Governance

• Author: Eurydice (European Education and Culture Executive Agency)
• Pages: 51-67

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I.1: GOVERNANCE

In order for countries to have an effective approach to integrating students from migrant backgrounds,

education systems need to have appropriate governance structures. This chapter focuses on four

areas of governance related to the integration of migrant students into education: how countries define

students from migrant backgrounds; the policy challenges faced and how these are addressed in

terms of strategies and policy coordination; how funding is allocated and the levels of administration

involved; and lastly, the extent to which education systems engage in evidence-based policy making,

with respect to the monitoring and evaluation of migrant student performance, or the carrying out of

any impact assessments to measure the success of policies in this area.

I.1.1. National definitions

From a statistical and legal point of view, European countries share some of the same definitions

relating to migrants. For statistical data collection purposes, Eurostat distinguishes first generation

immigrants – those born outside the host country, whose parents were also born outside; and second

generation – those born in the host country but at least one of whose parents was born outside.

International and EU legislation specifies further legal categories: for example, nationals of EU

Member States, third country nationals and people seeking international protection (see Chapter I.2).

Besides shared concepts, national administrations may have their own terminology reflecting national

circumstances. This section will thus explore which criteria top-level authorities most commonly use to

identify children and young people from migrant backgrounds (see Figure I.1.1), and whether specific

terminology is in use in the education system. In addition, the section also discusses whether newly

arrived migrant students are distinguished as a specific category in education policy (see Figure I.1.2).

Country of citizenship and residence/immigration status are the criteria most used in top-level

policy documents to identify children and young people from migrant backgrounds

As shown in the Context chapter, the 42 European education systems in this report have very different

experiences of immigration, not only in terms of numbers but also in the variety of countries of origin

and legal status. Countries have also been affected differently by the most recent humanitarian

migration crisis. For these and other reasons, top-level authorities focus on different criteria in their

national policies relating to children and young people from migrant backgrounds.

Figure I.1.1 shows that the criteria most commonly used to identify children from migrant backgrounds,

as indicated in top-level policy documents, are the country of citizenship, and immigration or residence

status.

The country of citizenship is used to identify children and young people who are nationals of another

country. Twenty-seven systems refer to this criterion. EU Member States may, in addition, further

distinguish between EU citizens and third country nationals.

Twenty-seven systems take immigration or residence status into account in their definitions. Very

often, among these, specific statuses are taken into account such as refugee, asylum seeker and

unaccompanied minor. Asylum seekers are often mentioned in the context of the implementation of

the EU Directive 2013/33/EU (1), which calls on EU Member States to provide education for those

seeking asylum within three months of their application.

(1) Directive 2013/33/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 laying down standards for the

reception of applicants for international protection (recast); https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELE

X:32013L0033&from=FR

Integrating Students from Migrant Backgrounds into Schools in Europe: National Policies and Measures

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Figure I.1.1: Most common criteria used to identify children and young people from migrant backgrounds, 2017/18

Country of citizenship

Residence/i

mmigration status

First language

Country of birth

Parents' country of birth

Parents' country of citizenship

Top-level documents do NOT provide criteria and definitions

Source: Eurydice.

Explanatory note

The figure presents the criteria that top-level education policy documents, including legislation, recommendation and strategies,

etc., most commonly used to identify children and young people from migrant backgrounds. The figure shows the number of

countries using each criterion. Country specific information on criteria used in top- level regulations/recommendations is

presented in the Annex.

Residence status refers to any authorization issued by a state allowing other countries' nationals (EU or third country nationals)

to stay legally in their territory. Residence permits are issued for a minimum period of three months.

Immigration status refers to the legal bas is for entry and stay in the host country such as EU citizenship; third country national

working, studying, etc. in the host country; refugees, asylum seekers, unaccompanied minors and irregular migrants.

First language generally refers to the mother tongue or language that children and young people speak at home.

Criteria such as the country of birth and first language are used in less than half of the systems to

identify migration background. Country of birth typically allows for identifying children and young

people who may have been born in another country but have been naturalised since their arrival to the

host country. Thirteen countries use country of birth as a criterion together with country of citizenship.

Three systems use only country of birth.

When first language is used as a criterion, the aim is generally to determine whether the child’s first

language is the language of the host country or the language of instruction. Some countries tend to

focus on competences in the host language rather than immigration information in their education

policies. This is the case in Belgium (Flemish Community), France, the United Kingdom (England,

Wales and Northern Ireland). For instance, while Dutch language competence is the only criteria used

for education policy development in Belgium (Flemish Community), data on nationality, country of birth

and language(s) spoken at home are collected for research purposes – the results of which, ultimately,

contribute to policy monitoring and advice. In France, the term élève allophone nouvellement arrivé

applies to a newly arrived student whose first language is other than French. The concept is referred

to frequently in policy documents and underpins the monitoring of the integration of newly arrived

migrant students. In the United Kingdom (England and Wales), 'students who have English as an

additional language (EAL)' and 'students who have Welsh as an additional language (WAL)' in Wales

are used as specific terms in policy development. However, data is collected on students' country of

citizenship, country of birth, ethnicity and proficiency in English in England and on ethnicity, proficiency

in English and first language in Wales. In the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland), the term EAL has

been replaced by 'newcomer', which takes into account the first language as well as the cultural and

social needs of students.

Parents' country of birth and citizenship are reported as identification criteria in seven and nine

countries, respectively. Bulgaria, Denmark, Slovenia and Liechtenstein use both criteria; while the

remaining countries use one of the two. For instance, in Denmark, an 'immigrant' is a person born

outside Denmark whose parents were also not born in the country. 'Descendants' are born in Denmark

but their parents were not and kept their citizenship of origin.