Analysis of educational goals of young people and parents with a migration background / Increasingly low level of education among adult refugees; difficult climb for children
Vienna (OTS) – On behalf of the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF), Hermann Kuschej and Erich Kirchler from the Institute for Higher Studies (IHS) analyzed the educational goals of young migrants and their parents in Austria: What importance is attached to education? What degrees are you aiming for? How do the respondents imagine the role and entry into the labor market? Young people and parents with roots in Syria, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Bosnia/Croatia/Serbia and Turkey were interviewed. The entire research report can be found here.
In the qualitative interviews with parents and young people, there are clear differences in terms of educational aspirations and intrinsic motivation: The interviewed migrants from Syria, Afghanistan and Chechnya, most of whom came to Austria in the first generation, are very focused on their own advancement children focused; Great importance is attached to the success of the educational career. Accordingly, in the perception of the migrants interviewed, it is much more their own achievements and efforts that determine success and their own advancement in society and less characteristics such as social background or gender. In the group of former guest workers, on the other hand, the parents are comparatively more focused on starting work and less on educational opportunities for their children. In a patriarchal understanding of roles, more work and income are more important for male family members than educational qualifications.
Entry into the education system: The later, the more difficult
The later children with a migration background enter the Austrian education system, the more difficult it is to catch up or catch up on school education. On the other hand, children who start their school career in Austria right from the start catch up more quickly with educational deficits. If the young people are already at the end of compulsory school age, it is much more difficult to successfully enter the education system. The parents themselves often find it difficult to enter the labor market: the employment rate for people from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq was 38% in 2021 (source: Statistical Yearbook 2022).
Immigrant women often have higher education, but are less likely to be in the labor market
Immigrant women often have higher educational qualifications than male immigrants, but are still significantly more likely to be unemployed and find it more difficult to get into the labor market – both as male immigrants and as women without a migration background. They are therefore less available for the job market. Because while in 2019 more than 90% of Austrian women of working age were available for the labor market (employed or unemployed), this is only 70% the case in the group of European third countries (mostly the Russian Federation). This discrepancy is particularly pronounced among people born in Turkey: While around 90% of 30 to 64-year-old men of Turkish origin are employed or unemployed and thus 10% are not employed, this is the case for almost a third of the women in this group.
Compulsory school and apprenticeships: Afghan girls less often in apprenticeships and further education
The data analysis also shows clear differences depending on the type of school: Afghan male adolescents start an apprenticeship much more often following compulsory school than, for example, Syrian male adolescents and attend an AHS less frequently. A higher proportion of Syrian female adolescents can be found at AHS, while male adolescents with Syrian roots are more likely to be found at vocational schools. Since young Afghan women between the ages of 6 and 19 are neither doing an apprenticeship nor attending an AHS, but instead more than 70% are in elementary school or HS/MS/Poly, it can be assumed that Afghan girls often leave compulsory school not continue any further education or training. Compared to the other comparison groups, Afghans have the lowest percentage of completed school education.
Educational level of refugees: 7 out of 10 have literacy needs
The largest groups among those entitled to asylum and subsidiary protection are currently people from Syria and Afghanistan, and the level of education has fallen significantly among the new grants: 7 out of 10 persons entitled to asylum and subsidiary protection who received asylum in the last 12 months and a German course according to the Integration Act visit have a need for literacy. In the last three years, this value has increased by half (2019: 48%), and by as much as 80% for men (41% vs. 73%). About half of those with literacy needs were unable to read or write in any language and were taking a basic literacy course (50.4%), the other half were learners of a duplicate (49.6%).
Job entry: Challenges when integrating migrants into the labor market
Current results of the recently published research report “Employment History of Migrants III” by Synthesis Research and migration and population researcher Rainer Münz shed light on the challenges faced by refugees and migrants entering the labor market: Among the refugees who came to Austria in 2016 and are still living in Austria , only around 28 percent were available for the labor market in the calendar year following the end of basic services. On average, women with a refugee background are much less likely to be employed than men of the same origin. In order to support refugees and migrants entering the labor market, the ÖIF offers part-time online German courses (sprachportal.at). As part of the so-called ÖIF career platforms, those entitled to asylum are informed together with companies regarding entry opportunities into the labor market, even if they still have little knowledge of the language .
About the research report “Educational aspirations of young migrants”
As part of the research report “Educational aspirations of young migrants”, interview partners from seven countries (Afghanistan, Syria, Chechnya, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo/Albania, Turkey) and experts were asked regarding career and training aspirations from January to May 2022 . The qualitative investigation was supplemented by a comprehensive analysis of demographic indicators.
Interested parties can find further results on the attitudes of young people with a migration background with regard to education and performance as well as insights into their role models, general satisfaction with their life in Austria, belonging and socialization in the ÖIF survey report “Values and attitudes of young migrants. Survey of adolescents and young adults with a Turkish, ex-Yugoslav, Syrian and Afghan migration background in Austria“ in the ÖIF media library.
Questions & contact:
Austrian Integration Fund
Mag.(FH) Siegfried Grobmann
Head of Communications
+43 17 10 12 03 322
M +43 676 519 1361
siegfried.grobmann@integrationsfonds.at
