Against All Odds – First Generation Immigrants in Upper Secondary Education

The paper focuses on first generation immigrants who arrive to Sweden in the later school years. This group of students is at a major disadvantage compared to native students as well as to second generation immigrants and even to first generation immigrants who arrive before school entry. Statistics imply that a low number of “late arrived students” enter upper secondary education, and of those who do the drop-out rate is high. The educational gap between young students in Sweden is thus increasing, creating larger social inequalities between natives and foreign-born residents. In this study, however, I am interested in those examples that are exceptions to the rule – first generation immigrant students who against all odds make it to the college preparatory track. The object of the paper is to investigate aspects that contribute to school achievement and success for this group of students.

An initial survey study in Malmoe, Sweden’s third largest city, showed that a majority of late arrived students had entered the same upper secondary school. The additional material consists of interviews with school personnel as well as interviews with ten students at this school who arrived to Sweden between the ages 13-16 years old. The student group is heterogeneous, different nationalities, different reasons for immigrating to Sweden and different family contexts. The material reveals that in order to get a better understanding of the aspects contributing to school achievement, school culture as well as the individual migratory experiences and social capital need to be considered, and in particular how they interlink. The paper also discusses the obstacles met buy the students, especially concerning language acquisition, and the strategies involved in overcoming them.