Immigration and educational inequalities in France: statistical evidence and beyond Mathieu Ichou PhD student in OSC -Sciences Po Visitor in Nuffield College & Department of Sociology, University of Oxford (2010-2011) IPR-Northwestern University June 2011 1
Outline Introduction: ethnic inequalities in French Republic? Data & method: panel and matching techniques Results: Asians overachive & Turks underachieve Empirical interpretation: exploring the unmeasured Discussion: what next? 2
Introduction: Ethnic inequalities in French Republic? France, a country of immigration: 30% of people in France linked to immigration (Beauchemin et al., 2010) France, a (color-)blind ideology Lack of relevant data on ethnicity Lack of relevant research on ethnic inequalities 3
Introduction: Ethnic inequalities in French Republic? What is known: Brinbaum & Cebolla-Boado (2007) ; Brinbaum & Kieffer (2009) ; Caille (2008) ; Cebolla Boado, (2006, 2007, 2008) ; Vallet (1996) ; Vallet & Caille (1995, 1996, 2000) Second-generation immigrants underachieve in secondary school By and large, ethnic disadvantage disappears when class and educational background are controlled for 4
Introduction: Ethnic inequalities in French Republic? What is unknown: What happens in primary school? What is the situation of small minorities? How to make sense of the residual ethnic differences? My aim: address these issues empirically 5
Data & methods: surveys 1997-2007 Panel study From kindergarten (age 5/6) to 10th grade (age 15/16) N=9,641; N minority=1,952 TeO survey 3 generations N= tbc; N minority =tbc 6
Data & methods: surveys 1997-2007 Panel study Primary & secondary school TeO survey 3 generations N= tbc; N minority =tbc 7
Data & methods: surveys 1997-2007 Panel study Primary & secondary school TeO survey Empirical interpretations 8
Data & methods: measures 100% Second-generation groups 90% 350 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 59 91 129 445 965 53 64 Others SE Asia DOM-TOM Sahel Turkey Southern Europe North Africa Mixted with French 10% 0% Source: 1997 Panel study 9
Data & methods: measures Academic achievement measures: Standardized test scores at age 6, 11 and 15 (z-scores) Other background variables: Both parents education Occupation of head of household Both parents employment status Number of siblings, rank among them Parents relationship status Pupil s gender 10
Data & methods: exact matching Exact Matching (Ho et al., 2007; Iacus, King & Porro, 2009; see Imbens, 2004, Morgan & Harding, 2006, for reviews) o o o o Focus: difference in academic achievement linked to country of birth of parents Groups also differ according to other relevant sociological properties In each group of common origin, each pupil is matched with children of natives sharing exactly the same observed sociological properties Multivariate analysis (including all interactions) on small groups without any statistical modeling. 11
0,6 0,4 Results: trajectories of academic (under?)achievement Academic achievement during compulsory education: RAW differences between groups 0,2 0-0,2-0,4-0,6-0,8-1 -1,2 Age 6 Age 11 Age 15 Mixted with Fr Southern Europe North Africa DOM-TOM Sahel Turkey SE Asia Source: 1997 Panel study, own calculations 12
0,6 0,4 Results: trajectories of academic (under?)achievement Academic achievement during compulsory education: NET differences between groups 0,2 0-0,2-0,4-0,6-0,8-1 -1,2 Age 6 Age 11 Age 15 Mixted with Fr Southern Europe North Africa DOM-TOM Sahel Turkey SE Asia Source: 1997 Panel study, own calculations 13
0,6 0,4 Results: trajectories of academic (under?)achievement Academic achievement during compulsory education: RAW differences between groups 0,2 0-0,2-0,4-0,6-0,8-1 -1,2 Age 6 Age 11 Age 15 Mixted with Fr Southern Europe North Africa DOM-TOM Sahel Turkey SE Asia Source: 1997 Panel study, own calculations 14
0,6 0,4 Results: trajectories of academic (under?)achievement Academic achievement during compulsory education: NET differences between groups 0,2 0-0,2-0,4-0,6-0,8-1 -1,2 Age 6 Age 11 Age 15 Mixted with Fr Southern Europe North Africa DOM-TOM Sahel Turkey SE Asia Source: 1997 Panel study, own calculations 15
