The Second Generation in Western Europe: Education, Unemployment, and Occupational Attainment

Abstract

This paper reviews recent research in ten Western European countries on the educational and labor market outcomes of second-generation minorities. Minorities from less-developed origins appear to be particularly disadvantaged in education, access to the labor market, and occupational attainment. Disadvantages are most evident with test scores early in the school career, but in some countries minorities have higher continuation rates beyond the compulsory leaving age than do majority peers with similar test scores. Entry into the labor market is a particular problem for most minorities, with substantial ethnic penalties with respect to employment in all ten countries. There is a more mixed picture for occupational attainment: In some countries, we find cumulative disadvantages, whereas in others the barriers are greatest on entry into the labor market. We review possible explanations for the differences both between minorities and between countries.

Education of EU migrant children in EU Member States

“…Heath et al (2008) explain that some of the differences between children born to two non-migrant parents and children with a migrant background, particularly from a less developed source country, can be attributed to having fewer socio-economic resources, lower parental educational attainment and, even if these factors are considered, there is an associated ethnic penalty that can have impacts on performance.…”

Ethnic Penalties in Western Labour Markets: <i>Contributions, Explanations, Critiques</i>

“…Many of the large immigrant groups, particularly those arriving to Western Europe as labour migrants in the 1950s and 60s, had low socioeconomic background and were recruited to fill low and unskilled positions in the labour market. As low socioeconomic background is negatively associated with educational achievements and patterns of employment, which again may negatively affect the employment prospects even for later generations, this is another important factor explaining the relatively high unemployment rates of many minority groups -that cannot be attributed to ethnicity as such (Heath, Rothon & Kilpi 2008).…”

“…The so-called 'second generation' speaks the majority language more or less fluently and normally has its schooling, educational merits and work experience from the country of residence. Hence, several of the factors used to explain the difficulties immigrants meet when trying to enter the labour market, like language barriers and foreign education, are not relevant for this group (Alba & Waters 2011;Heath, Rothon & Kilpi 2008). Consequently, it is more likely that the disadvantages they experience when trying to access the labour market in fact can be attributed to their ethnic backgrounds.…”

“…Among children of Pakistani immigrants, however, women invest in higher education to a larger extent than men, and the gaps in labour market participation by gender for this group have radically decreased (Statistics Norway 2013: 53). Despite similar positive development in many European countries, children of immigrants from non-European backgrounds fall behind in educational terms compared to their majority peers and even when they have educational merits on par with the majority, they tend to experience disadvantages with respect to access to employment (Heath & Cheung 2007a;Heath, Rothon & Kilpi 2008;Hermansen 2013). In a West European context, disadvantages are particularly pronounced for men with parents from Turkey and Morocco and the challenges appear to be largest in countries like Austria, Belgium and Germany (Heath 2007: 658).…”

“…By contrast, countries like Britain, Sweden and Norway have more comprehensive systems of education in which pupils choose paths to employment much later and less as a result of what teachers find best Heath, Rothon & Kilpi 2008). This may lead them to choose educational paths that are more in accordance with their own interests and skills, and it also gives immigrant parents -who will often expect their children to acquire high-status educations -more influence on the choices made.…”