ABSTRACT
Distinguishing immigrant and international students as separate populations is a way to highlight differences between permanent residents who study in their adopted countries and temporary residents who earn degrees and return to their home countries. Awareness of possible disparities in the goals and backgrounds of the two populations has led to an increase in research on immigrant students who receive less attention than international students (Bosher & Rowenkamp, 1998; Harklau, Losey, & Siegal, 1999). However, the research reveals the difficulty of this type of sorting. One obstacle is that the multiple identities of students in both groups defy neat categorization. For example, Harklau, Losey, and Siegal (1999) find that immigrant students in the United States begin their schooling at different levels-elementary, junior high, or high school. Some may be highly educated on arrival; others have experienced interrupted schooling in their native countries. Their families come from various class backgrounds. Some have strong literacy skills in L1 and others do not. Their literacy skills in English also vary.
