Educating immigrants is becoming a priority in most OECD countries’ political agendas. National governments seem particularly interested in immigrant incorporation into the labour force. However, interest in immigrants’ results in school and a general revision of the policies that are meant to address and respond to their educational and training needs is gaining prevalence. Most of these studies focus on early-childhood, primary and secondary education, and vocational training. This makes it nearly impossible to find studies that: analyse the low percentage of immigrant students who enter the university (approximately 3.3% in Catalonia); contribute to understanding what factors influence immigrant students’ journeys through higher education and into the professional sector; offer recommendations for developing educational policy aimed at improving the learning results of immigrant students; and provide role models and inspiration for other immigrants, or the country as a whole.
Our project has studied the various elements that condition young immigrants’ access to higher education and their integration into the professional occupations that, in theory, they prepared for. The study consisted in a meta-analysis of existing relevant reports and documents and involved the elaboration of 8 narrative biographies – four on subjects currently enrolled in Catalan universities and four on subjects who have received a university degree and who are now at work in the professional sector. We have also created 8 videos in collaboration with the participants, which explore new methods for giving visibility to this part of the immigrant population, allowing them the opportunity to discuss the issues and add their own voice. This visual material can serve as an educational resource, to the extent the videos can be used for inspiration and reflection, by immigrants and native-born people alike, throughout Catalonia. Finally, this project has resulted in a set of policy recommendations written both for political bodies and educational centres.
Authors
- Juana Ma. Sancho
- Fernando Hernández
- Fernando Herraiz García
- Paulo Padilla Petry
- Rachel Fendler
- Judith Arrazola Carballo
- Xavier Giró Gràcia
- Roser Valenzuela Segura
Dipòsit Digital de la UB, 2012
