Spanish Language Proficiency and the Academic Gap between Children of Immigrants and Native Students in Spain: Evidence from a Case Study

Authors

Downloads

Abstract

Spanish language proficiency is often suggested as a factor in explaining the lower academic achievement of immigrant students in Spain. However, the absence of research that simultaneously measures both variables among immigrants and natives has prevented the Language Deficit Hypothesis from being tested. This paper aims to filling this gap through a case study (n=1,461). After controlling for social origin, we find that the explanatory capacity of the knowledge of Spanish variable is partial and small. It proves to be a relevant variable for achievement, but most of children of immigrants demonstrate a high level of Spanish proficiency. The composition of this student body, with high percentages of youths coming from Spanish-speaking countries, born in Spain and others with more than five years living in this country, help to explain this result.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Alberto Álvarez-Sotomayor, Universidad de Córdoba

Alberto Álvarez-Sotomayor is Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Sciences and Humanities (University of Córdoba). He holds a PhD in Sociology. His main research interests are the determinants of educational disadvantage and the integration of children of immigrants into host societies.

References

Álvarez-Sotomayor, A. (2011). El rendimiento académico de los alumnos inmigrantes en España: un estudio de caso(PhD thesis). https://hera.ugr.es/tesisugr/20152784.pdf

Google Scholar Crossref

Álvarez-Sotomayor, A., Gutiérrez-Rubio, D.,& Martínez-Cousinou, G. (2018). ¿Desventaja académica de los hijos de inmigrantes? La excepción canaria en el contexto español. Revista Española de Sociología,27(1), 83-106.https://doi.org/10.22325/fes/res.2018.5

Google Scholar Crossref

Álvarez-Sotomayor, A.,& Martínez-Cousinou, G. (2016). ¿Capital económico o cultural? El efecto del origen social sobre las desventajas académicas de los hijos de inmigrantes en España. Papers: Revista de Sociología, 101(4), 527-554.http://dx.doi.org/10.5565/rev/papers.2200

Google Scholar Crossref

Álvarez-Sotomayor, A.,& Martínez-Cousinou, G. (2020). Inmigración, lengua y rendimiento académico en España. Una revisión sistemática de la literatura. Revista Internacional de Sociología, 78(3),e160. https://doi.org/10.3989/ris.2020.78.3.19.083

Google Scholar Crossref

Bourdieu, P. (1997). The forms of capital. In A. H Halsey. H. Lauder, P. Brown, & A. S. Wells (Eds.), Education. Culture, economy and society (pp. 241-258). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Bourdieu, P. (2014). Langage Et Pouvoir Symbolique. Paris: Seuil.

Google Scholar Crossref

Bukodi, E., Erikson, R., & Goldthorpe, J. H. (2014). The effects of social origins and cognitive ability on educational attainment: Evidence from Britain and Sweden. Acta Sociologica, 57(4), 293-310. doi: 10.1177/0001699314543803

Google Scholar Crossref

Bullejos, J. (2002). Algunas reflexiones sobre el rendimiento escolar de los estudiantes áraboparlantes en Ceuta y su comparación con los marroquíes de la misma lengua que estudian en los centros españoles de Marruecos. In F. Herrera (Eds.), Inmigración, interculturalidad y convivencia (pp. 213–220). Ceuta: Instituto de Estudios Ceutíes.

Google Scholar Crossref

Calero, M. D., Fernández-Parra, A., López-Rubio, S., Carles, R., Mata, S., Vives, M. C., Navarro, E., & Márquez, J. (2013). Variables involved in personal, social and school adjustment in a sample of preschool-aged children from different cultural backgrounds. European journal of psychology of education, 28(1), 133-155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-012-0107-8

Google Scholar Crossref

Carabaña, J. (2006). Los alumnos inmigrantes en la escuela española. In E. Aja & J. Arango (Eds.), Veinte años de inmigración en España. Perspectiva jurídica y sociológica (1985-2004) (pp. 275-299). Barcelona: Fundación CIDOB.