Results: trajectories of academic (under?)achievement The least often studied minorities are the most puzzling A two-fold result, a double puzzle Turkish second-generation underachivement Southeast Asian second-generation overachivement 16
Empirical interpretation: exploring the unmeasured Pre-migration socioeconomic characteristics 17
Empirical interpretation: exploring the unmeasured Immigrant's father's occupation 4 3 2 1 0 South Europe North Africa Sahel Turkey SE Asia Mixed -1 Farmer (raw) Unskilled manual worker (raw) Farmer (net) Unskilled manual worker (net) Source: Teo survey, own calculations 18
Empirical interpretation: exploring the unmeasured Immigrant's mother's occupation 4 3 2 1 0 South Europe North Africa Sahel Turkey SE Asia Mixed -1 Farmer (raw) Unskilled manual worker (raw) Farmer (net) Unskilled manual worker (net) Source: Teo survey, own calculations 19
Empirical interpretation: exploring the unmeasured Pre-migration socioeconomic characteristics Turkish immigrants from more rural and unskilled backgrounds Southeast Asian immigrants from better off backgrounds 20
Empirical interpretation: exploring the unmeasured Pre-migration socioeconomic characteristics Language skills 21
Empirical interpretation: exploring the unmeasured 0,4 Level of difficulties in French 0,3 0,2 0,1 0-0,1 South Europe Sahel Turkey SE Asia Mixed Raw Net -0,2-0,3 Source: Teo survey, own calculations 22
Empirical interpretation: exploring the unmeasured Pre-migration socioeconomic characteristics Language skills Both Turkish and Southeast Asian immigrants have difficulties in French 23
Empirical interpretation: exploring the unmeasured Pre-migration socioeconomic characteristics Language skills Urban segregation and deprived local schools Turkish immigrants are the most segregated group; Southeast Asians are rather segregated too 24
Empirical interpretation: exploring the unmeasured Pre-migration socioeconomic characteristics Language skills Urban segregation and deprived local schools Length of stay in France 25
Empirical interpretation: exploring the unmeasured 90 % of immigrants arrived after 1980 80 70 60 50 40 30 Father Mother 20 10 0 Southern Europe North Africa Sahel DOM-TOM Turkey SE Asia Source: 1997 Panel study, own calculations 26
Empirical interpretation: exploring the unmeasured Pre-migration socioeconomic characteristics Language skills Urban segregation and deprived local schools Length of stay in France Both Turks and Southeast Asians are recent migrants 27
Discussion: summary The groups who differ the most from the majority group are also the smaller and least often studied; Class background in France is in general the main factor of the academic underachievement of children of immigrants; For children of parents from Turkey (-) and Southeast Asia (++), a residual difference still needs to be explained 28
Discussion: summary The residual underachievement of children of Turkish immigrants seem to be explained by usually unmeasured properties before and after migration. To be fully explained, the differences recorded [ ] would need to be related to both the living and working conditions in France and the differences which, initially, that is to say prior to and independently of emigration, already characterized emigrants or groups of emigrants. (Sayad, 1999, p. 57) 29
Discussion: summary Southeast Asians success: Cannot be only explained by socioeconomic properties; Contradicts traditional assimilationist views. Seems to correspond to a process of selective assimilation (Portes & Zhou, 1993). Immigrants may not necessarily divest themselves of their previous cultural patterns, including their languages, and adopt those of the host society to take full part in it; instead, they may lean on these unique cultural characteristics to facilitate their adaptation.(bankston & Zhou, 1995, p. 5; see also Zhou & Bankston, 1999; and, e.g. Caplan et al., 1992, Ogbu, 1989, Rumbaut & Ima, 1988, Sung, 1987) 30
Discussion: what next? Explore the role of the educational experience of parents Critically discuss the notion of cultural orientation Explore the influence of the local context Explore the role of school as institution Explore school choices and tracking decisions Fieldwork to come 31