School – Education – Migration

Mikael Luciak

At Austrian compulsory schools, the first language of one out of five pupils – in Vienna, one out of two – is not German. Turkish and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian are among the most common first languages of pupils with migration backgrounds.

These pupils are found in differing numbers at the various secondary school types.
At secondary schools for general education (allgemeinbildende höhere Schulen, which end with a university-entrance leaving examination) they are underrepresented, in the vocational school system they are mainly concentrated in middle schools, and they are overrepresented at schools for children with special needs (Sonderschulen). OECD PISA studies of recent years clearly show that there are particularly large differences in academic performance be
tween even second-generation youngsters, who have been raised in Austria, and those without migration backgrounds. This applies above all to pupils from socio-economically weaker strata. The OECD international comparison reveals not only great disparities between native-born Austrians and migrants in Austria, but also a much stronger correlation between social background and academic success than in many other countries. Neither remedial instruction in the first or second language nor “intercultural learning” have had much of a positive effect on this problem up to now.

An educational system based on early selection tends to reproduce social inequalities. Moreover, there is a lack of: (early) remedial language instruction, training and further training that prepares teachers for coping with socially, culturally and linguistically heterogeneous classes, ongoing, coherent remedial language instruction, and adequate cooperation with parents. Just recently, the OECD recommended that Austria set precisely these priorities in its educational policy in order to improve the academic situation of pupils with migration backgrounds.

However, a change of discourse is also needed. It seems much more appropriate to focus on creating equal opportunities and to discuss the structural and systemic conditions that produce inequality than to seek deficits in the migrants by pointing out cultural and linguistic differences. In view of the fact that migrants with the same schooling as Austrians are at a disadvantage when it comes to accessing the labour market – as another very recent OECD study showed – it is about time to talk about ways of eliminating discrimination instead of complaining that migrants lack willingness to become integrated.
We need to acknowledge the multicultural nature of our society and demand social equality, so that people with migration backgrounds will not longer be viewed as strangers.

Mikael Luciak is a University Assistant at the Department of Education of the University of Vienna and a Board Member of the International Association for Intercultural Education (IAIE). His main areas of research are: inclusive pedagogy and equal opportunities; ethnic minorities, migration and education; comparative therapeutic pedagogy.