Google Scholar Crossref

Cebolla Boado, H. (2008). A non-ethnic explanation of immigrants educational disadvantage: the case of lower secondary education in France. Madrid: Instituto Juan March de Estudios e Investigaciones.

Google Scholar Crossref

Díaz-Aguado, M. J., Baraja, A., & Royo, P. (1996). Estudio sobre la integración escolar de los alumnos extranjeros y el aprendizaje del castellano como segunda lengua. In M. J. Díaz-Aguado (Ed.), Escuela y tolerancia (pp. 101-154). Madrid: Pirámide.

Google Scholar Crossref

Esser, H. (2006). Migration, Language and Integration, AKI Research. Review 4. Berlin: Wiss Berlin Sozial (WZB).

Google Scholar Crossref

Fernández Sierra, J., & Sánchez Morán, M.S. (2003). Acción didáctica del profesorado andaluz con hijos e hijas de inmigrantes. In J.C. Andreo (Ed.), Inmigración extranjera en Andalucía (pp. 125-140). Sevilla: Consejería de Gobernación.

Google Scholar Crossref

Fullana, J., Besalú, X., & Vilá, M. (2003). Alumnes d’origen africà a l’escola. Girona: CCG Edicions.

Google Scholar Crossref

Garreta Bochaca, J. (2014). La interculturalidad en el sistema educativo, logros y retos. Gazeta de Antropología, 30(2). http://hdl.handle.net/10481/33422

Google Scholar Crossref

García Castaño, F. J., Rubio Gómez, M., & Bouachra, O. (2015). Immigrant Students at School in Spain: Constructing a Subject of Study. Dve domovini/Two Homelands, 41, 35-47.

Google Scholar Crossref

García Castaño, F. J., Rubio Gómez, M., & Fernández Echeverría, J. (2018). Las trampas de la diversidad. Sobre la producción de diferencias en la escuela. Gazeta de Antropología, 34(1). http://hdl.handle.net/10481/54679

Google Scholar Crossref

Hakuta, K. (1986). Mirror of Language: The Debate on Bilingualism. New York: Basic Books.

Google Scholar Crossref

Halle, T., Hair, E., Wandner, L., McNamara, M., & Chien, N. (2012). Predictors and Outcomes of Early Vs. Later English Language Proficiency among English Language Learners. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27(1), 1–20. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2011.07.004

Google Scholar Crossref

Heath, A., Rothon, C., & Kilpi, ¬E. (2008). The Second Generation in Western Europe: Education, Unemployment, and Occupational Attainment. Annual Review of Sociology, 34, 211-235. doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.34.040507.134728

Google Scholar Crossref

Huguet, Á., & Janés, J. (2013). Escuela e inmigración: una presentación de estudios sobre el desarrollo de habilidades lingüísticas y procesos de interdependencia entre lenguas. Anales de psicología, 29(2), 393-402. http://dx.doi.org/10.6018/analesps.29.2.130572

Google Scholar Crossref

Jiménez-Delgado, M. (2016). Discursos interculturales y prácticas asimilacionistas: algunas contradicciones en el sistema educativo español. Convergencia, 23(71), 41-61. http://hdl.handle.net/10045/54851

Google Scholar Crossref

Kuncel, N.R., Credé, M., & Thomas, L. (2005). The validity of self-reported grade point averages, class ranks, and test scores: a meta-analysis and review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 75(1), 63-82. doi: 10.3102/00346543075001063

Google Scholar Crossref

Levels, M., Dronkers, J., & Kraaykamp, G. (2008). Immigrant Children’s Educational Achievement in Western Countries: Origin, Destination, and Community Effects on Mathematical Performance. American Sociological Review, 73, 835–853. https://doi.org/10.1177/000312240807300507

Google Scholar Crossref

Miyar, M. (2020). Consolidación y rotación de la inmigración en España. In J. J. González (Ed.), Cambio social en la España del siglo XXI (119-148). Madrid: Alianza Editorial.

