Why Do Some Immigrant Children and Youth Do Well in School Whereas Others Fail?: Current State of Knowledge and Directions for Future Research

Abstract

Education is the most central determinant of important life outcomes, from employment to physical and psychological health. Promoting immigrant youth’s education may be the most effective policy measure to promote their well-being and successful adaptation into the host society. Nevertheless, immigrant youth in European countries consistently display poor educational outcomes, albeit with some exceptions. In general, immigrant youth perform worse in PISA assessments, experience higher levels of burnout and stress, and have lower school engagement than their native peers. By contrast, some immigrant youth show academic resilience despite all the immigration-related challenges and risks that may hamper their ability to thrive in school. In this chapter, our goal is to provide a conceptual discussion and overview of the literature on the educational outcomes of immigrant youth in a European context and highlight the factors that may promote their academic resilience. First, we propose a fourfold conceptualization of adjustment outcomes based on the interaction between risk conditions (presence versus absence of risk) and the nature of adjustment outcomes (good versus poor adjustment). Then, we provide a critical review of the current state of the literature on the educational outcomes of immigrant youth. Next, we review the evidence available to identify the assets, acculturative factors, and resources that are linked to academic resilience. We end the chapter with a discussion of future research directions aimed at increasing the knowledge on academic resilience and vulnerability that may be translated into better academic outcomes among immigrant youth.