Understanding School Success of Migrant Students: An International Perspective

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 19835

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Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute for Educational Sciences, University of Basel, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland
Interests: acculturation and cultural identity; school adjustment of immigrant and minority youth; school dropout; values in school education; gender disparities in a school context; career choice and career education; digital tools in education
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Guest Editor
Institute for Research & Development, School of Education, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Bahnhofstrasse 6, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland
Interests: social and academic resilience of students; intersectional approaches in educational psychology; socialization patterns of immigrant and minority youth; cross-cultural comparisons of school success

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this issue is to understand school success of migrant students by analyzing individual, social, and societal factors of resilience among students. Despite existing educational inequalities, the literature hardly provides empirically validated insights on school success pathways of migrants. One of the main challenges migrant students experience while adjusting to the mainstream culture is known as acculturation. Acculturation outcomes in the school context can be measured in terms of students’ sociocultural and psychological adjustment to the new teaching and learning environment, as well as to the new academic culture. It is therefore important to consider the process of acculturation and its outcomes in schools while discussing the academic success or failure of minority students. The aim of the Special Issue is to empirically identify and compare pathways for policy actions in schools and communities to tackle barriers of migrant students’ school success. These resilience pathways will address differences in individual and social risks and identify protective factors for young immigrants to overcome obstacles linked to discrimination and low educational outcomes. The Special Issue focusses especially on international empirical research comparing and explaining school success factors for migrant students in different countries. Interestingly, international research so far has not conclusively identified if migrant students have special or even specific school success patterns, diverging from school success styles of native students.

Prof. Dr. Elena Makarova
Prof. Dr. Wassilis Kassis
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • migrant students
  • acculturation
  • school adjustment
  • school (dis-)engagement
  • school success
  • resilience
  • intersectionality
  • international comparison

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 164 KiB  
Editorial
Understanding School Success of Migrant Students: An International Perspective
by Elena Makarova and Wassilis Kassis
Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(2), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12020069 - 20 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2920
Abstract
Despite existing educational inequalities, the literature provides hardly any empirically validated insights into the school success pathways of migrants [...] Full article

