The effect of education policies on higher-education attainment of immigrants in Western Europe: A cross-classified multilevel analysis

Abstract

The number of immigrant students in Western Europe is growing steadily, but their social integration and educational achievements are still lagging behind. Nevertheless, there is still very little empirical evidence on which policies can effectively promote them. Thus, this article tests 2 main types of policies: targeted support and intercultural policies, and compares their effect on university graduation of 6 immigrant groups in 13 Western European countries. This research incorporates country- and origin-based variables as well as social and individual characteristics in cross-classified multilevel analyses. Data from the European Social Survey, the Migrant Integration Policy Index, the United Nations (UN) database and the World Bank database are integrated here. Findings show that intercultural policies have more positive effect on immigrant students than targeted policies. Furthermore, there is division between these six groups not only in their actual educational achievements, but also in the extent to which they are helped by education policies.