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

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, strengths and weaknesses of these strategies in their specific political context, particularly structural limitations for inclusiveness resulting from marketand 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). Tackling underachievement of learners from ethnic minorities: A comparison of recent policies of school improvement in Germany, England and Switzerland 47 December 7, 2006 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 achievement raise serious questions concerning the institutional barriers for children from immigrant families and socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Qualitative studies, which illuminate the complex and often hidden mechanisms of the reproduction of ethnic inequality at the different levels of schooling, indicate that a broader provision for linguistic and socio-cultural diversity is necessary (Gogolin & Neumann 1997; Gomolla & Radtke 2002; Weber 2003). Moreover, in education systems where individual schools enjoy high levels of autonomy, inequalities increase between the performances of different social and ethnic groups. This is especially the case in Anglo-American countries, where marketand performance-oriented reforms are the most pervasive (see Whitty, Power, & Halpin, 1998; Slee & Weiner, 1998; Radtke & Weiß, 2000; Gomolla, 2005). 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. Specific interventions observed in an international comparative study of school-improvement strategies that tackle ethnic inequalities in education in Germany, England, and Switzerland are presented. Each of these strategies is analyzed in their specific political context using theories of institutional discrimination and organizational action. In particular, structural limitations for inclusiveness resulting from marketand performance-oriented education reforms are highlighted. Immigration, education for immigrants and institutional discrimination The term "institutional discrimination" derives from debates on institutional racism within the civil rights movement in Northern America. The phrase "institutional racism" was introduced by Stokely Carmichael and Charles Hamilton (1967) to describe how white interests and attitudes saturate the key institutions that shape American life. Especially in England, the term has moved from the field of political activism and academic debate into popular usage since the 1990s (Gillborn, 2002). In Germany, discussions on institutional racism – although the term institutional discrimination is more common – have only begun recently. Wider attention to discrimination has resulted in particular from discussions regarding the European Union's new anti-discrimination legislation and the adoption of a national bill on equal treatment in 2006.i In addition, the recognition of ethnic inequalities in education has ensued debates about institutional discrimination (Gomolla 2005; Gomolla & Radtke, 2002; Hormel & Scherr 2004; Jäger & Kaufmann, 2002; Kristen, 2006; Schofield, 2006). Unlike "racial" harassment, theoretically understood as a result of individual or group prejudice (Allport, 1954), institutional discrimination scrutinizes the organizational structures and