1Although the educational achievement of the “second-generation” children of immigrants is widely discussed in France and elsewhere in Europe, there is little detailed research on this question. Do they perform as well as the children of French-born parents? Do they have special difficulties? How do inequalities develop? Using data on a panel of students entering the first year of lower secondary school (year 6) in 1995, Yaël Brinbaum and Annick Kieffer analyse their entire trajectories through secondary education from year 6 to the baccalauréat school-leaving examination, considering for the first time performance at the start and end of lower secondary school (collège), tracks chosen at upper secondary school (lycée), and final qualifications gained. They clearly detail the process whereby inequalities are constructed. The article confirms a number of results that were known or suspected, but goes much further, revealing differentiation by type of baccalauréat, country of origin and sex.

2Discussing the school careers of immigrants’ children remains a sensitive issue, because it challenges the functioning of the educational institution, the role of parents, and more widely the egalitarian principles of French society. The policies adopted in recent decades to broaden access to education and raise levels of attainment have offered new opportunities to children from working-class backgrounds in general, and to children of immigrants in particular. Access to the baccalauréat has been democratized, and although inequalities have been reduced, they are shifting to the choice of track at secondary and tertiary levels (Goux and Maurin, 1995; Thélot and Vallet, 2000; Duru-Bellat and Kieffer, 2000; Merle, 2002). The emergence of differentiated tracks of varying status does not abolish inequality but transforms it: children from working-class families are concentrated in lower-status tracks, usually vocational in nature (Shavit et al., 2007; Duru-Bellat et al., 2008). How do the children of immigrants use these new opportunities and to what extent do they benefit from the process of democratization? Does the choice of track depend on country of origin? What qualifications do they gain at the end of their secondary education?

3These questions have been extensively researched in the United States (Portes and Zhou, 1993; Rumbaut and Portes, 2001; Thompson and Kao, 2003), but the school careers of the so-called second-generation children of immigrants have only more recently been analysed in France (Simon, 2003) and Europe (Crul and Vermeulen, 2003). “Is the foreign student not at a disadvantage compared with the student of local origin?” asked Clerc in his 1964 study. A similar question may be asked about this population of students born in France and brought up in largely working-class families marked by the experience of immigration. Belonging to a dual culture may well influence their educational careers.

4Research findings tend to agree about the specific educational difficulties of immigrants’ children. Their school performance is lower than that of children with French-born parents (Vallet and Caille, 1996b; OECD, 2007); they are often advised to choose lower-status tracks (Vallet, 1996; Payet, 1995). This observation is confirmed in many European countries and the United States (Alba et al., 1999). Educational achievement varies according to geographical origin, however (Gibson, 1987; Rumbaut and Portes, 2001).

5Two types of explanation may be given: social and cultural. Achievement gaps may be explained by social background (Marks, 2005) and a life history in the least qualified stratum of the working class, [1] or by parents’ level of education, their poorer understanding of the educational system and language barriers (Bernstein, 1971). Other potential reasons for the high achievement of certain groups, such as children of Asian origin in the United States, or the low achievement of certain minorities must also be examined (Zhou and Bankston, 1998; Thompson and Kao, 2003; Portes and Rumbaut, 2001; Heath and Brinbaum, 2007). The host country, geographical origin and aspirations need to be considered to explain these differential inequalities: immigrant parents’ aspirations, in particular, have a positive effect on their children’s educational achievement, and in this case immigrant origin appears to be a beneficial resource (Kao and Tienda, 1995).

6Although the children of foreign-born parents do less well at school in general than those of French-born parents, after controlling for social background this is no longer the case (Vallet and Caille, 1996a). The authors attribute this finding to the parents’ high levels of aspiration (Vallet, 1996) and their mobilization for their children to succeed; school is an essential component of families’ upward mobility strategies (Sayad, 1999; Léger and Tripier, 1986; Zéroulou, 1988; van Zanten, 2001; Santelli, 2001; Brinbaum, 2002). However, poorer command of French and ignorance of the school system restrict their chances of achieving their ambitions (Brinbaum, 2002). Families living in socially disadvantaged areas have no other choice than the local schools (van Zanten, 2001; Oberti, 2005). Like working-class families, they are more reluctant than other social groups to encourage their children into newly created tracks (Gambetta, 1987).

7Residential and educational segregation are closely linked (Maurin, 2004; Portes and Hao, 2004). The schools with children from working-class and immigrant backgrounds experiencing the greatest difficulties are also those offering the poorest educational environment (van Zanten, 2001), with lower standards, more lenient marking and slower student progress (Duru-Bellat and Mingat, 1997, Duru-Bellat et al., 2004). The teachers tend to adapt their teaching and correcting practices to the students in their classes, generating a process of “levelling down” (Duru-Bellat, 2002). In the Bordeaux school region, Felouzis and his colleagues (2005) are highly critical of the ethnic segregation in lower secondary schools, using such terms as “apartheid” and “educational ghettos” (see also Maurin, 2004). This segregation has paradoxical effects on school careers. Students from North African, sub-Saharan African and Turkish backgrounds perform less well than the others, but for a given level of achievement are more often advised to take a general (rather than vocational) track in year 10 (Felouzis, 2003). Other authors ascribe inequality of achievement to educational discrimination (Lorcerie, 2003; Dhume and Sagnard-Haddaoui, 2006).

8Although a number of factors have been identified, there are still many grey areas upon which we hope to shed light. Whether one should lament a desperate situation or adopt a sometimes over-positive and optimistic vision of these trajectories is still an open question (Lorcerie, 1999). The contrasting pictures of educational success among immigrants’ children call for a review of this question and an update of the study by Vallet and Caille (based on data from a 1989 student panel) with the results of the 1995 panel.

9While recent quantitative studies show an increase in the probability of opting for vocational tracks, after controlling for social background, students of immigrant origin are less numerous in these tracks (Vallet and Caille, 1996a and 1996b; Felouzis, 2003). How do they fare in secondary education? Do they follow these tracks as far as the baccalauréat? Is a phenomenon of “deferred elimination” observed?

