School achievement, social conditions and ethnicity: Immigrants’ children in basic schooling in Portugal

Abstract

Family conditions, such as social class, ethnicity, or the educational capital within the family are significant criteria for social differentiation in teaching-learning systems, but how and to what extent do these characteristics influence the trajectories of pupils originating from migratory movement? The data presented here results from two research projects that analysed the school trajectory of pupils of immigrant descent in 2001 and 2008 in basic education (ISCED 1 and 2) in comparison with their native peers. The findings of both studies indicate that when socio-demographic variables are controlled, national origin has no greater impact on the school pathways of the pupils surveyed than other variables. In contrast, the educational qualifications of the pupils’ parents and their insertion in the social class structure play a far more important role in shaping school performance.