Google Scholar Crossref

Monteiro, R. (2012). Self-reported bilingual outcomes and language acculturation among descendants of Turkish immigrants in France, Germany and the Netherlands (PhD thesis). https://repositorio-iul.iscte.pt/

Google Scholar Crossref

Navarro, J.L., Huguet, A., Sansó, C., & Chireac, S.M. (2012). Acerca de la competencia lingüística del alumnado de origen inmigrante en la Educación Secundaria en Cataluña. El papel del tiempo de estancia y la lengua familiar. Anales de Psicología, 28(2), 457-464. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.28.2.148841

Google Scholar Crossref

Navarro, J.L., Huguet A., & Sansó, C. (2014). Competencias lingüísticas y alumnado inmigrante en Cataluña. El caso del colectivo de origen hispanohablante. Educación XX1, 17(2), 361-382. https://doi.org/10.5944/educxx1.17.2.11495

Google Scholar Crossref

OECD (2019). PISA 2018 Results (Volume II): Where All Students Can Succeed. Paris: OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/b5fd1b8f-en.

Google Scholar Crossref

OECD (2010). Closing the Gap for Immigrant Students. Policies, Practice and Performance. Paris: OECD.

Google Scholar Crossref

Portes, A., Aparicio Gómez, R., & Haller, W. (2016). Spanish Legacies: The Coming of Age of the Second Generation. Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Rahona, M., & Morales, S. (2013). Educación e inmigración en España: desafíos y oportunidades. Madrid: Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos.

Google Scholar Crossref

Reher, D., & Requena, M. (2009). The National Immigrant Survey of Spain: A new data source for migration studies in Europe. Demographic Research, 20, 253-278. doi: 10.4054/DemRes.2009.20.12

Google Scholar Crossref

Schmid, C.L. (2001). Educational Achievement, Language-Minority Students and the New Second Generation. Sociology of Education, 74, 71-87.

Google Scholar Crossref

Schnell, P., & Azzolini, D. (2015). The academic achievements of immigrant youths in new destination countries: Evidence from southern Europe. Migration Studies, 3(2), 217-240. doi:10.1093/migration/mnu040

Google Scholar Crossref

Siguan, M. (1998). La escuela y los inmigrantes. Barcelona: Paidós.

Google Scholar Crossref

Stevens, G. (2014). Trajectories of English Acquisition among Foreign-born Spanish-Language Children in the United States. International Migration Review, 49(4), 981-1000.

Google Scholar Crossref

Stolzenberg, R., & Tienda, M. (1997). English Proficiency, Education, and the Conditional Economic Assimilation of Hispanic and Asian Origin Men. Social Science Research, 25, 26-51. doi: 10.1006/ssre.1996.0588

Google Scholar Crossref

Vila, I. (2011). La evaluación del alumnado extranjero y su conocimiento lingüístico. In I. Ballano (Ed.), Evaluar la competencia lingüística del alumnado inmigrante (pp. 71-86). Bilbao: Deusto Digital. http://www.deusto-publicaciones.es/deusto/pdfs/otraspub/otraspub03.pdf

Google Scholar Crossref

Waters, M. C., Heath, A., Tran, V., & Boliver, V. (2013). Second Generation Attainment and Inequality: Primary and Secondary Effects on Educational Outcomes in Britain and the United States. In R. Alba & J. Holdaway (Eds.), The Children of Immigrants at School (pp. 120-159). New York: New York University Press.

Google Scholar Crossref

Zinovyeva, N., Felgueroso, F., & Vázquez, P. (2013). Immigration and student achievement in Spain: evidence from PISA. SERIEs, 5(1), 25-60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13209-013-0101-7

Google Scholar Crossref

Downloads

Published

2021-10-25

Almetric

Dimensions

How to Cite

Álvarez-Sotomayor, A. (2021). Spanish Language Proficiency and the Academic Gap between Children of Immigrants and Native Students in Spain: Evidence from a Case Study. International Journal of Sociology of Education, 10(3), 218–245. Retrieved from https://www.hipatiapress.com/hpjournals/index.php/rise/article/view/7223

Issue

Section

Articles