10Primary inequality, i.e. inequality of performance, and secondary inequality, i.e. inequality of track choice, are not necessarily combined in the same manner for all types of student. [2] Our panel data will be used to test the impact of school performance on track choice and on qualifications gained, and should contribute to a more detailed understanding of the explanatory mechanisms for social inequalities in education.
This article describes how educational inequalities by origin are constructed. Various types of factor are considered: individual (school career and student’s characteristics), family (social and cultural), contextual (school inside or outside a priority education zone [ZEP]) and psychosociological (aspirations). Our analysis extends across students’ entire careers in secondary education, from the first year of lower secondary school (collège, year 6) to the baccalauréat (see Appendix), with students’ performance in year 6 and in the lower-secondary certificate (brevet), successive track choices at the upper-secondary school (lycée), school leaving and types of qualification obtained. This longitudinal perspective will give a more detailed picture of the mechanisms underlying students’ high or low achievement by origin. The aim is to identify how social, migrant and geographical backgrounds combine or balance out during secondary education. We will also examine how students of immigrant background and their families adjust their expectations in response to school performance and advice on track choice.
After presenting the statistical data and students’ family environments, we analyse their performance at collège according to their social and migrant backgrounds. We then examine how background- and gender-related inequalities combine at lycée: track advice, track chosen and qualification obtained (if any).

I – Identifying the school careers of immigrants’ children

11Statistical studies of the school careers of immigrants’ children, particularly of the “second generation”, are rare in France. Because they were born in France, the descendants of immigrants have not, until recently, been identified as such in public statistics (Simon, 2003). Surveys by the Ministry of Education only recorded the child’s nationality. This invisibility is the consequence of the principle whereby the school is a republican, assimilationist institution “indifferent to differences”, intended to teach all children in an equal manner, whatever their origins. This principle makes it de facto impossible to measure any inequalities or to assess how migrant origin may affect social or gender inequality. To sidestep this difficulty, researchers have been forced to construct substitute variables to examine this population (proxy indicators). Vallet and Caille (1996a; 1996b) devised indicators based on the number of “foreign attributes” (language spoken, nationality, etc.) in their study of a panel of students who entered year 6 in 1989; Felouzis and his colleagues (2003; 2005) used first names for their study in the Bordeaux school region, but these indicators are by no means ideal for identifying immigrants’ children.

12Immigrants are people of non-French nationality born outside France. Since they were living in France at the time of the survey, they may have acquired French nationality. Their children may either have been born outside France or in France and have French nationality. To take nationality as the sole criterion singles out only a fraction of the children of immigrant origin, i.e. those not born in France who do not have French nationality. Yet to examine the lives of children of the second generation, the scope of analysis must be extended to this entire population. First names are a useful indicator, but inadequate because they reflect family choices (cultural identification or, conversely, the desire to distance oneself from one’s group of origin).

13With the panel of students who entered year 6 in 1995, for the first time at national level [3] we have information concerning parents’ place of birth and nationality, which makes it possible to identify children born in France of immigrant parents.

14The panel of students who entered year 6 in 1995 was selected by the evaluation, prospective and performance directorate (DEPP) of the Ministry of Education and the students were followed throughout their secondary education. It comprises students enrolled in a public or private school in metropolitan France at the start of the 1995-1996 school year, born on the 17th of nine months excluding March, July and October. The only siblings included were twins. Students repeating year 6, who had entered collège in 1994, were excluded from the sample. Careers at collège and lycée can be reconstituted in detail from the class records kept by school principals for each school year. A questionnaire sent to families in 1998 collected information on the child’s family environment and the parents’ educational aspirations. Our sample comprises students who entered year 6 in 1995 and whose parents completed the questionnaire sent to them in 1998, i.e. a total of 12,138 students. [4]

15The children of immigrants are identified by the detailed place of birth and nationality at birth of both parents. Two family variables were constructed to compare immigrants’ children with those of French-born parents, and within that population, children of Portuguese and North African origin, the two largest groups. The first variable distinguishes families where both parents were born French in France (we call them “French-origin”), and the second, French people born abroad or in the overseas territories and non-French parents born in France. The subsequent categories concern immigrant families (both parents born non-French outside France), and the last, mixed families (one immigrant parent, one French-origin one), in order to obtain populations that are comparable in terms of geographical and national origin. The behaviour of mixed families with respect to education is close to that of the French-born (Brinbaum, 2002), and their children’s school careers are comparable. Although the category of French people born abroad or in the overseas territories is heterogeneous, it does display characteristics distinct from those of French people born in France, who are not closely examined in this article. The second variable identifies among immigrants’ children the geographical origin of their parents: Portugal (or Southern Europe) and the countries of North Africa; [5] other geographical origins are included in a single category because of the small numbers of persons concerned (Appendix A.1).

16To take the characteristics of each parent into account, [6] we restricted our study to students living with both parents (excluding single-parent families). The effect of father’s and mother’s educational level on their children’s school careers has been extensively demonstrated in the sociological literature (see the work of Blossfeld, Müller, Shavit, Mare and Duru-Bellat), and for that reason we considered the educational levels of both parents.
To assess the effect of socio-occupational status, we constructed a variable that combines the father’s occupation and socio-occupational category (SOC) with that of the mother on the basis of information provided in the 1998 Families survey or in the enrolment questionnaire completed by the school principal where this information was missing from the survey. The higher of the two parents’ SOCs is used for classification, with the other parent classified as in employment, unemployed or inactive. [7] In this way, six mutually exclusive ranked categories were created (see Box). A family where the father is a technician (intermediate occupation) and the mother has a higher-level occupation is classified as “higher level”. The bottom category contains families where both parents are manual or unskilled clerical or sales workers, or where at least one parent is unemployed or inactive and has never worked, due to the small number of families with two inactive parents and the similarity of their educational behaviour. Inactive parents who had worked are classified in their previous occupational category.
The final family characteristic used in the regression models is the employment status of the father.

INSEE classification and socio-occupational status INSEE classification of socio-occupational categories in France (SOC) Socio-occupational status based on the higher of the parents’ SOCs Farmer Higher-level: at least one higher-level occupation or business owner with more than 10 employees Self-employed: business, trade and crafts Self-employed: at least one self-employed parent (farmer, crafts, trade) Managers, professionals and higher-level intellectual occupations Intermediate: at least one parent employed in an intermediate occupation Intermediate occupations Two skilled manual, clerical or sales workers Clerical and sales workers Mixed manual or clerical: at most one skilled manual worker or one skilled clerical or sales worker Manual workers At least one unskilled manual worker or one unskilled clerical or sales worker OR two unemployed or two inactive parents Retired Other economically inactive

17The second group of variables is designed to provide information on students’ earlier schooling and on their schooling conditions: years ahead or behind (in categories) or age in year 6, scores in year 6 evaluation or in continuous assessment for the brevet, years spent at collège, type of school (ZEP, public or private sector). The third group of variables concerns the family educational context: aspirations for a general baccalauréat, language spoken at home.

