Maarten Koomen

Ascription and identity. Differences between first- and second-generation Moroccans in the way ascription influences religious, national and ethnic group identification

ABSTRACT In this paper, we investigate the impact of ascription on the process of identity formation of first- and second-generation Moroccans in Western Europe. We look at the general discursive context and levels of perceived acceptance amongst Moroccan migrants, and see how these factors influence three relevant dimensions of identifications. We distinguish between ethnic group identity, religious identity and national identity, and use recently collected data on first- and second-generation Moroccans in five European countries (EURISLAM 2011. Integrated report on survey analysis. Brussels: ULB). Our analysis shows that our measures of identity are correlated to elements of ascription. The second generation appears less affected by elements of ascription. Particularly in identifying with the country of settlement, second-generation Moroccans appear more impervious to external influences than the first generation.

Discursive framing and the reproduction of integration in the public sphere: A comparative analysis of France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany

In this article we present a cross-national comparison of the discursive framing of political claims on Muslims and Islam in four European countries. We explore these issues empirically and relate the cross-national differences found in the data to a diverging logic in the different integration debates. We argue that persistent variations in discursive framing can be understood by looking at the unique conceptualisation of group categorisation and distinction used in the national integration debates. It is, furthermore, argued that these discursive and symbolic trends do not relate directly to observed differences in integration policies.

The impact of public debates on Muslim representative in Western Europe: the agenda setting function of mass media

On 1 May 2012 the Dutch politician and leader of the Freedom Party, Geert Wilders, travelled to New York to present his new book ‘Marked for Death: Islam’s War Against the West and Me’, his first book to be released solely in English, catering directly to an international audience. Wilders’ book release came at a time when the discussion on the cultural integration of Islam and Muslims in Dutch politics was being overshadowed by a financial and economic crisis and the accompanying political debates on austerity measures and economic restructuring. During his presentation however, Geert Wilders, reasserted his culturalist critique on Islam by stating that: We have to encourage Muslims to leave Islam and choose for freedom and prosperity. Our society, based on Judaeo-Christian and humanistic traditions, is superior to the barbarism found in Islamic societies. (Metro, 2 May 2012, translation by the authors)

Differentiation in secondary education and inequality in educational opportunities: The case of Switzerland

Sociologists working in the field of education and stratification have long been concerned with how far not only ability and performance but also selection by social and migration background along with gender account for differences in young people’s educational attainment. Research has recognized the complex entanglement of institutional, social, and individual characteristics that shape both educational opportunities and educational attainment. The significance of these characteristics is most visible at transitions in the educational system. In differentiated and stratified educational systems, these transitions involve placement into educational tracks with different academic requirements. For Switzerland, we examine how ability, school performance, and student social characteristics affect track placement to lower and upper secondary schooling and how allocation to secondary-level tracks determines tertiary education enrolment.

Do Vocational Pathways Improve Higher Education Access for Women and Men from Less Privileged Social Backgrounds

Educational policy developments in France and Switzerland have increased eligibility for higher education. This paper explores the extent to which vocationally orientated pathways to higher education reduce social inequalities in France and Switzerland. More specifically, we analyse how the vocational pathway facilitates access to higher education for male and female students from lower cultural capital backgrounds. We refer to gender theory to link young people’s subjective self-image and its corresponding institutional fit with different educational pathways. We use panel data from France (panel DEPP) and Switzerland (panel TREE) and multinomial logistic regression to analyse the accessibility of different institutional pathways to higher education for male and female students separately. Our results show different consequences of the two national educational systems with regard to social reproduction and gender inequalities. An intersectional analysis highlights that, in France, vocationally oriented programmes foster higher education access for young women with lower cultural capital. In Switzerland, the vocational pathway to access higher education is primarily used by young men from privileged educational backgrounds as a compensation for their underrepresentation in the traditional general education pathway to higher education.

Do vocational pathways improve higher education access for women and men from less privileged social backgrounds? A comparison of vocational tracks to higher education in France and Switzerland

Educational policy developments in France and Switzerland have increased eligibility for higher education. This paper explores the extent to which vocationally orientated pathways to higher education reduce social inequalities in France and Switzerland. More specifically, we analyse how the vocational pathway facilitates access to higher education for male and female students from lower cultural capital backgrounds. We refer to gender theory to link young people’s subjective self-image and its corresponding institutional fit with different educational pathways. We use panel data from France (panel DEPP) and Switzerland (panel TREE) and multinomial logistic regression to analyse the accessibility of different institutional pathways to higher education for male and female students separately. Our results show different consequences of the two national educational systems with regard to social reproduction and gender inequalities. An intersectional analysis highlights that, in France, vocationally oriented programmes foster higher education access for young women with lower cultural capital. In Switzerland, the vocational pathway to access higher education is primarily used by young men from privileged educational backgrounds as a compensation for their underrepresentation in the traditional general education pathway to higher education.

