OECD Reviews of Migrant Education - Norway
Strong economic performance has attracted immigrants to Norway in recent years. Most migrants come to Norway for humanitarian or family reunification reasons; but increasingly they come to seek work and many have lower socio-economic background than their native peers. The integration of their children has led to a larger proportion of more heterogeneous students in Norwegian schools. In 2006, 8- 10% of students in Norwegian kindergartens, primary, and secondary schools were of immigrant background, although many were born in Norway. There are more than 120 languages spoken in Oslo schools.
Immigrant students who were not born in Norway – especially those who are older and arrive at a later stage of their education – face tougher challenges than other students in achieving good education outcomes.
Compared to their native peers, immigrant students have relatively weaker education outcomes on average at all levels of education. At age three, participation rates in early childhood education and care are much lower for immigrant students, although they are comparable at age five. However, the toughest challenges appear to be for first-generation immigrant students (those who were not born in Norway and whose parents were not born in Norway). Nearing the end of lower secondary education their performance is significantly lower than their native peers. Fewer first-generation immigrant students choose to follow upper secondary education and those who do are significantly more likely to drop out or complete without qualification. In vocational programmes in 2006, only 47% of first-generation
immigrant students had either gained a qualification or were still enrolled in a programme after five years compared to 66% of their native peers.
Long abstract