Abstract
Cross-border migration leads to a diversification of societies, which is reflected in the education system, where classrooms are composed of students with heterogeneous cultural, linguistic, socio-economic characteristics. However, this diversity is only to a limited extent reflected in the teacher population, even though teachers from different backgrounds can bring specific intercultural competencies, have more positive attitudes toward multicultural heterogeneity and act as role models. To facilitate the diversification of the teaching profession, it is imperative that the cohorts of students entering teacher education programs represent the diversity of societies, however studies have shown students with migration backgrounds or from families with lower socio-economic status are underrepresented in such programs. This study considered the demographic constellation of applicants for admission into the teacher education program in Luxembourg (2015–2019) and investigated to what extent the admission process (dis)advantages certain groups. Results revealed that although applicants come from diverse backgrounds, proficiency in the country’s native languages poses a disadvantage for students with migration backgrounds. In addition, applicants coming from more privileged families stand a better chance of being admitted. Results are interpreted within the framework of social mobility and social reproduction. Implications for the admission to the teachers’ education program are discussed.
Highlights
In both Europe and the United States, increased levels of cross-border migration have resulted in the diversification of classroom compositions, and students with a variety of cultural, ethnic, linguistic and socio-economic characteristics attend the majority educational settings
As diversity in the professional workforce is to a large extent determined by the diversity in cohorts of pre-service teachers, this paper focuses on demographic constellations of student cohorts within a teacher education program
Relationships between indicators of migration background and socio-economic status further show that applicants with and without migration backgrounds come from families with different socio-economic backgrounds, which mirrors the situation in Luxembourgish society as a whole
Summary
In both Europe and the United States, increased levels of cross-border migration have resulted in the diversification of classroom compositions, and students with a variety of cultural, ethnic, linguistic and socio-economic characteristics attend the majority educational settings. Teachers with migration backgrounds can bring specific intercultural competencies which enable them to deal successfully with the increasing heterogeneity of students in classrooms and schools (Hachfeld et al, 2012) Based on their own experiences, they may be more aware of educational disadvantages related to student background characteristics and more motivated to overcome such inequalities and act as positive role models (Su, 1997; Magaldi et al, 2018). Students with migration backgrounds are still largely outnumbered by students from majority groups in universities at large and in teacher education programs in particular (Ingersoll and May 2011; Edelmann, 2013) This under-representation of students with migration backgrounds may reflect educational disadvantages associated with practices within educational structures (e.g., Boudon, 1974; Hillmert, 2013). Social mobility patterns indicate that 2nd and later generation students may advance beyond their parents (Azzolini and Barone, 2013; Alba and Foner, 2016)
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