Elena Makarova and Wassilis Kassis (eds.), Understanding School Success of Migrant Students: An International Perspective . MDPI, 2022, 106 pages
P.A. Reeve & P. Siarry
What the paper says
Despite the existence of a rich literature on school inequalities, there are few studies on the school success of migrant students.Taking an interdisciplinary approach, at the intersection of science and educational psychology, this compilation of articles-edited by Elena Makarova and Wassilis Kassis-seeks to enrich this literature.The contributions analyze the mechanisms of migrant students' school success and the forms of discrimination that work against it.At the heart of the volume lies Ann Masten's concept of resilience, which she defines as "the capacity of a dynamic system to adapt successfully to disturbances that threaten system function, viability, or development" (2014, p. 10).The authors seek to analyze individual and social factors that increase exposure to the risk of school failure or that, on the contrary, have a protective effect on young migrants.Acculturation is an essential dimension of young migrant students' school resilience.The first two studies in the book test the statistical relationship between acculturation (defined in terms of individuals' sense of belonging to the cultures of their country of origin and the host country-in these studies, Germany) and two individual dimensions that are closely linked to academic success: self-confidence and school engagement.Preusche and Gbel (2022) find that having two strong cultural identities (integrated acculturation) has a positive impact on the three dimensions of school engagement (emotional, cognitive, and behavioral) among Grade 7 students.And Lilla et al. ( 2021) find that for a given level of academic performance, migrant students in a Grade 9 class who are classified as "indifferent"-that is, not strongly identifying with one or the other cultureare more self-confident than other students (both migrants and nonmigrants).The two articles highlight the need for inclusive schools and the key role of the teacher, who sits at the center of the acculturation process, supporting students and helping them navigate the educational system.In this connection, Chulpan Gromova and colleagues ( 2021) analyze how-in the absence of a specific institutional framework or specialized training-teachers show initiative and use personalized approaches.On the basis of in-depth interviews with teachers of multicultural classes in Russian primary schools, they observe that the teachers' educational practices are structured around three foci: linguistic support, academic support, and the creation of a positive climate of tolerance toward migrant students.Beyond the question of their educational practices, teachers have an influence on their students' psychology.Experiences of recognition (in terms of empathy, respect, and self-esteem), in particular, have a notable impact on school success.Christos Govaris and colleagues (2021) highlight the differentiation of school experiences by ethnicity, gender, and social origin.Taking an intersectional perspective, they demonstrate the cumulative disadvantages facing some students in a Greek multicultural secondary school.
Evidence weight
Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40
| F · citation impact | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
| M · momentum | 0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07 |
| V · venue signal | 0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03 |
| R · text relevance † | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.