Alla lika - alla olika: skolsituationen för elever med båda föräldrarna födda utomlands

Sammanfattning: The overall purpose of this study was to provide knowledge about the school situation of pupils in Sweden whose parents were both born abroad. The connections between the pupils’ background, other factors shown to be significant in earlier studies, and school results have been identified and analysed. The study was based on the data compiled as part of the National Programme of Evaluation, which was carried out in 1992. The evaluation covered 101 schools with an approximate total of 10,000 pupils in the ninth grade. The group studied here, pupils whose parents were both born abroad, consisted of 576 pupils. Pupils did tests in various subjects and answered questionnaires. The model which served as the basis for the study comprised background variables, intermediate variables and result variables. The background variables which were examined were the mother’s country of birth/continent of birth, attendance at schools in a country other than Sweden, length of time resident in Sweden, participation in home language instruction, and difficulties in Swedish because of immigrant background. The intermediate variables comprised parents, leisure time and school time, while the result variables dealt with the subjects Swedish, mathematics and English. In the case of the latter, skills and ability tests were studied as well as attitudes to the subjects and self-esteem in these. The group studied was highly heterogeneous. Those pupils with a mother born outside Europe belong to more recent groups of immigrants. They often have greater difficulties with Swedish. Length of time resident in Sweden and difficulties with Swedish, show a negative relationship between knowledge and skills in Swedish, mathematics and English. Nevertheless, the pupils have a positive attitude to learning and to the various subjects.