II – Families and school: tension between working-class background and educational ambitions

18Children of immigrant background grow up in families where the parents have low educational levels and do unskilled jobs (Appendix A.1). In general, French-origin parents have a relatively high educational level. Most of them have a secondary-level qualification (68%), a CAP or BEP [8] (more than one in four mothers and one in three fathers) or a baccalauréat (12% of fathers, 15% of mothers). By contrast, the educational level of immigrant parents varies widely by country of origin, age of migration and gender (Tribalat, 1995; Brinbaum, 2002; Borrel, 2006). Some North African parents have not been to school at all – more often mothers (44%) than fathers (38%) – especially those who arrived in France as adults, while others left school at an early age (15%). Most Portuguese attended school as far as the lower secondary level, however, (76% of fathers, 85% of mothers).

19Most immigrants work in manual, clerical and sales occupations, with the proportion varying by origin: 88% of North Africans, 77% of Portuguese, compared with just 43% for persons of French origin. The Portuguese usually occupy skilled jobs (manual, clerical, craft), mainly in construction, while North Africans are more concentrated in unskilled jobs. Immigrants rarely belong to the higher socio-occupational categories (barely 1% versus 22% for persons of French origin). Employment status varies by population. For all SOCs, the unemployment rate among Portuguese fathers is relatively low (although twice that of French fathers) and the labour force participation of Portuguese mothers is comparable with that of French mothers. By contrast, North African fathers have a particularly high unemployment rate (19%, compared with 6% of Portuguese and 2% of French origin) and North African mothers are the least economically active (around 75% are inactive and have never worked).
Nonetheless, whatever their educational level or socio-occupational category, gaining a baccalauréat has become the norm for all families in France. At a time when students are staying much longer at school, parents’ aspirations are becoming more specific; they aim not for a baccalauréat of whatever type, but for the general baccalauréat, because of its higher status and the access it gives to a wide range of further education opportunities (technology institutes, universities, elite grandes écoles, etc.). Immigrant families follow the same pattern: when questioned in 1998 (three years after their child entered year 6), the Portuguese parents were hesitant in replying and tended to mention vocational qualifications, like those of French origin, [9] while the North Africans wanted their children to follow the general tracks leading to higher education (Table 1).

Table 1

Parents’ aspirations for the general baccalauréat (in 1998) and proportion of general baccalauréat-holders among baccalauréat-holders who entered year 6 in 1995, by origin (%)

French origin Immigrant origin (total) Southern European origin North African origin All families Parents’ aspirations for general baccalauréat 46.0 43.0 26.0 47.5 Share of general baccalauréat-holders among all baccalauréat holders 77.0 79.0 63.0 80.0 Parents are manual or clerical workers Parents’ aspirations for general baccalauréat 37.0 35.0 28.0 41.0 Share of general baccalauréat-holders among all baccalauréat holders 65.0 79.0 62.0 80.0 Source: 1995 student panel and follow-up surveys (Family survey 1998, Youth survey 2002), MEN-DEP. Authors’ calculations. Note: Differences are significant.

Parents’ aspirations for the general baccalauréat (in 1998) and proportion of general baccalauréat-holders among baccalauréat-holders who entered year 6 in 1995, by origin (%)

20In the manual and clerical categories, the North Africans express more ambitious educational aspirations for their children than the French or Portuguese. Most of them are unskilled manual workers and know the physical toll of manual work, the trials of unemployment and the discrimination suffered on the labour market (Silberman and Fournier-Mearelli, 2006); for them, investment in education is probably the only way for their children to escape this fate (Beaud and Pialoux, 1999).

21Immigrants’ children begin their secondary education in difficult conditions (little support with schoolwork from parents with limited education, poor understanding of the school system and its functioning, low incomes, poor command of French) and their main asset is the particularly high educational aspirations of their parents.
The effects of these initial conditions and, more generally, of the social, psychological and contextual dimensions of a migratory background on school performance at the start and end of collège, are the main focus of our analysis.

III – Early difficulties at school

22Educational inequalities take root very early, starting in pre-school and in the first years of primary school (Duru-Bellat, 2002). Immigrants’ children have specific difficulties, as can be seen from their frequent repeating of primary classes, half of them in year 1 (Caille and Rosenwald, 2006). They are therefore older when they get to collège: 36% of students of North African origin and 32% of Portuguese origin are at least one year behind, compared with 15% of French-origin students (Table 2). Twice as many boys as girls of immigrant origin repeat a primary class: 43% and 28%, respectively, among North Africans, 41% and 23% among Portuguese, versus 17% and 12% among pupils of French origin.

Table 2

Distribution of students who entered year 6 in 1995 by migrant origin, school “age”, social background and gender (%)

Student characteristics French origin Immigrant origin (total) Southern European origin North African origin All students Ahead (one year or more) 3.9 1.5 0.7 1.3 Neither ahead nor behind 81.3 62.1 66.9 63.5 One year behind 13.5 30.6 26.3 29.6 More than one year behind 1.4 5.9 6.1 5.7 Overall 100 100 100 100 Parents manual or clerical workers Ahead (one year or more) 1.7 0.7 0.8 0.7 Neither ahead nor behind 74.7 60.6 67.0 62.9 One year behind 21.0 32.4 24.3 31.0 More than one year behind 2.6 6.4 7.9 5.5 Overall 100 100 100 100 Boys Ahead (one year or more) 3.6 1.1 1.2 1.2 Neither ahead nor behind 79.4 55.9 58.0 56.3 One year behind 15.1 35.3 32.6 35.2 More than one year behind 1.9 7.7 8.2 7.4 Overall 100 100 100 100 Girls Ahead (one year or more) 4.2 1.9 0.0 1.5 Neither ahead nor behind 83.4 68.7 76.9 70.3 One year behind 11.7 25.5 19.3 23.9 More than one year behind 0.8 3.9 3.8 4.0 Overall 100 100 100 100 Source: 1995 student panel and follow-up surveys (Family survey 1998, Youth survey 2002), MEN-DEP. Authors’ calculations.

Distribution of students who entered year 6 in 1995 by migrant origin, school “age”, social background and gender (%)

23The type of school attended also varies by origin. Because of residential and social segregation (Oberti, 2005), immigrant-origin students usually attend a collège in a ZEP (Appendix A.1). North Africans are five times more numerous (37%) in these schools than students of French origin (7%) and three times more numerous than Portuguese (12%). ZEP schools are also socially more homogenous than others and the proportion of children of immigrant origin is higher, standing at 30%, versus just 7% in non-ZEP collèges (Lacerda and Ameline, 2001). In these ZEP schools there is less emulation among students and progress is slower. Immigrants’ children also more frequently attend public schools than those of French origin (86% of Portuguese origin, 95% of North African origin, compared with 77% of French origin).

