Integrating Immigrant Children into Schools in Europe

Integrating Immigrant Children into Schools in EuropeOutside the compulsory education age-range, education of the very youngest children (whetherimmigrants or nationals) is more a question of their right to access pre-primary provision. The surveyreveals that few countries have devised special arrangements to cater for the youngest immigrantchildren in schools or centres for pre-primary education.The Language of Instruction as a Foothold in the Host Education SystemNational education authorities are aware that special support measures have to be available forimmigrant pupils if they are to derive full benefit from their right to education in the same way asnationals. In nearly all countries, such measures are devised as a priority for those who are recent arrivalsin order to overcome the initial problems that prevent them from integrating rapidly at school. Thecontent of these measures is inspired above all by the need for immigrant children to understand andspeak the language of instruction as soon as possible. Unquestionably, proficiency in the language(s) ofinstruction of the host country is a sine qua non for their successful integration at school. Indeed, this isparticularly crucial in the light of the statistical evidence that, in the great majority of European countries,a substantial proportion of immigrants speak languages other than their host country languages ofinstruction.Linguistic support measures are thus by far the most generally widespread in European countries,irrespective of whether they have adopted arrangements based on the direct ‘immersion’ of immigrantpupils in mainstream classes, or a transitional approach in which these pupils are kept separate at theoutset (Chapter 4). Such measures are not geared solely to pupils learning the language of instruction onan intensive basis but also cover other considerations with a view to ensuring that they will be fullyintegrated within mainstream educational provision. Figure 1 highlights the prevalence of variouslinguistic measures adopted for the benefit of immigrant children by host education systems.The Mother Tongue of Immigrants as a Bridge between Two CulturesBesides introducing measures to help immigrant children learn the language of instruction, the majorityof European countries also provide parallel support to be taught their mother tongue and learn aboutthe culture of their country of origin (Chapter 5). Since Council Directive 77/486/CEE came into force,the obligation to develop this provision lies mainly with the education authorities of the host country,usually in collaboration with partners in the EU country of origin. The initial aim was to ensure thatchildren of migrant workers from the Member States remained fully familiar with their mother tongueand culture of origin, so that they could return to their home country more easily if they wished. Theforegoing Directive has held special significance for the new Member States that joined the EuropeanUnion in May 2004 and, in several of them, has influenced national policy orientations concerning theeducation of immigrant children.The causes of immigration today are numerous. It is no longer considered a transient phenomenon as itwas in the context of the 1970s but a built-in feature of our increasingly multicultural societies. Thoseresponsible for integrating immigrant children into the education systems of many European countriescontinue to attach importance to teaching these children their mother tongue but with the very differentaim of supporting pupils whose families wish to settle in the host country. Often, schools take steps toassist families in their mother tongue (by publishing brochures in several languages or engaginginterpreters), so that they can satisfactorily complete the enrolment of their children and – moreimportant still – monitor their progress at school. Finally, the authorities concerned may ascertain the68