Introduction

• Author: Eurydice (European Education and Culture Executive Agency)
• Pages: 29-34

29

INTRODUCTION

Challenges related to migration and education

Migration is not a new phenomenon in Europe. Even though the humanitarian migration flows, which

peaked in 2015, contributed to an acceleration of migration trends in recent years, societies have

always been and will continue to be characterised by the movement and diversity of people. However,

despite all current efforts across Europe to promote the integration of people from migrant

backgrounds within their countries, these groups continue to lag behind native populations in many

areas, including educational attainment, employment and social outcomes (Eurostat, 2018).

This report focuses on the integration of students from migrant backgrounds into schools. This is a

complex process which aims to give children and young people access to quality education and to

provide any necessary language, learning and social-emotional support. It also involves helping them

to adapt to their new school environment and ensuring that they make good progress in their learning.

Taking the process a step further means ensuring that this environment is welcoming for students

from diverse backgrounds and with different needs, and guaranteeing a safe space where all students

feel secure, valued and able to learn.

Definition of 'students from migrant backgrounds'

In this report, students from migrant backgrounds are defined as

newly arrived/first generation,

second generation or returning migrant children and

young people. Their reasons for having

migrated (e.g. economic or political) may vary, as may their legal status – they may be citizens,

residents, asylum seekers, refugees, unaccompanied minors or irregular migrants. Their length of

stay in the host country may be short- or long-term, and they may or may not have the right to

participate in the formal education system of the host country. Migrant children and young people

from within and outside of the EU are taken into account but the report excludes those from ethnic

minority backgrounds who have been living in the host country for more than two generations.

Throughout the report, the term 'children and young people from migrant backgrounds' and 'migrant

children and young people' are used interchangeably and with specific reference to those newly

arrived who have not yet been enrolled in the education system. 'S

tudents from migrant

backgrounds' and 'migrant students' are used interchangeably and refer to those already in school.

According to a wealth of research evidence, students from migrant backgrounds face a number of

challenges that may have a detrimental impact on their learning and development, and, consequently

on the level of inclusion and equality within education systems. Broadly speaking, there are three

types of challenges in the area of migration and education: those related to the migration process,

those related to student participation in education and those related to the general socio-economic

and political context.

The process of migration often results in significant changes in the lives of children and young people.

They have to leave their previous lives behind and, upon arrival in the new country of residence, they

may need to acquire a new language, adapt to new rules and routines in schools as well as deal with

unfamiliar experiences in the wider community (Hamilton, 2013). The impact of such significant life

changes (in the academic literature also referred to as 'acculturation stressors') depends on

individuals' inner strengths or vulnerabilities; and this affects migrant students' well-being and

consequently their educational attainment (Hek, 2005; Fisher & DeBell, 2007; Trasberg & Kond,

2017).