24Does educational level at entry to year 6 vary by origin? A good indicator is the mathematics and French results in the national evaluation tests taken on entering collège. We ran statistical models (ordinary least square regressions, OLS) and the results are given in Table 3. They consider, in order, migrant and geographical origin (Model 1), social and cultural origin (family socio-occupational status, each parent’s educational level, Model 2), student characteristics (gender and schooling history) and type of school (ZEP, public, private, Model 3). [10] The test scores are out of 68 in French and 78 in mathematics. For ease of interpretation we converted them to an average out of 20.
In both French and mathematics, school performance varies widely by parental education and migrant origin (Appendix A.3). Scores are well below the reference category when at least one of the parents is an unskilled manual, clerical or sales worker (2 points lower in French and mathematics than when parents are in an intermediate category) or when the father and, even more the mother, have never attended school (2 points lower than for holders of a CAP or BEP). Where the father is unemployed, the scores are 1.5 points lower, a situation in which students of North African origin are over-represented (Appendix A.1). Conversely, scores are higher if one of the parents holds a degree in higher education (2 points higher). Scores are nearly 1.5 points lower in French and 2 points lower in mathematics if the collège is in a ZEP (Appendix A.3), and very slightly lower in private schools (0.45 and 0.6 points, respectively).
Scores in French are 1.3 points lower on average for students of Portuguese origin and 2.3 points lower for those of North African origin (Table 3, Model 1) than for students of French origin (14 out of 20). [11] In mathematics, the gap is wider: respectively 1.5 and 2.9 points lower than the 13.5 out of 20 obtained by students of French origin (descriptive statistics on the scores are given in Appendix A.2). The children of mixed couples or whose parents were born French abroad or in the French overseas territories have scores close to those of French origin. So children with an immigrant background start collège with a much lower educational level in both French and mathematics.

Table 3

Impact of family and school characteristics on year 6 assessment scores in French and mathematics for students who entered year 6 in 1995 (OLS regressions)

Family characteristics Scores in French (out of 20) Scores in mathematics (out of 20) Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Family’s migratory origin French, born in France (ref.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 French born outside France or foreigners born in France 0.02 – 0.13 – 0.03 – 0.26 * – 0.44 ** – 0.33 ** Two Portuguese parents – 1.31 *** 0.05 0.23 – 1.47 *** 0.07 0.23 Two North African parents – 2.31 *** – 0.22 – 0.20 – 2.89 *** – 0.55 ** – 0.45 ** Two parents of other migratory origins – 2.21 *** – 0.93 *** – 0.54 ** – 2.11 *** – 0.71 *** – 0.25 Mixed-origin family – 0.30 * – 0.12 – 0.07 – 0.37 * – 0.18 – 0.11 Family’s socio-occupational status At least one higher-level occupation 0.11 0.01 0.33 ** 0.20 * At least one self-employed – 0.52 *** – 0.45 *** – 0.25 * – 0.18 Intermediate category (ref.) 0 0 0 0 Two skilled manual or clerical workers – 0.73 *** – 0.61 *** – 0.58 *** – 0.46 *** Mixed manual or clerical workers – 1.20 *** – 0.96 *** – 1.10 *** – 0.83 *** Two unskilled manual or clerical workers, or two inactive – 1.89 *** – 1.36 *** – 1.90 *** – 1.32 *** Father’s educational level (reference CAP) No schooling or non-response – 0.59 ** – 0.40 ** – 0.63 ** – 0.42 ** Primary, lower secondary, brevet – 0.33 *** – 0.14 * – 0.41 *** – 0.22 ** CAP-BEP (ref.) 0 0 0 0 Baccalauréat 0.48 *** 0.48 *** 0.61 *** 0.58 *** Higher education 0.79 *** 0.72 *** 0.84 *** 0.76 *** Mother’s educational level (reference CAP) No schooling or non-response – 1.15 *** – 0.53 ** – 1.25 *** – 0.63 *** Primary, lower secondary, brevet – 0.45 *** – 0.28 ** – 0.46 *** – 0.30 ** CAP-BEP (ref.) 0 0 0 0 Baccalauréat 0.72 *** 0.55 *** 0.79 *** 0.60 *** Higher education 0.62 *** 0.51 *** 0.86 *** 0.75 *** Father’s labour market status Active in employment (ref.) 0 0 0 0 Unemployed – 0.42 * – 0.22 – 0.61 ** – 0.39 * Sex Boy (ref.) 0 0 Girl 1.10 *** – 0.13 * In year 6, the student is Ahead (one year or more) 0.81 *** 0.86 *** Neither ahead nor behind (ref.) 0 0 One year behind – 2.89 *** – 3.00 *** More than one year behind – 2.37 *** – 2.65 *** School characteristics Non ZEP (ref.) 0 0 ZEP – 0.47 *** – 0.77 *** Type of school Public sector (ref.) 0 0 Private sector 0.04 0.02 Constant 13.95 *** 14.78 *** 14.25 *** 13.54 *** 14.38 *** 14.50 *** R2 (%) 3.7 19.2 33.1 4.3 21.5 31.4 *= significant at 0.10 level; ** = significant at 0.05 level; *** = significant at 0.01 level. Source: 1995 student panel and follow-up surveys (Family survey 1998, Youth survey 2002), MEN-DEP. Authors’ calculations. Interpretation: The scores of students of North African origin in the year 6 French assessment test are 2.31 points lower, on average, than those of French-origin students (Model 1); all other things being equal, the difference is no longer significant (Model 3).

Impact of family and school characteristics on year 6 assessment scores in French and mathematics for students who entered year 6 in 1995 (OLS regressions)

25The gap with respect to students of French origin narrows, however, when the social characteristics of the family are considered, and even disappears for children of Portuguese origin or of mixed couples (Model 2). The effect of social background and family environment persists after controlling for students’ schooling history (Model 3). Repeating a year at primary school thus does not enable students to catch up with classmates who have not repeated. Controlling for family characteristics, gender and type of school, those who repeated a year at primary school enter year 6 with a score 1 point lower in French and mathematics. And the rate of repeating at primary school is extremely high among children of immigrant background. In all, the scores in French obtained by immigrants’ children are comparable with those obtained by children of French origin, but mathematics scores are significantly (nearly half a point) lower for North African students. Note also that the children of immigrants, especially from North Africa, tend to be concentrated in homogeneous, socially disadvantaged neighbourhoods: for comparable characteristics, performance in a ZEP school is lower both in French (–0.5 points) and mathematics (–0.8 points).

