Where Immigrant Students Succeed - A Comparative Review of Performance and Engagement in PISA 2003

Successful integration of immigrant populations is essential for ensuring social cohesion in immigrant receiving nations. Immigrants bring a wealth of human capital which, if nurtured carefully, can positively contribute to economic well-being and cultural diversity of the host country. Yet, tapping into this potential remains a major challenge for policy makers. What barriers exist for young immigrants today? Can school contribute to reducing those barriers and in turn help young immigrants succeed in their adopted countries?

Drawing on data from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), this report examines the performance of students with immigrant backgrounds and compares it to that of their native counterparts. As well as providing information on countries’ approaches to the integration of immigrants, it looks at other factors that could influence immigrant students’ peformance - such as their attitudes to school, their motivation and learning strategies as well as their social background and the language spoken at home - giving valuable implications for educational policy.

Table of contents

Chapter 1: Countries’ immigration histories and populations

Introduction

Immigration and integration

Immigration histories and general approaches to immigration and integration

Immigrant populations

Research questions addressed in the report

Immigrant Students in the PISA sample

Chapter 2: Peformance of immigrant students in PISA 2003

Introduction

Immigrant student peformance in the OECD and partner countries

Performance of immigrant students and the language spoken at home

Performance of immigrant students and gender

Performance of immigrant students in the context of migration trends in the receiving country

Conclusions

Chapter 3: Background characteristics, mathematics peformance and learning environments of immigrant students

Introduction

Immigrant families’ educational and socio-economic background

Relationships between performance differences and differences in educational and socio-economic background among immigrant and non-immigrant student groups

Disparities specifically related to students’ immigrant status

Differences between immigrant and native students within and between schools

Summary and conclusions

Chapter 4: Immigrant students’ approaches to learning

Introduction

Students’ interest and motivation in mathematics

Students’ self-related beliefs

Emotional disposition in mathematics

Students attitudes towards and perceptions of schools

Summary of differences between immigrant and non-immigrant students in learning characteristics

Conclusions

Chapter 5: Policies and practicies to help immigrant students attain proficiency in the language of instruction

Introduction

PISA 2003 supplementary survey on national policies and practices to help immigrant students attain proficiency in the language of instruction

Policies and practicies designed to help newly arrived immigrant adults attain proficiency in the case countries’ official language(s)

Assessment of language proficiency in pre-primary (ISCED 0) and primary (ISCED 1) educaiton

Language support for immigrant sutdents in pre-primary education (ISCED 0)

Language support for immigrant sudents in primary education (ISCED 1) and lower secondary (ISCED 2) education

Country descriptions of language support in primary (ISCED 1) and lower secondary (ISCED 2) education

Supplementary classes to improve proficiency in immigrant students’ native languages

Additional school resources

Summary and conclusion

References

Annex A

Annex A1: Technical background

Annex A2: Summary descriptions of the five levels of reading proficiency

Annex B

Annex B1: Data tables for chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4

Annex C

Annex C1: The development and implementation of PISA - a collaborative effort

More information