Educational Disparities in Primary School Students in Austria

Abstract

In this study, we analyze data from the Austrian assessments of educational standards in German and Mathematics, applying an intersectional perspective. We simultaneously consider the effects of gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and immigrant background on fourth-graders’ competencies in both subjects. Besides the expected main effects – girls perform better in German, boys better in mathematics, lower SES and immigrant background predict lower performance in both subjects – we found the following interaction effects: Second-generation immigrant students showed better achievement in German than their peers who had migrated to Austria later in life, except when their country of origin was Turkey. In students without an immigrant background, SES was more strongly related to achievement in mathematics in boys, while among students originating from former Yugoslavia, SES was more strongly related to achievement in German in girls. The study demonstrates that intersectional perspectives in quantitative educational research can help to identify groups with increased support needs.