Lower performance in French and mathematics in year 9

26How does school performance progress in collège? Attainment at the end of collège is measured by the scores obtained in continuous assessment for the brevet in French and mathematics (whatever the year in which they are obtained [12]). We constructed statistical models identical to the previous ones (Table 4). The differences between immigrant and French-origin children persist (Model 1). Students of North African origin obtain a score (out of 20) 1.5 points lower on average than those of French origin (–0.95 for Portuguese students) in the French language tests. [13] The gap is noticeably larger in mathematics. The coefficients associated with migrant and geographical origin are negative (and significant) for both French and mathematics scores.

Table 4

Impact of family and school characteristics on brevet continuous assessment scores in French and mathematics for students who entered year 6 in 1995 (OLS regressions)

Family characteristics Scores in French (out of 20) Scores in mathematics (out of 20) Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Family’s migratory origin French, born in France (ref.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 French born outside France or foreigners born in France – 0.13 – 0.25 – 0.22 * – 0.26 ** – 0.27 * – 0.49 ** – 0.42 ** – 0.48 ** Two Portuguese parents – 0.95 *** – 0.09 0.02 0.15 – 1.28 *** – 0.20 – 0.09 – 0.05 Two North African parents – 1.50 *** – 0.16 – 0.22 – 0.39 ** – 2.08 *** – 0.33 – 0.31 – 0.71 ** Two parents of other migratory origins – 1.06 *** – 0.40 * – 0.25 – 0.25 – 1.37 *** – 0.40 * – 0.14 – 0.41 Mixed-origin family – 0.19 – 0.07 0.00 – 0.06 – 0.45 ** – 0.25 – 0.13 – 0.23 Family’s socio-occupational status At least one higher-level occupation 0.02 – 0.01 – 0.11 0.17 0.08 – 0.05 At least one self-employed – 0.34 ** – 0.31 ** – 0.19 * – 0.28 * – 0.28 * – 0.13 Intermediate category (ref.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 Two skilled manual or clerical workers – 0.24 * – 0.21 * – 0.12 – 0.33 * – 0.29 – 0.17 Mixed manual or clerical workers – 0.58 *** – 0.51 *** – 0.33 *** – 0.93 *** – 0.80 *** – 0.57 *** Two unskilled manual or clerical workers, or two inactive – 0.91 *** – 0.71 *** – 0.48 *** – 1.41 *** – 1.09 *** – 0.79 *** Father’s educational level (reference CAP) No schooling or non-response – 0.21 – 0.13 – 0.03 – 0.59 ** – 0.50 ** – 0.41 * Primary, lower secondary, brevet – 0.14 * – 0.04 – 0.04 – 0.27 ** – 0.14 – 0.15 CAP-BEP (ref.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 Baccalauréat 0.41 *** 0.44 *** 0.31 ** 0.41 ** 0.41 ** 0.24 Higher education 0.71 *** 0.66 *** 0.45 *** 0.87 *** 0.82 *** 0.54 *** Mother’s educational level (reference CAP) No schooling or non-response – 0.40 ** – 0.10 – 0.13 – 0.22 0.13 0.01 Primary, lower secondary, brevet – 0.12 – 0.06 – 0.04 – 0.08 0.00 0.04 CAP-BEP (ref.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 Baccalauréat 0.50 *** 0.43 *** 0.28 ** 0.76 *** 0.62 *** 0.43 *** Higher education 0.73 *** 0.68 *** 0.44 *** 1.11 *** 1.00 *** 0.69 *** Father’s labour market status Active in employment (ref.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 Unemployed – 0.29 * – 0.19 – 0.16 – 0.31 – 0.15 – 0.13 Sex Boy (ref.) 0 0 0 0 Girl 1.37 *** 1.24 *** 0.28 *** 0.11 In year 6, the student is Ahead (one year or more) 0.98 *** 0.82 *** 1.10 *** 0.90 *** Neither ahead nor behind (ref.) 0 0 0 0 One year behind – 1.68 *** – 1.38 *** – 2.27 *** – 1.87 *** More than one year behind – 1.66 *** – 1.32 *** – 1.78 *** – 1.36 *** School characteristics Non ZEP (ref.) 0 0 0 0 ZEP 0.16 0.13 – 0.10 – 0.14 Type of school Public sector (ref.) 0 0 0 0 Private sector – 0.04 – 0.04 – 0.28 ** – 0.28 ** Indicator of parental aspirations Does not aspire to general baccalaureat (ref.) 0 0 Aspires to general baccalauréat 1.40 *** 1.84 *** Language spoken at home French only (ref.) 0 0 Most often another language – 0.12 0.45 * French and another language – 0.05 0.08 Constant 11.27 *** 11.47 *** 10.78 *** 8.85 *** 11.35 *** 11.53 *** 11.60 *** 9.08 *** R2 (%) 1.9 10.6 23.1 28.8 2.0 12.7 17.7 23.4 *= significant at 0.10 level; ** = significant at 0.05 level; *** = significant at 0.01 level. Source: 1995 student panel and follow-up surveys (Family survey 1998, Youth survey 2002), MEN-DEP. Authors’ calculations. Interpretation: The scores of students of North African origin in the brevet continuous assessment are 1.5 points lower, on average, than those of French-origin students (model 1); all other things being equal, the difference is only 0.39 points.

Impact of family and school characteristics on brevet continuous assessment scores in French and mathematics for students who entered year 6 in 1995 (OLS regressions)

27After controlling for family socio-occupational status and educational levels, students of Portuguese and North African origin no longer differ from those of French origin, whereas students of other origins still have slightly lower scores (Model 2). [14]

28Brevet scores are highly dependent on schooling history (Model 3). Students who repeated a year at primary school score 2 points less on average in French and nearly 3 points less in mathematics than non-repeating students (Appendix A.3). Repeating a year amplifies initial skill differences (Paul, 1996; Crahay, 2004). These variations persist even after controlling for all other factors (1.7 points less in French and 2 points less in mathematics). But level at entry to year 6 largely explains level in year 9. [15] Note that girls’ scores at year 6 are higher than boys’ in French and slightly lower in mathematics. By year 9 they have improved in mathematics, slightly overtaking boys, and maintained their advance in French.

