How Do Second-Generation Immigrant Students Access Higher Education? The Importance of Vocational Routes to Higher Education in Switzerland, France, and Germany

We analyse the access to different institutional pathways to higher education for second-generation students, focusing on youths that hold a higher-education entrance certificate. The alternative vocational pathway appears to compensate to some degree, compared to the traditional academic one, for North-African and Southern-European youths in France, those from Turkey in Germany, and to a lesser degree those from Portugal, Turkey, Ex-Yugoslavia, Albania/Kosovo in Switzerland. This is not the case in Switzerland for Western-European, Italian, and Spanish youths who indeed access higher education via the academic pathway more often than Swiss youths. Using youth panel and survey data, multinomial models are applied to analyse these pathway choices.

Migrant Background and Higher Education Participation in Europe. The Effect of the Educational Systems

The main aim of this article is to shed light on the extent to which differences in higher education participation between people with and without a migrant background of low/higher social origin can be explained by two macro-level characteristics of national educational institutions: stratification of the secondary school system and provision of alternative access to higher education. General assumptions are that people with a migrant background of low social origin benefit in low-stratified secondary school systems and in systems that provide alternative access to institutions of higher education more than their native peers in the same social stratum, owing to primary and secondary effects of migrant background. Database is a pooled dataset of the five waves of the European Social Survey. Results of logistic multi-level analyses indicate that a low-stratified secondary school system improves the probability of people with a migrant background/low social origin attaining a higher education degree. On the other hand, a stratified secondary school system reduces their chances regarding this educational stage. The provision of alternative access to an institution of higher education improves their likelihood of becoming higher education graduates.

Gender differences at the transition to higher education between migrants and non-migrants: A comparison between Switzerland and France

Within Western societies women or girls meanwhile outperform men or boys with regard to attainments in primary and secondary education. For example concerning upper secondary degrees the share of females attaining the Matura approaches two thirds in Switzerland, while the share of females attaining the Baccalaureate exceeds fifty per cent in France. However, if transitions to higher education are regarded, the share of entitled females entering such institutions is significantly lower than among men in Switzerland. An opposite pattern is observed in France where females outperform men at this educational stage, too. With regard to migrant background, it has been shown by previous research focussing on secondary effects of ethnic origin that such youths enter the more demanding educational tracks (e.g. higher education) more often than their non-migrant peers if controlled for eligibility, their lower socioeconomic status and performances. However, so far only a few studies refer to the question of a possible gender gap regarding secondary effects of ethnic origin (e.g. Fleischmann et al., mimeo). Thus, with regard to a possible interaction of a migrant background and - for example - a female gender, it is important to note that in both countries many migrant groups have their origins in countries and regions where male advantage remains very strong. This is in particular the case for migrant groups from non-Western countries, e.g. Turkey, Algeria, Marocco or Tunisie, where gender gaps in the literacy rates of up to 18 per cent are still observed. In order to investigate the question of a possible disadvantages of women with a migrant background stemming from such countries when compared to non-migrant females two panel studies - the Tree data in Switzerland and the Panel d’élèves 1995 in France -, are analysed.

Transitionen im Jugend- und jungen Erwachsenenalter: Ergebnisse der Schweizer Längsschnittstudie TREE

Nach dem ersten, 2011 erschienenen Band versammelt der vorliegende zweite wiederum eine Auswahl von Beiträgen, die auf Analysen der Daten der Schweizer Längsschnittstudie TREE (Transitionen von der Erstausbildung ins Erwerbsleben) basieren. Die kritischen Übergänge im Jugend- und jungen Erwachsenenalter werden aus soziologischen, ökonomischen, psychologischen und erziehungswissenschaftlichen Blickwinkeln beleuchtet. Die Beiträge widerspiegeln damit eindrücklich das analytische und interdisziplinäre Potenzial der TREE-Daten. Thematisch steht der langfristige Einfluss der sozialen Herkunft auf Bildungs- und Erwerbsverläufe, insbesondere auf den Zugang zu höherer Bildung, im Zentrum.

Migration background is associated with caries in Viennese school children, even if parents have received a higher education.

BACKGROUND A low level of education and the migration background of parents are associated with the development of caries in children. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a higher educational level of parents can overcome risks for the development of caries in immigrants in Vienna, Austria. METHODS The educational level of the parents, the school type, and the caries status of 736 randomly selected twelve-year-old children with and without migration background was determined in this cross sectional study. In children attending school in Vienna the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index was determined. For statistical analysis, a mixed negative-binomial-model was used. RESULTS The caries status of the children with migration background was significantly worse compared to that of the native Viennese population. A significant interaction was found between migration background and the educational level of the parents (p = 0.045). No interaction was found between the school type and either the migration background (p = 0.220) or the education level of the parents (p = 0.08). In parents with a higher scholarly education level, migration background (p < 0.01) and school type (p = 0.018) showed an association with DMFT values. In parents with a low education level, however, migration background and school type had no significant association with DMFT values. CONCLUSION These data indicate that children with a migration background are at higher risk to acquire caries than other Viennese children, even when the parents have received a higher education.

Racial Disparities in Access to and Outcomes of Kidney Transplantation in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults: Results From the ESPN/ERA-EDTA (European Society of Pediatric Nephrology/European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association) Registry.

BACKGROUND Racial disparities in kidney transplantation in children have been found in the United States, but have not been studied before in Europe. STUDY DESIGN Cohort study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS Data were derived from the ESPN/ERA-EDTA Registry, an international pediatric renal registry collecting data from 36 European countries. This analysis included 1,134 young patients (aged ≤19 years) from 8 medium- to high-income countries who initiated renal replacement therapy (RRT) in 2006 to 2012. FACTOR Racial background. OUTCOMES & MEASUREMENTS Differences between racial groups in access to kidney transplantation, transplant survival, and overall survival on RRT were examined using Cox regression analysis while adjusting for age at RRT initiation, sex, and country of residence. RESULTS 868 (76.5%) patients were white; 59 (5.2%), black; 116 (10.2%), Asian; and 91 (8.0%), from other racial groups. After a median follow-up of 2.8 (range, 0.1-3.0) years, we found that black (HR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.34-0.72) and Asian (HR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.41-0.71) patients were less likely to receive a kidney transplant than white patients. These disparities persisted after adjustment for primary renal disease. Transplant survival rates were similar across racial groups. Asian patients had higher overall mortality risk on RRT compared with white patients (HR, 2.50; 95% CI, 1.14-5.49). Adjustment for primary kidney disease reduced the effect of Asian background, suggesting that part of the association may be explained by differences in the underlying kidney disease between racial groups. LIMITATIONS No data for socioeconomic status, blood group, and HLA profile. CONCLUSIONS We believe this is the first study examining racial differences in access to and outcomes of kidney transplantation in a large European population. We found important differences with less favorable outcomes for black and Asian patients. Further research is required to address the barriers to optimal treatment among racial minority groups.