School Challenges of Immigrant Adolescents in Chile: Mismatches Between Students and Teachers

The literature extensively explores the challenges faced by immigrant students in schools, often drawing on either students' narratives or educators' perspectives. However, these viewpoints are rarely analyzed together, resulting in a disconnect that hampers the development of effective strategies for fostering immigrant students' inclusion in the education system. To bridge this gap, this study examines the primary challenges and barriers encountered by immigrant adolescents in Chilean schools. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected through 50 in-depth interviews with immigrant adolescents and teachers from seven schools in the Metropolitan Region. The findings highlight multiple obstacles faced by immigrant students, including difficulties with school admission processes, language barriers, curricular misalignment, peer conflicts, and broader challenges linked to their migratory experiences. Importantly, the study identifies discrepancies between how immigrant students and educators perceive and interpret these challenges. It also uncovers previously overlooked barriers within the school system, such as the rigidity of the Chilean educational structure and the language barriers faced by Spanish-speaking immigrant students, which educators have not adequately addressed.