Some Reflections on the educational trajectories of migrant students in the European school systems

Abstract

This paper proposes an analysis of the educational trajectories of disadvantaged students, among them migrant ones, at the transition point from lower secondary into upper secondary school/ vocational education, i.e., the age group between 10 and 16 years. The data were collected in the European project "Governance of Educational Transition in Europe -GOETE". The main aim of this paper is to present the interactive aspect of students' transitions in order to spot some different lights to the quantitative studies stating the serious migrant educational underachievement mainly attributed to structural causes. Instead, the indings of GOETE project highlight the interplay between socio-economic structures and family resources, institutional pathways and support provided by education (and welfare) systems, and the subjective motivation and orientation of the young people. Confronted with a transition demand, migrant students' possibility to act and make their own choices is structured differently. Keywords: migrant students, educational trajectories, transition, educational inequality ResumoEste artigo propõe uma análise das trajectórias escolares dos alunos desfavorecidos, entre eles os migrantes, na transição do ensino básico para o ensino secundário superior ou o vocacional, entre os 10 e os 16 anos. Os dados foram recolhidos através do projecto europeu "Governance of Educational Transition in Europe -GOETE". O objectivo principal é apresentar a dimensão interactiva das transições dos alunos, realçando alguns aspectos em estudos quantitativos que apontam para um sério subaproveitamento escolar dos migrantes devido a causas estruturais. Ao invés, os resultados do projecto GOETE destacam a interacção entre as estruturas socioeconómicas e os recursos familiares, os percursos institucionais e o apoio dos sistemas de educação (e de bem-estar), e a motivação e orientação subjectiva dos jovens. Confrontados com a transição, a possibilidade de os estudantes migrantes agirem e fazerem as suas próprias escolhas é estruturada de forma diferente.

Finding ways:

“…The fact that the local school offered a program with attention to second language learners is a relevant contextual factor (Sarstrand Marekovic 2016) that affected her choice and subsequently her trajectory. Avin adhered to her aspirations to attend an academic program, but the switch was neither in line with her academic interests nor strengths and can thus be labelled 'discontinuous academic transition' (Cuconato 2016).…”

“…Although there is a standardised trajectory through the school system that coincides with normative expectations of age and phases of the life course, it is vital to recognise that individual pathways and transitions do not necessarily progress as expected. Transitions between different school forms or levels may be smooth for some students but hindered, delayed, or circumscribed for others (Cuconato 2016). Therefore, analysing how individual students move through transition points will contribute to an understanding of how different circumstances open up or curtail future life chances.…”

“…Our analysis reveals how some NAMS struggle in the transition and must level their aspirations to more feasible goals. The narratives of three participants, Avin, Lucas and Mojib, are characterized by one or several ruptures and compromises with one's ambitions and are, inspired by Cuconato (2016), labelled here as discontinuous transitions. The ruptures are of various kinds, but the participants all had to make choices that were not in line with their desires, which prompted a re-consideration of their futures, from academic to vocational or from a preferred program to a substitute.…”

Unintended effects of the language policy on the transition of immigrant students to upper secondary education in Catalonia

“…At the other end, as much of the research has developed in countries where compulsory education includes upper secondary, the transition from high school to university, which usually implies other life changes such as moving away from home in some countries, has also drawn attention (Jindal‐Snape, ). However, there has been less research on transitions from lower to upper secondary education when compulsory schooling ends at the age of 16 and transitions of immigrant students have been ignored, with few exceptions (Carrasco, Narciso, & Bertran, ; Cuconato, ), even though they are affected by more changes and potentially more traumatic ones. This is the case of Spain.…”

“…However, there has been less research on transitions from lower to upper secondary education when compulsory schooling ends at the age of 16 and transitions of immigrant students have been ignored, with few exceptions (Carrasco, Narciso, & Bertran, 2018;Cuconato, 2016), even though they are affected by more changes and potentially more traumatic ones. This is the case of Spain.…”