ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the design and the contextual backgrounds of the societies of settlement and the immigrant groups involved in the International Comparative Study of Ethnocultural Youth project. The chapter presents descriptions of some of the core features of the 13 societies of settlement that are theoretically relevant to the project. It outlines some of the important features of the immigrant groups, including information that is necessary for understanding the processes of acculturation and adaptation that occur as they interact with others in their societies of settlement. The chapter focuses on societies that have been largely built using a deliberate process of immigration. It analyses societies that have been involved in immigration but historically were the source of immigrants rather than the destination. The chapter explores the differences using two indicators that are theoretically important for this project: the actual degree of cultural diversity found in a society and the national policy orientation toward such diversity.
