The International Observatory on Academic Achievement - Documentary search

File number :
IST-ISC-20e

Bibliographic reference :
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2006). Where Immigrant Students Succeed – A Comparative Review of Performance and Engagement in PISA 2003. Paris: OECD Publications.

Abstract :

Study Goal
To what extent do schools and integration practices and policies implemented in different countries contribute to the successful integration of immigrant students? The authors of this report released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) sought to answer this particular question based on data drawn from the Programme for International Student Assessment – 2003 (PISA).

Two major comparisons were made in this study: 1) comparison between immigrant students’ performance and that of native students in the same country; and 2) comparison of immigrant students’ performance across the 17 countries that participated in the study.

Comparisons were also made between first-generation immigrant students, i.e., those born out of the host country and second-generation immigrant students, i.e., those born in the host country.

Variables under Study
This study assessed the performance of fifteen-year-old students in mathematics, reading and science, as well as their problem-solving skills. Data was also collected on students’ attitudes towards school, their motivation to learn mathematics and their strong belief in their own abilities in this academic subject.

Data pertaining to socio-economic status, parents’ level of education, language spoken at home and policies and practices implemented to support learning the language of the host country were also considered.

Main Results
Compared to their native peers from the host country, immigrant students seemed to have a significantly lower level of performance in spite of showing as much, if not more, positive attitudes and motivation towards school. The difference was particularly striking in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

However, in other countries, the performance of immigrant students and native students from the host country was roughly the same. Such was the case for Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Macao-China.

The authors also observed that in Canada, Luxembourg, Sweden, Switzerland and Hong Kong-China, the performance of second-generation immigrant students was better than that of first-generation immigrant students. This result led the authors to find that the gap between immigrant students and native students from the host country narrowed across generations, which could be attributed to the presence of well-defined practices and policies that support learning the language of the host country.

A proportion of 25% of first-generation immigrant students in eight countries, including the United States, Denmark and Germany failed to reach the basic level of mathematics skills, which would eventually affect their capacity to participate fully in society as workers. This proportion reached 40% in four other countries, including Belgium, France, Norway and Sweden. However, this situation tended to improve for second-generation immigrant students.

This study also showed that differences in mathematics performance could be only partly explained by immigrant students’ socio-economic status and school characteristics (e.g. school population, resources, climate). Likewise, the fact of using the language of instruction at home explained only partly the differences in mathematics performance.

The smaller gap observed between native students from the host country and immigrant students’ performances, or the less significant difference in performance between second-generation immigrant students and first-generation immigrant students, seemed consistent with the presence of adequate programs that support learning the language of the host country (e.g. Australia, Canada and Sweden).

Links :
http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,2966,en_32252351_32235731_1_1_1_1_1,00.html


Key Words :
Immigrant Students, Mathematics, Reading, Science, Problem-solving Skills, Immigrant Generations, Language of Instruction, Educational Policies, Integration Policies, PISA, Comparative Analysis, Newsletter3

Monitored Countries :
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United States, Hong Kong-China, Macao-China, Russian Federation