Pathways fostering mobility to higher education for vulnerable immigrants in France, Switzerland and Canada

ABSTRACT In this article we wish to clarify not only if, but also how – through which institutional settings – higher education (HE) is accessed by students from vulnerable immigrant groups in France, Switzerland and Canada. We are interested in the possible educational mobility that immigrant youths can experience arising from country-specific educational policies designed to increase the enrolment in HE, particularly the flow from upper-secondary vocational educational tracks to HE ones. We analyse using panel data in each country the accessibility of different pathways to HE while taking into account the characteristics of the students. In terms of educational mobility, in France the democratization of the educational system, including the development of the vocational baccalauréat, has enabled more youths of immigrant background to access HE. In Switzerland and Canada there is more ‘cooling down’ and down-streaming of their educational aspirations towards non HE and more labour market-oriented pathways.

How Do Second-Generation Immigrant Students Access Higher Education? The Importance of Vocational Routes to Higher Education in Switzerland, France, and Germany

Abstract We analyse the access to different institutional pathways to higher education for second-generation students, focusing on youths that hold a higher-education entrance certificate. The alternative vocational pathway appears to compensate to some degree, compared to the traditional academic one, for North-African and Southern-European youths in France, those from Turkey in Germany, and to a lesser degree those from Portugal, Turkey, Ex-Yugoslavia, Albania/Kosovo in Switzerland. This is not the case in Switzerland for Western-European, Italian, and Spanish youths who indeed access higher education via the academic pathway more often than Swiss youths. Using youth panel and survey data, multinomial models are applied to analyse these pathway choices. Zusammenfassung Wir untersuchen die Zugänglichkeit unterschiedlicher institutioneller Pfade zur Hochschule für Jugendliche der zweiten Generation und konzentrieren uns dabei auf Jugendliche mit einer Hochschulzugangsberechtigung. Der alternative berufsbildende Pfad scheint den traditionellen akademischen Weg für nordafrikanische und südeuropäische Jugendliche in Frankreich, für türkische Jugendliche in Deutschland, aber auch für portugiesische, türkische, exjugoslawische sowie (kosovo)albanische Jugendliche in der Schweiz bis zu einem gewissen Grad kompensieren zu können. Dies gilt jedoch in der Schweiz nicht für westeuropäische, italienische und spanische Jugendliche, die die Hochschule vergleichsweise häufiger als Schweizer Jugendliche über den akademischen Pfad erreichen. Zur Analyse der Wahl verschiedener Hochschulzugänge mit Jugendpanel und -surveydaten wurden multinomiale Regressionsmodelle verwendet. Résumé Nous analysons l’accessibilité des jeunes d’origine immigrée de deuxième génération à l’enseignement supérieur via différents parcours scolaires dans trois pays, en nous focalisant sur ceux qui possèdent un diplôme permettant l’accès aux études supérieures. Le parcours professionnel alternatif favorise la poursuite d’études supérieures dans une certaine mesure, par rapport à la voie traditionnelle ou académique, pour les jeunes en France originaires d’Afrique du Nord et d’Europe du Sud et, à un moindre degré, pour ceux en Allemagne originaires de Turquie, et ceux en Suisse originaires du Portugal, de Turquie, d’ex-Yougoslavie et de l’Albanie/Kosovo. Ce n’est pas le cas en Suisse pour les jeunes originaires d’Europe occidentale, d’Italie et d’Espagne qui en fait accèdent davantage aux études supérieures par la voie scolaire académique que les jeunes Suisses. A partir des données de panels et d’enquêtes auprès des jeunes, des modèles de régression sont utilisés pour analyser ces choix de parcours.

Erleichtern berufsfeldorientierte Mittelschulen den Hochschulzugang für Jugendliche aus hochschulbildungsfernen Milieus? Eine geschlechtersensible Analyse im französisch-schweizerischen Vergleich

Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht, inwieweit berufsfeldorientierte Mittelschulen in der Schweiz und in Frankreich mannlichen und weiblichen Jugendlichen mit Eltern ohne tertiare Ausbildung den Ubergang an eine Hochschule erleichtern und damit Bildungsdisparitaten zu reduzieren vermogen. Ein Vergleich von Frankreich mit der Schweiz bietet sich aufgrund der unterschiedlichen Entstehung ihrer berufsfeldorientierte Hochschulzubringer an. Wahrend die lycees professionnel in Frankreich durch eine ‚Verberuflichung’ des akademischen Bildungspfads entstanden, sind die Schweizer Berufsmaturitatsschulen eher das Resultat einer ‚Akademisierung’ der beruflichen Bildung. Dabei interessiert, welche Strategie sich als erfolgreich(er) erweist, um Bildungsdisparitaten vorzubeugen, bzw. ob sich letztere besser uber Reformen des allgemeinbildenden oder aber des berufsbildenden Systems reduzieren lassen.

Pathways to Higher Education in France and Switzerland

Using panel data from France (DEPP) and Switzerland (TREE) the pathways to higher education in the two countries were analysed, looking specifically at the accessibly of higher education through different educational tracks while taking into account different characteristics of the students, i.e. gender and different immigrant backgrounds. How the institutional settings in both countries influence access to higher education with a special interest in the integrative function of vocational baccalaureate certificates. If the educational characteristics of the North African youths in France and those of students with Turkish or former Yugoslavian background in Switzerland were similar to those of the native students, the former would have at least the same odds of obtaining a baccalaureate diploma and access to tertiary education.