Abstract
This chapter examines the key stages in the diverse educational trajectories of immigrants’ descendants and DOM native-borns in the French educational system, up to their entry into working life. Several indicators of educational trajectory or status are analysed, distinguishing systematically between males and females, and taking account of the national origins of immigrants’ descendants: repeated years at primary school, tracks followed at upper secondary level, early school leaving, likelihood of obtaining a high-school diploma, failure in higher education. The results reveal inequalities in academic trajectories and achievement by ethnic background and gender, and show that these inequalities do not always reflect differences in social capital and family environment. In the male population especially, we cannot rule out the hypothesis that certain categories of immigrants’ descendants are exposed to discrimination in schools. The chapter ends with an analysis of transition from education to employment (time taken to find a job, experience of unemployment, job market integration, etc.) that reveals a segmentation of the entry into working life by country of origin. The sons, but also the daughters of immigrants from North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and Turkey have greater difficulties finding a first job.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
The TeO survey methodology is presented in an Appendix at the end of the book.
- 3.
The available indicators are as follows: repeating a year in elementary school; the track taken at the end of lower secondary school; secondary school certificates obtained or not; access to higher education and whether or not a degree or diploma was obtained; whether a job was found in the first year after completing initial education; experience of unemployment or uncertain employment status at the start of working life.
- 4.
The survey does not give any data on levels of general and academic knowledge.
- 5.
“Descendants of immigrants” means individuals born in France with at least one immigrant parent who was born abroad with foreign nationality at birth. “Descendants of DOM native-borns” means descendants of individuals born in the French overseas départements and who are living in Metropolitan France. No one born outside Metropolitan France was included in the analysis.
- 6.
The educational trajectory data are self-reported (and retrospective). Figures for grade repetition should be regarded as orders of magnitude; they are useful for showing inter-group differences, but they can be measured more precisely from educational statistics.
- 7.
The survey data do not give details on the courses followed, only the type of school: general lycée, technical lycée, vocational lycée or apprentice training centre (CFA). In the figures, these are simply grouped into “long track” (general and technical tracks) and “short track” (vocational and apprenticeship tracks).
- 8.
The TeO survey provided two different ways to identify the stage at which individuals left the education system, and they do not always concord. One was the path taken at the end of each stage (elementary, lower secondary, upper secondary), the other was the highest qualification obtained at the end of initial education. In the results we have favoured the “highest qualification” data.
- 9.
On average, the boys are 1.4 times more likely to leave school with no qualifications than the girls (and 1.5 times more likely if both their parents are immigrants).
- 10.
Odds ratios of 3 for sons of Sahelian African and Turkish immigrants, between 2 and 3 for sons of North and Central African immigrants, and 1.5 for sons of Portuguese immigrants or DOM native-borns.
- 11.
Model not communicated.
- 12.
In the TeO survey, subject specialization in school was identified using the official education and training nomenclature (CNCP, NSF 1994) and not the baccalauréat subjects. The terms used are speciality, field and course. The “academic” field includes maths and science, arts, humanities or law. The other specialities are technical or vocational courses, divided into three fields: production (engineering, construction, materials etc.), services (management, communication, information, transport, trade, etc.) and personal development (personal services, sport, domestic activities, etc.).
- 13.
Because of the small numbers concerned, descendants of Turkish immigrants are included in the “Other countries” category in the analysis of higher education performance and no comment is made on their outcomes.
- 14.
Descendants of immigrants from Sahelian Africa and West and Central Africa have been grouped into one category, but they do not have comparable family backgrounds. As a result, the respective effects of their parents’ social position and educational capital are cancelled out.
- 15.
Respondents’ occupational diaries identified their situations over the years: employment, self-employment, unemployment, education, homemaker, other situations (military service, retirement etc.), variable situations.
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Primon, JL., Brinbaum, Y., Moguérou, L. (2018). Educational Trajectories and Transition to Employment of the Second Generation. In: Beauchemin, C., Hamel, C., Simon, P. (eds) Trajectories and Origins: Survey on the Diversity of the French Population. INED Population Studies, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76638-6_3
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