A much-needed update
In 2011, UdeM professor Marie McAndrew published one of the first studies on academic success, educational pathways and graduation rates among Quebec's immigrant students. Her findings had to be brought up to date as the demographic situation changed, said Archambault.
For one thing, student populations are increasingly diverse across Quebec, not just in Montreal, she noted, and so a number of "stakeholders, including researchers and school administrators, wanted to see the data updated."
Although drawing comparisons is still difficult, particularly since the method for calculating the indicators has changed over the past decade, high-school graduation rates since 2011 show greater improvement among first and second-generation immigrants than among other students.
Despite these encouraging results, particularly among second-generation immigrants, the research team found that students in this group were only half as likely to be enrolled in enriched programs.
“Our data are descriptive only – we don't explain anything," said Archambault. "But we can still wonder why these students are under-represented. It's a legitimate question."
The researchers also found that students attending schools in underprivileged areas or public schools (as opposed to private) have lower graduation rates.
“It's interesting to note, however, that the observed differences in graduation rates based on school type are lower among first- or second-generation immigrants than among other students," said Archambault.
In terms of language proficiency, first-generation immigrants have lower results on French exams than second or third-generation immigrants. However, they score better in math, science and history.
