The Role of Teachers on Migrant and Gender Gaps in Math Achievement: A Decomposition Analysis

Studying the math abilities of migrant children is relevant to scientific knowledge, given the substantial increase in migratory movements in recent decades (OECD, 2019). Unfortunately, evidence has shown that migrant students from vulnerable countries often underperform in math compared to their local peers (Harris et al., 2008; Hoffmann, 2018). However, gender-based analyses have yielded mixed results (Dronkers & Kornder, 2014; Escandell et al., 2015).

Different factors explain these results, including teachers’ implicit and explicit biases toward students’ math abilities (Glock et al., 2015; van Ewijk & Sleegers, 2010). Teachers often underestimate the math performance of migrant students (Costa et al., 2021), which may lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy (Jussim, 2012).

In this context, this study analyzed the Latin-American migrant and gender gaps in math achievement of fourth-grade students in Chile. Additionally, we explored the role of teachers in these variations using a standardized Chilean census test (SIMCE), which measures math abilities. The analytical sample comprised 87,086 students, 3,412 classrooms, and 2,100 schools, where Latin-American migrant students represented 10% and 49% were girls.

Using a decomposition analysis, our main findings showed that Latin-American migrant students performed lower than their Chilean peers. The gap was higher for boys than for girls, particularly for Haitian students. When we observed the teacher’s role, the within-teacher component accounted for most of the gaps for Haitian students. In contrast, the between-teacher component was more relevant for Bolivian and Venezuelan students.

These results suggest that migrant boys, particularly those from low-income countries, face greater challenges in math. These disadvantages hinder their assimilation processes in host countries, impacting their educational trajectories. Furthermore, teacher biases predominantly affected Haitian students, while for other migrant groups, segregation outside the classroom contributed more significantly to the math gap.