Participation of students with an immigrant background in European Higher Education Contents Chapter 1 Introduction .........................................................................................................................................1 1.1 The EQUNET report in context ......................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 A focus on immigration .................................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 2 Factors influencing the chances of immigrant and non-immigrant groups to access Higher Education in the EU countries ................................................................................................................................5 2.1 Language .......................................................................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Social background ............................................................................................................................................ 9 2.3 Educational aspirations .................................................................................................................................. 11 2.4 Legal status ..................................................................................................................................................... 13 2.5 Gender ............................................................................................................................................................ 14 Chapter 3 Data, methods, and terms .................................................................................................................. 17 3.1 Data and data availability ............................................................................................................................... 18 3.1.1 The European Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) .................................................................................... 18 3.1.2 Alternative data sources ................................................................................................................... 20 3.2 Methods ......................................................................................................................................................... 21 3.3 Definitions and terms ..................................................................................................................................... 22 Chapter 4 Second-generation immigrants in Higher Education – sketching the European picture .......................... 25 4.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................................... 26 4.1.1 Equity as proportionality ................................................................................................................... 26 4.1.2 Focus and limitations of the analyses................................................................................................ 27 4.1.3 Theoretical background and hypotheses .......................................................................................... 28 4.2 Attainment of Higher Education by second-generation immigrants .............................................................. 29 4.2.1 Higher education attainment in cross-country perspective .............................................................. 29 4.2.2 One or two parents born abroad – does a native parent make a difference? .................................. 33 4.2.3 Does the region of origin matter? ..................................................................................................... 37 4.3 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................................... 38 Chapter 5 Selected case studies .......................................................................................................................... 39 5.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................................... 40 5.2 Students with an immigrant background in Higher Education – The German case (Chripa Schneller) ........... 41 5.2.3 Definition: who has an “immigrant background”? ............................................................................ 41 5.2.2 Does immigration matter? Empirical findings ................................................................................... 43 5.2.3 Interpretation of the data ................................................................................................................. 46 5.2.4 Initiatives to support tertiary students with an immigrant background in Germany ........................ 47 5.2.5 Concluding remarks........................................................................................................................... 50 5.3 Students with an immigrant background in Higher Education – The Norwegian case (Anthony F. Camilleri, Klemen Miklavič) ............................................................................................................................ 52 5.3.1 Definition: who has an “immigrant background”? ............................................................................ 52 Page ii 5.3.2 Does immigration matter? Empirical findings ................................................................................... 53 5.3.3 Interpretation of the data ................................................................................................................. 55 5.3.4 Examples of initiative to support tertiary students with an immigrant background in Norway ........ 56 5.3.5 Concluding remarks and further discussion ...................................................................................... 56 5.4 Students with an immigrant background in Higher Education – The UK case (Anthony F. Camilleri, Daniela Proli) .................................................................................................................................................. 57 5.4.1 Definition: who has an “immigrant background”? ............................................................................ 57 5.4.2 Does immigration matter? Empirical findings ................................................................................... 58 5.4.3 Interpretation of the data ................................................................................................................. 64 5.4.4 Initiatives to support tertiary students with an immigrant background in the UK ............................ 65 5.4.5 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................... 66 5.5 Discussion of the case studies: main findings, challenges, and opportunities ................................................ 67 Chapter 6 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................... 71 6.1 Summary of findings ....................................................................................................................................... 72 6.2 Outlook for further research .......................................................................................................................... 73 6.3 Policy considerations ...................................................................................................................................... 75 Appendices ......................................................................................................................................................... 77 Annex 1: Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................. 79 Annex 2: Indices of figures, tables and graphs ....................................................................................................... 88 Annex 3: Authors’ biographies ............................................................................................................................... 89 Page iii Chapter 1 Introduction Author Anthony F. Camilleri Contributor Fabio Nascimbeni 1.1 The EQUNET report in context The EQUNET project was conceived as an independent research and networking initiative, with an aim to increase access to Higher Education for all marginalised and non-traditional groups based on a principle of equity. With the help of European Commission funding under the Lifelong Learning Programme, the project has brought together a consortium of renowned research organisations and stakeholder representatives to work on the project, ensuring a sound methodological base for the research presented here, and a wide audience to which to distribute the recommendations. As originally conceived, the network has committed to research barriers arising as a result of the following: Educational background (issues revolving around recognition of non-formal and informal education, or non- traditional types of formal learning such as access for young persons who have been schooled at home, and distance learners) Socioeconomic conditions (issues revolving around access for people in employment, with family commitments,