29Low-educated immigrant parents find it hard to help their children with school work because of their poor command of French. Mothers often feel out of their depth as early as primary school, when reading and writing are being taught, and even more so at collège level (Brinbaum, 2002). Brevet scores are 1.2 points lower in French and 1.3 points lower in mathematics for children whose parents more often speak a language other than French at home (Appendix A.3). Yet the impact of a foreign language spoken at home on brevet scores is slight after controlling for all family characteristics, type of school attended and aspirations (Model 4). The effect of parents’ aspirations is high and strongly significant, however.

30Immigrants’ children repeat a year at collège less often than students of French origin (Brinbaum and Kieffer, 2005), but have more often repeated a year at primary school, suggesting that they may have caught up by the time they reach collège. However, although the performance gap remains stable in French, it noticeably widens in mathematics, particularly for students of North African origin, when schooling conditions at entry to collège are not considered (Models 1 and 2 in Tables 3 and 4). It narrows slightly, however, after controlling for years repeated at year 6 and the type of school attended. This implies a slight catching up during collège for the most disadvantaged students. Years repeated at year 6 and attendance at a ZEP school have a major negative effect on educational performance at the end of collège in both French and mathematics; however, the gap between students of North African and French origin does narrow slightly after controlling for family and school characteristics. From this point of view, the ZEPs are fulfilling their mission to some extent, given that progress is more difficult in these zones (Duru-Bellat and Mingat, 1988; Felouzis et al. 2005; Piketty and Valdenaire, 2006).

31In conclusion, educational inequality is largely forged at primary school, before the student enters collège. Inequality of performance among immigrants’ children is similar at the start and end of collège. The poorer performance of immigrants’ children at collège may thus be explained by families’ socio-occupational status, parents’ low educational level, fathers’ unemployment, type of school attended and repeated years at primary school. [16]
These families are a largely captive public for the educational opportunities available; they seldom attempt to escape their school catchment area and accept the school places that they are offered (van Zanten, 2001; Brinbaum, 2002; Beaud and Beaud-Deschamps, 2003). When immigrants are asked if they know that parents have a right of appeal at the end of year 9, 40% reply no, compared with 17% of parents of French origin (Family survey, 1998). Students of immigrant origin thus do not enter the higher secondary level with the same chances as those of French origin; their educational level remains lower on average. Their school careers are like obstacle races in which immigrants’ children have to run harder to catch up their initial lag.

IV – From collège to baccalauréat: track choice, failure and success

32At the end of the non-selective collège, students have a choice between two alternatives in year 10: an undifferentiated or a vocational track. At the end of year 10, for those who chose the undifferentiated track, another choice is made between a general baccalauréat and a technology baccalauréat. The vocational year 10 prepares students for a CAP or BEP [17] which may lead on to a vocational baccalauréat. We examine the choices made at these two points, and then the qualifications obtained, or not obtained, at the end of secondary schooling. Students’ performance, family characteristics, teaching methods and institutional factors all play a part in this complex process (Cousin, 1998; Duru-Bellat, 2002).

33The differential access to secondary tracks depending on students’ social background has been amply described in educational sociology. The choices made by students of immigrant origin have rarely been studied, with the exception of Vallet and Caille (1996a) and Felouzis (2003).

Immigrants’ children mainly enter vocational tracks

34The expansion of the baccalauréat was made possible by creating new vocational and technology tracks after the mid-1980s. Schools diversified: technology and vocational lycées created general education tracks alongside industrial and commercial ones, and general lycées created technology courses with a commercial focus. The choice of courses available is consequently less clearcut and can no longer be predicted from the type of school attended. The number of courses has increased, mainly in commercial specialities, and the Ministry of Education has restricted the creation of industrial courses for reasons of cost. The range of courses available locally affects students’ opportunities for choice.

35To analyse the distribution of students between the various secondary tracks according to origin, we first examine their situation in 2002 (Table 5), by which time all had completed the lower-secondary stage.

Table 5

Situation in 2002 of students who entered year 6 in 1995, by migrant origin, track, qualification obtained or reasons for leaving school

French origin Children of immigrants (total) Southern European origin North African origin Students enrolled in 2002 93.2 88.4 90.5 88.7 General track 41.9 27.0 28.6 24.5 Technological track 18.9 22.7 18.9 26.2 Vocational track 32.4 38.7 43.0 38.0 o/w classroom-based vocational 23.8 32.9 27.7 36.2 o/w apprenticeship 8.6 5.8 15.3 1.8 Students leaving secondary school 6.8 11.6 9.5 11.3 With a brevet 1.0 1.8 1.0 2.1 With a vocational diploma 2.7 2.3 1.1 1.9 Failed an exam 1.5 3.3 2.8 2.7 Left without sitting exam 1.7 4.2 4.6 4.6 Total 100 100 100 100 Source: 1995 student panel and follow-up surveys (Family survey 1998, Youth survey 2002), MEN-DEP. Authors’ calculations.

Situation in 2002 of students who entered year 6 in 1995, by migrant origin, track, qualification obtained or reasons for leaving school

36Seven years after entering year 6, just over one-quarter of students of immigrant background were following a general track (27% compared with 42% for those of French origin), in line with the aspirations expressed by their parents four years earlier, and rather fewer a technology track (23% compared with 19% for those of French origin). Students of North African origin, mainly attending vocational schools, rarely enter an apprenticeship. On the other hand, those of Portuguese origin, more inclined to prepare for a vocational qualification, are over-represented in these tracks, and particularly in apprenticeships. By this date, few students already had a vocational qualification (1% to 2.7% of the panel). A minority had dropped out of the educational system with no qualifications, especially among students of immigrant background (twice as many as of French origin) and of North African origin. [18] Students who left school with no qualifications did so either because they dropped out before the end of the year (mainly in the case of immigrants’ children of all origins), or because they failed their examinations. Boys and girls are represented in equal proportions.

