Tackling underachievement of learners from ethnic minorities: A comparison of recent policies of school improvement in Germany, England and Switzerland

Oct 15, 2026

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Over the past few decades, education inequalities tied to ethnic background have grown in many Western countries with large immigrant populations. Traditional interventions focus on second-language instruction and on addressing difference, equality, and racism through curriculum content. This paper reviews recent school-improvement policies aiming to integrate linguistic and cultural diversity with equity goals, and compares strategies in Germany, Switzerland, and England. It analyzes strengths and weaknesses using theories of institutional discrimination and organizational action, highlighting structural limits to inclusiveness caused by market- and performance-oriented reforms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Immigration, education for immigrants and institutional discrimination

Tackling underachievement of learners from ethnic minorities

Comparative policies across Germany, England, and Switzerland

Institutional discrimination and organizational action

Tackling underachievement of learners from ethnic minorities: A comparison of recent policies of school improvement in Germany, England and Switzerland Mechtild Gomolla Institute of Education University of Muenster, Germany Abstract Over the past few decades, in many western countries with large immigrant populations, inequalities in education relating to ethnic background have increased. Interventions traditionally consist of selective compensatory arrangements that focus on instruction in the second language--especially in early stages of schooling--and the treatment of issues of difference, equality and racism within the curriculum. This article discusses recent educational policies that attempt to systematically integrate aspects of linguistic and cultural diversity and equity targets within broader policies of school effectiveness and school improvement. The paper presents the author's findings in an international comparative study of schoolimprovement strategies that tackle ethnic inequalities in education in Germany, Switzerland and England. Using theories of institutional discrimination and organizational action, strengthsand weaknesses of these strategies in their specific political context, particularly structural limitations for inclusiveness resulting from market- and performance-oriented education reforms, will be highlighted. Introduction Over the past few decades, in many western countries with large immigrant populations, inequalities in education relating to ethnic background have increased rather than diminished. Interventions that address these inequalities traditionally consist of selective compensatory arrangements that focus on instruction in the second language--especially in early stages of schooling--and the treatment of issues of difference, equality and racism within the curriculum. International and national surveys of educational achievement, such as the PISA studies, have generated widespread discussion in Europe regarding the gap between the opportunities of children and young adults with immigrant backgrounds and those of their non-immigrant peers, with regards to accessing more highly qualified educational paths (Deutsches PISAKonsortium 2001, 2004; Bos, Lankes, Schwippert, Valtin, & Walther, 2003) . For this reason, provisions for pupils from immigrant families have been reinforced in several European countries. For example, in Germany strategies include early assessment of language skills, extension of instruction in German as a second language in preschool classes and primary schools, preparatory classes for children with German as a second language, flexible times for transition from preschool classes to primary school and expansion of full-time schools (Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Migration, Flüchtlinge und Integration, 2005) . © 2006 Current Issues in Comparative Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Current Issues in Comparative Education, Vol. 9(1) Tackling underachievement of learners from ethnic minorities: A comparison of recent policies of school improvement in Germany, England and Switzerland As in many other parts of Europe, the German system of education has undergone extensive reforms to focus on policies of devolution and choice, and the implementation of new systems of quality management. However within this fundamental restructuring of the organizational structures, funding, and contexts of public schooling, equity-issues are scarcely considered. These deficiencies in current educational reforms continue the assimilatory tradition of previous decades (see Krüger-Potratz, 2005) . Provisions to improve the performance of underachieving ethnic groups are restricted to selective compensatory arrangements that focus on the assessment of language skills and instruction in the second language. Conventional structures and processes of schooling, however, are not taken into consideration. Large-scale surveys of achievemen

FAQs

What main problem does the paper address?

The paper addresses underachievement and growing educational inequalities linked to learners’ ethnic backgrounds in countries with large immigrant populations.

How do traditional interventions typically respond to these inequalities?

They generally rely on selective compensatory arrangements, emphasizing second-language instruction in early schooling and curriculum treatment of difference, equality, and racism.

Which countries and policy area does the comparison focus on?

It compares recent school-improvement policies in Germany, England, and Switzerland that aim to combine linguistic/cultural diversity with equity targets within broader school effectiveness reforms.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by OmBimo