A comparative study on the adaptation of immigrant students among five European countries

Abstract

Research has shown that immigrant students experience several difficulties which influence their adaptation and academic achievement. This paper investigated the psychological well-being and social adaptation of immigrant students in different cultures from teachers' perspective. Participants were 119 teachers from different countries. They evaluated the language proficiency, adjustment level, and problem areas of their immigrant students and answered a questionnaire about their attitudes toward migration. The results showed that in general second-generation immigrant students had better language levels. Cross-country comparisons showed that there were not any differences in terms of problem areas, the student’s adjustment to school, and teachers’ attitudes toward migration. The language proficiency of immigrant students emerged as the only difference among countries. The results were discussed in terms of the implications for practice.