Controlling for social background, a preference for the undifferentiated year 10

37To examine the process of choice over time, we constructed two series of logistic regressions (Table 6). One compares choice of an undifferentiated rather than vocational year 10 and the other compares the choice, after the undifferentiated year 10, of a general baccalauréat or a technology baccalauréat track. The groups of variables are introduced in the same way as for the previous regressions. The school performance indicator here includes brevet scores, age at year 6 (continuous variable) and time taken to complete college. [19]

Table 6

Impact of family and school characteristics of students who entered year 6 in 1995 on choice of class in year 10 and year 11 (binomial logit)

Family characteristics Track choice in year 10. Panel of students entering year 6 in 1995 (n = 12,138) Track choice in year 11 among students who chose undifferentiated year 10 (n = 7,144) General and technological track (vs. vocational or exits) General vs. technological track Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Family’s migratory origin French, born in France (ref.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 French born outside France or foreigners born in France 0.19 * 0.06 0.52 *** 0.42 ** 0.22 * 0.11 0.31 0.27 * Two Portuguese parents – 0.54 ** 0.44 ** 1.05 *** 1.08 *** – 0.38 0.14 0.48 0.56 Two North African parents – 0.41 *** 0.96 *** 1.65 *** 1.45 *** – 0.86 *** – 0.29 * 0.04 – 0.06 Two parents of other migratory origins – 0.43 *** 0.40 ** 1.08 *** 0.98 *** – 0.20 – 0.04 0.21 0.18 Mixed-origin family 0.09 0.22 * 0.61 *** 0.51 ** 0.18 0.12 0.27 * 0.21 Family’s socio-occupational status At least one higher-level occupation 0.49 *** 0.63 *** 0.54 *** 0.23 0.30 ** 0.25 * At least one self-employed – 0.31 *** – 0.26 * – 0.18 – 0.14 – 0.12 – 0.08 Intermediate category (ref.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 Two skilled manual or clerical workers – 0.34 *** – 0.29 ** – 0.25 * – 0.16 – 0.18 – 0.18 Mixed manual or clerical workers – 0.69 *** – 0.51 *** – 0.42 *** – 0.39 *** – 0.41 *** – 0.37 ** Two unskilled manual or clerical workers, or two inactive – 1.10 *** – 0.79 *** – 0.69 *** – 0.57 *** – 0.42 * – 0.37 * Father’s educational level (reference CAP) No schooling or non-response – 0.31 ** – 0.03 0.05 0.31 * 0.50 ** 0.56 ** Primary, lower secondary, brevet – 0.22 *** – 0.11 – 0.13 0.18 ** 0.23 ** 0.22 * CAP-BEP (ref.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 Baccalauréat 0.45 *** 0.56 *** 0.48 *** 0.35 *** 0.31 ** 0.29 ** Higher education 1.01 *** 0.87 *** 0.72 *** 0.77 *** 0.70 *** 0.63 *** Mother’s educational level (reference CAP) No schooling or non-response – 0.61 *** – 0.44 ** – 0.45 ** 0.18 0.25 0.07 Primary, lower secondary, brevet – 0.26 *** – 0.25 ** – 0.21 ** 0.12 0.10 0.11 CAP-BEP (ref.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 Baccalauréat 0.66 *** 0.31 ** 0.25 * 0.46 *** 0.35 ** 0.31 ** Higher education 0.92 *** 0.60 *** 0.49 ** 0.87 *** 0.77 *** 0.70 *** Father’s labour market status Active in employment (ref.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 Unemployed – 0.21 * 0.13 0.12 0.00 0.15 0.17 Student’s characteristics Track choice in year 10. Panel of students entering year 6 in 1995 (n = 12,138) Track choice in year 11 among students who chose undifferentiated year 10 (n = 7,144) General and technological track (vs. vocational or exits) General vs. technological track Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Sex Boy (ref.) 0 0 0 0 Girl 0.40 *** 0.36 *** 0.35 *** 0.34 *** Schooling history indicator (continuous) Age in year 6 – 1.39 *** – 1.26 *** – 0.67 *** – 0.62 *** Brevet score in French 0.27 *** 0.23 *** 0.32 *** 0.31 *** Brevet score in mathematics 0.24 *** 0.23 *** 0.16 *** 0.15 *** Time taken to complete years 6-9 3 years – 9.85 – 9.66 ns ns 4 years (neither ahead nor behind) (ref.) 0 0 0 0 5 years – 1.37 *** – 1.28 *** 0.06 0.12 6+ years – 2.46 *** – 2.20 *** 15.08 15.25 School characteristics Non ZEP (ref.) 0 0 0 0 ZEP – 0.04 – 0.06 – 0.30 * – 0.32 ** Type of school Public sector (ref.) 0 0 0 0 Private sector 0.00 0.01 0.16 * 0.16 * Indicator of parental aspirations Does not aspire to general baccalaureat (ref.) 0 0 Aspires to general baccalauréat 1.40 *** 0.77 *** Language spoken at home French only (ref.) 0 0 Most often another language 0.08 0.10 French and another language – 0.25 0.32 Constant 0.44 *** 0.28 *** 11.07 *** 9.66 *** 0.80 *** 0.26 ** 1.86 1.21 G2 16156.2 2655.6 9080.7 9459.6 9011.3 662.5 2802.5 2947.7 Degrees of freedom 5 19 28 31 5 19 27 28 *= significant at 0.10 level; ** = significant at 0.05 level; *** = significant at 0.01 level. Source: 1995 student panel and follow-up surveys (Family survey 1998, Youth survey 2002), MEN-DEP. Authors’ calculations. Interpretation: The coefficient estimated for individuals defined by the active modality indicates the influence of this modality, all other things being equal, with respect to the individuals defined by the reference modality. G2 (log-likelihood) serves to estimate the explanatory power of the model.

Impact of family and school characteristics of students who entered year 6 in 1995 on choice of class in year 10 and year 11 (binomial logit)

38The time taken to complete primary school and collège is a determining factor for choices at the end of year 9, as are school performance or the type of collège attended (Appendix A.3).

39For children of immigrant background, the overall probability of entering an undifferentiated year 10 (rather than a vocational year 10) is lower than for those of French origin (Model 1). This gap disappears after controlling for social background: the difference with respect to French-origin students narrows considerably and the chances of choosing general and technology baccalauréat tracks are slightly higher, particularly for students of North African origin (the coefficients relating to immigrants’ children are all positive here, see Model 2). Moreover, despite poorer school performance at collège, “all other things being equal” the differences between students of immigrant background and French-origin students grow even wider: controlling for social background and school performance, immigrant students are more likely to enter an undifferentiated year 10, particularly if they are of North African background (Models 3 and 4). Yet this population accumulates characteristics liable to restrict access to a general or technology baccalauréat track: low-educated and poorly qualified parents, high age at entry to year 6, poorer brevet scores, all of which increase the probability of entering a vocational track. Language spoken at home and type of school no longer have a specific effect (Model 4). Girls, whether or not of immigrant background, are more frequently directed towards general and technology baccalauréat tracks than boys. [20]

40The strategies adopted by these students and their families to escape the tracks that lead to manual or clerical jobs seem to coincide with those of their teachers (Vallet and Caille, 1996a; Felouzis, 2003). Opting for an undifferentiated year 10 track may also be the result of attending more socially homogeneous, more segregated collèges, particularly in ZEPs, where assessment and marking are more lenient (Duru-Bellat and Mingat, 1988; Felouzis et al., 2005).

