What Does It Mean to Learn While Migrating?

Discussions of immigrant education often center on what happens after families arrive in the United States. But that focus misses a critical period of learning that begins long before arrival and unfolds throughout the journey. The places immigrants pass through—and what they experience there—can shape learning as much as the destination.

For Dr. Alicia Rusoja, the journey itself is a form of education. She has launched a new research project examining what immigrants learn as they move between countries and into California, expanding how education is typically defined and where it is understood to occur.

Rusoja argues that this in-transit learning is both complex and essential. “Immigrants learn how to navigate transportation, share resources, build support networks, and teach others how to do the same,” she said. “You need brilliance to figure that out.” 

Rusoja’s research will focus on the experiences of Venezuelan children and their families as they traveled across South and Central America to California—a journey of more than 4,000 miles made on foot and under uncertain conditions. Along with her team of graduate and undergraduate researchers, she is building partnerships with immigrant communities in the Bay Area to better understand what they learned and taught others throughout their journeys.

Part of that learning involves navigating complex immigration requirements, including figuring out which documents they need, where to go, and how to move safely across borders. But Rusoja is equally interested in what happens outside formal systems: the moments in transit when families exchange information, preserve cultural practices, and create community.

These moments, she noted, become the foundation for the knowledge they build and share with others. “With immigrant communities, we tend to think of their learning as something that happens after they arrive in the United States,” she said. “But so much is happening along the way and even before they depart. I want to make these processes visible and document how that knowledge evolves in real time.”

By focusing on learning during migration instead of after arrival, Rusoja aims to expand how educators and researchers understand immigrant students’ experiences when they enter American schools. “If schools recognize the skills and expertise children bring with them,” she said, “they may be better equipped to support them in the classroom, rather than treating them as if they’re starting from scratch.”

Rusoja’s work also challenges narratives that position immigrants as victims of their circumstances. Their journeys require ongoing problem-solving, collaboration, and adaptability—all important forms of knowledge that often go unrecognized outside of migration. “This work is about centering the voices and practices of people whose lives have been obscured by anti-immigration rhetoric,” said Rusoja. “I want to shine a light on the knowledge and power they’ve always had, and the ingenuity required to leave home and build something new.”