School Achievement and Immigration in Catalonia, 2011- 2016: A Demo-spatial Analysis (DOI: 10.2436/20.3000.02.45)

Abstract

In this paper, we present a study of schoolchildren of immigrant origin from the “generations” perspective, with the initial aim of visualising and re-evaluating the different situations associated with immigration and a secondary aim of analysing school achievement in relation to the determinants of the migratory process. The results indicate that major changes are occurring in the composition of the student body by origin, with second generations becoming increasingly prominent. At the same time, much of school failure is explained by recent arrival in Catalonia or by immigrationrelated discontinued presence in the country, in some cases at rates that are considerably higher than the figures for the students defined as autochthonous. This approach, which offers a better understanding of the composition of the student body in classrooms, has not previously been possible owing to a lack of statistical data, and it is a good example of the analytical possibilities of crossing data from administrative records and population statistics. These operations are indispensable for any project which seeks to design more effective school integration policies, thereby contributing towards social cohesion in the middle and long term.

Key words: immigration, school, migratory status, school failure, demographics.

Original source: Revista Catalana de Pedagogia, 15: 89-116 (2019)