Research

Jump to: Editorial

18 pages, 1635 KiB  
Article
Does a Strong Bicultural Identity Matter for Emotional, Cognitive, and Behavioral Engagement?
by Zuzanna M. Preusche and Kerstin Göbel
Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12010005 - 22 Dec 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4787
Abstract
In the course of their acculturation process, minority students need to negotiate the adaption to the host society’s culture and the maintenance of the culture of their country of origin. This identity construction is complex and may encompass contradicting and competing goals. The [...] Read more.
In the course of their acculturation process, minority students need to negotiate the adaption to the host society’s culture and the maintenance of the culture of their country of origin. This identity construction is complex and may encompass contradicting and competing goals. The adjustment to school is seen as a relevant acculturation marker. An increasingly prominent multidimensional construct is students’ school engagement because it can provide an insight into the way students feel and interact with the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral domains of school. Successful adjustment to school culture, and acculturation in general, can be closely related to school engagement. There is yet no common knowledge about the role bicultural national and/or ethnic identity plays for the three dimensions of school engagement. The present study focusses on minority students in Germany who report a strong bicultural identity (in comparison with single stronger ethnic or national identities, as well as weaker bicultural identification) to explain students’ emotional, cognitive, and behavioral school engagement when controlling for gender, SES, and cultural capital. Data is derived from paper–pencil questionnaires administered in secondary schools in Germany. Regression analyses show that students with a stronger bicultural identity have a significantly higher emotional, cognitive, and behavioral school engagement than their peers with a weaker bicultural identity, when controlling for gender, SES, and cultural capital. The results hint at the relevance of fostering students’ ethnic, but also their national, cultural identity to support their school engagement. Implications for teacher education are discussed. Full article
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21 pages, 1234 KiB  
Article
Recognitive Justice and Educational Inequalities: An Intersectional Approach Involving Secondary Grade School Students in Greece
by Christos Govaris, Wassilis Kassis, Dimitris Sakatzis, Jasmin-Olga Sarafidou and Raia Chouvati
Educ. Sci. 2021, 11(9), 461; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11090461 - 25 Aug 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2965
Abstract
Adopting the theoretical approach of recognitive justice and the degree of students’ recognitive experiences regarding empathy, respect, and social esteem, the present study focused on educational inequalities in the multicultural school and the factors that affect their appearance and reproduction. We examined the [...] Read more.
Adopting the theoretical approach of recognitive justice and the degree of students’ recognitive experiences regarding empathy, respect, and social esteem, the present study focused on educational inequalities in the multicultural school and the factors that affect their appearance and reproduction. We examined the existence of social relations’ differences in a sample of 1303 students from 69 secondary schools in Greece, using a questionnaire constructed to investigate students’ recognitive experience of their relationships with teachers. By applying an intersectional approach, mainly through multiple regression analysis and multivariate interaction tests with MANOVA, we were able to identify that migrant students and students from families with a low educational level experienced a significantly lower degree of recognition, mainly with the forms of respect and social esteem, both in their relationships with teachers and with peers. Additionally, levels of recognition among teachers explained the large amount of variability in academic achievement and self-esteem, while higher levels of recognition among peers were a significant predictor of the respective students’ higher self-esteem. These deficits in recognition concern pedagogical practices that deprive these groups of students of opportunities and possibilities for equal participation in teaching and school life. Full article
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16 pages, 630 KiB  
Article
Exploring Academic Self-Concepts Depending on Acculturation Profile. Investigation of a Possible Factor for Immigrant Students’ School Success
by Nanine Lilla, Sebastian Thürer, Wim Nieuwenboom and Marianne Schüpbach
Educ. Sci. 2021, 11(8), 432; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11080432 - 16 Aug 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2757
Abstract
Academic achievement and academic self-concepts are reciprocally related; hence, investigating academic self-concepts should offer a potential approach for gaining a better understanding of immigrant students’ (lack of) school success. Proposing that immigrant students’ acculturation orientations need to be taken into account, in this [...] Read more.
Academic achievement and academic self-concepts are reciprocally related; hence, investigating academic self-concepts should offer a potential approach for gaining a better understanding of immigrant students’ (lack of) school success. Proposing that immigrant students’ acculturation orientations need to be taken into account, in this study, we empirically investigate whether immigrant students’ general and domain-specific academic self-concept facets differ from those of non-immigrant students depending on their acculturation profile. Based on data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), we find initial indications that immigrant students’ academic self-concept facets are subject to their acculturation profile. The idea that acculturation may influence the known comparisons relevant for self-concept development will be discussed. Full article
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21 pages, 304 KiB  
Article
Navigation and Negotiation towards School Success at Upper Secondary School: The Interplay of Structural and Procedural Risk and Protective Factors for Resilience Pathways
by Albert Dueggeli, Maria Kassis and Wassilis Kassis
Educ. Sci. 2021, 11(8), 395; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11080395 - 2 Aug 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2372
Abstract
Young male migrants, in particular, are at higher risk of not completing upper secondary education and do not have the same opportunities to put their educational resources to use in existing educational contexts. This work examines how socially and structurally disadvantaged male adolescents [...] Read more.
Young male migrants, in particular, are at higher risk of not completing upper secondary education and do not have the same opportunities to put their educational resources to use in existing educational contexts. This work examines how socially and structurally disadvantaged male adolescents (migration biography and low SES) can be supported in attaining educational success at the upper secondary level by applying the resilience concept of navigation and negotiation. Within the framework of grounded theory and by a qualitative coding paradigm, we applied an exploratory heuristical approach in order to understand school success under a micro-sociological passage. Data were collected in German-speaking Switzerland as part of the programme’s evaluation, which show, firstly, that inter-individual processes of navigation and negotiation differ depending on the specific people involved and their objectives. Secondly, different forms of development of navigation and negotiation are seen within a single individual, and thirdly, the importance of institutional flexibility becomes apparent when adolescents experience successful processes of navigation or negotiation. The findings are discussed in the context of questions of justice and to their classification within the context of educational and psychological aspects for promoting resilience and on the basis of their overall significance for education policy. Full article
14 pages, 283 KiB  
Article
Educational Practices for Immigrant Children in Elementary Schools in Russia
by Chulpan Gromova, Rezeda Khairutdinova, Dina Birman and Aydar Kalimullin
Educ. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 325; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11070325 - 30 Jun 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2485
Abstract
Teachers have a pivotal role in the acculturation and adjustment of immigrant children. Practices are an important but an insufficiently explored part of teachers’ work in a multicultural classroom. The purpose of the present research was to identify educational practices that elementary school [...] Read more.
Teachers have a pivotal role in the acculturation and adjustment of immigrant children. Practices are an important but an insufficiently explored part of teachers’ work in a multicultural classroom. The purpose of the present research was to identify educational practices that elementary school teachers in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, use in their work with immigrant children to provide language and academic support and promote a welcoming atmosphere in the classroom that fosters psychological adjustment of the child. Data were collected through interviews with twenty elementary school teachers working with immigrant children. Interviews were analyzed using inductive and deductive content analysis methods. Findings suggest that in the absence of institutionalized structures, teachers take the initiative to adapt their teaching and instruction methods when working with immigrant children. Teachers primarily rely on individual (one-on-one) tutoring methods to provide language and academic support. Approaches to creating a favorable climate in the classroom and the child’s psychological adjustment include practices of promoting respect for different ethnic groups and developing cross-cultural communication skills. Inclusion of parents in the educational process is used in conjunction with all practices with immigrant children used by teachers. In addition, teachers often rely on Tatar language as an intermediary between the migrant children’s heritage language and Russian when communicating with them. Most children of immigrants are from Central Asian countries where the languages spoken are Turkic in origin and similar to Tatar—the indigenous language spoken in the Republic of Tatarstan. Full article
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