million international migrants out of a global population of 7.7 billion, amounting to 1 in every 30 persons or 3.5% of the world’s population (IOM UN Migration, 2020). Figure 1.1 shows the country of origin and country of destination for migrants in 2019.

The implications are that most countries globally are experiencing increases in refugees seeking asylum and increases in immigration. This means an increased presence of refugees and immigrants in schools. While completing this book the war in the Ukraine took place and at this writing there were 4 million refugees, half of them children seeking shelter in other countries and over 6 million Ukrainians displaced from their homes but seeking shelter within the Ukraine.

Research demonstrates that immigrant and refugee families face significant challenges and barriers to their settlement in new host countries. They must negotiate new cultural norms and expectations in which the degree of cultural similarity or difference between their country of origin and the receiving country may create stress that impacts their well-being (Drachman, 1992). Immigrant and refugee newcomers face barriers in finding adequate housing and accessing vital social, educational, and healthcare-related services. Many confront problems of underemployment, unemployment, poverty, and economic insecurity. Difficulty accessing social services and societal resources is often compounded by the challenges of navigating the maze of state bureaucracies—a process made more difficult when immigrants and refugees lack language proficiency or are missing necessary documentation. The challenge of building a new life is compounded by concern and worry over family members living in conflict areas and experiences of trauma. Discrimination and negative community attitudes toward newcomers further limit immigrants’ access to social participation and cause injuries to their sense of worth, dignity, and belonging (Selimos, 2017).

Immigrant settlement is also an intergenerational activity. While each family member (parent, children, grandparent) struggles differently with the challenges of settlement, how immigrant and refugee families negotiate what it means to live in a new society and who they can become is worked out to and with others, especially their co-resident family members (Taylor & Krahn, 2013). Research focusing on intergenerational relationships within immigrant families demonstrates that family migration and settlement ...