V – Constrasting results at the end of secondary school

Boys drop out and girls succeed

44Taking account of differences in performance at collège and track choices in the lycée, how do students of immigrant background stand at the end of their school careers? Students may leave the school system in one of three ways: by dropping out early (early exit), failing an examination (forced exit) or passing their examinations (successful exit), in which case we will examine the type of qualification obtained. The following table shows the highest qualifications obtained at the end of secondary school [22] (Table 7).

Table 7a

Highest qualification obtained at the end of secondary school by students who entered year 6 in 1995, by migrant origin (%)

French origin Children of immigrants (total) Southern European origin North African origin All students No qualification 7.2 18.2 15.5 18.5 8.7 Left early 2.7 6.4 9.5 6.3 3.1 Failed exams 4.5 11.8 6.0 12.2 5.5 Qualification 92.8 81.7 84.5 81.5 91.3 Brevet 5.6 7.5 10.0 6.5 5.9 Vocational qualification 18.6 16.6 19.2 16.7 18.0 Baccalauréat 68.6 57.6 55.3 58.4 67.4 Total 100 100 100 100 100 Source: 1995 student panel and follow-up surveys (Family survey 1998, Youth survey 2002), DEPP and INSEE [producer], Centre Maurice Halbwachs [distributor]. Authors’ calculations. Note: Vocational qualifications include CAP, BEP and Brevet de technicien. The “baccalauréat” category includes all baccalauréats. They are differentiated in Table 8.

Highest qualification obtained at the end of secondary school by students who entered year 6 in 1995, by migrant origin (%)

45Leaving with no qualification is 2.5 times more frequent among students of immigrant background than among those of French origin, and their baccalauréat pass rate is 10 percentage points lower. Gender differences are marked (Table 7b). Let us look more closely at these results.

Table 7b

Highest qualification obtained at the end of secondary school by students who entered year 6 in 1995, by migrant origin and gender (%)

French origin Children of immigrants (total) Southern European origin North African origin All students Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls No qualification 9 5 24 12 20 11 28 9 12 6 Qualification 91 95 76 88 81 89 73 91 89 94 Brevet 6 5 10 5 12 8 7 6 7 5 Vocational qualification 21 16 20 13 26 12 22 11 20 16 Baccalauréat 64 74 46 70 43 69 43 74 62 74 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Source: 1995 student panel and follow-up surveys (Family survey 1998, Youth survey 2002), DEPP and INSEE [producer], Centre Maurice Halbwachs [distributor]. Authors’ calculations. Note: Vocational qualifications include CAP, BEP and Brevet de technicien. The “baccalauréat” category includes all baccalauréats. They are differentiated in Table 8

Highest qualification obtained at the end of secondary school by students who entered year 6 in 1995, by migrant origin and gender (%)

46First, we note that 9% leave with no qualification, a figure which rises to 19% among immigrants’ children. The extremely worrying extent of these failures confirms the pessimistic view that educational inequalities related to origin are a persisting problem.

47Among immigrants’ children, exam failure (forced exit) is much more common than early exit (12% versus 6%), except for students of Portuguese origin, who are the largest group to leave the education system without sitting an examination. Half of those who leave with a brevet go on to the lycée but fail their baccalauréat or vocational qualification.

48The failure rate for vocational qualifications is generally higher than for general qualifications (cf. DEPP annual statistics). This difference in selectivity may be due to the fact that vocational qualifications are not an exclusively educational matter. Governed by agreements with the relevant industrial and trade sectors, they reflect the level of knowledge specific to a trade or occupation and regulate access to qualified worker status. However, students of North African origin fail twice as often as those of Portuguese origin on these vocational tracks, partly because of poorer school performance, but also because they feel that the choices of vocational education and of course options have been forced upon them (Brinbaum and Kieffer, 2005; Zirotti, 2006). In the follow-up youth survey (2002), 21% of students of North African origin stated that their track choice preference in year 10 had been refused, compared with 14% of those of French origin. In all, 39% of the former had a track choice preference refused at some stage in their educational trajectories, compared with 23% of those of French origin. [23] Other reasons may include difficulty in finding an internship or internship supervisor (Beaud and Pialoux, 2003; Dhume and Sagnard-Haddaoui, 2006) – a situation where labour market discrimination becomes a direct reality – since the internship report goes towards their final grade.

49The CAP and BEP used to be the most widely obtained qualifications, but now only account for 16% of qualifications in this cohort (two-thirds BEP, one-third CAP), for students of both French or immigrant origin. However, controlling for parental socio-occupational status, fewer children of immigrant manual or clerical workers obtain these qualifications than French-origin students (only half as many among the children of unskilled manual workers). The subjects studied also differ: students of North African origin are more concentrated in management-business courses and less in industrial or craft ones, unlike those of Portuguese origin, who train for construction, hairdressing and craft trades (Okba and Lainé, 2005).

50Most students in the cohort (67%), of whatever origin, obtain a baccalauréat, however. The baccalauréat pass rate is 88% for children with parents in higher-level occupations, 78% for those with parents in intermediate occupations, 61% for children of skilled manual or clerical workers, and 43% for those whose parents have low or no qualifications – a 45 point gap between the two extremes. More than half the students of Portuguese or North African origin (55% and 58% respectively) pass the examination. [24] Variations due to social background are consequently greater than those due to immigrant origin, which may seem surprising given the structural differences between the population groups (immigrants are concentrated in unskilled employment). Among students whose parents are unskilled manual or clerical workers, those of immigrant background even have a higher pass rate than those of French origin (46% and 40%).

51The secondary school career and school performance at collège have a major influence on success in the baccalauréat. The path through primary school has a lasting impact on a student’s entire subsequent school career and chances of passing the baccalauréat (Coudrin, 2006). Similarly, repeating a year in collège, or attendance at a ZEP school in year 9, reduces the likelihood of success in the exam (Appendix A.3).

52The difference in the pass rate for boys and girls requires further examination. Dropouts (exit with no qualifications) are more often boys (12%) than girls (6%). A particularly high number are boys of North African origin: 28% leave school with no qualifications, 35% with a brevet at most, compared with 9% and 15% of girls of the same origin (which confirms Okba and Lainé, 2005). Students of Portuguese origin also leave the school system earlier than others, particularly boys, probably because some find jobs during their vocational training or apprenticeship. [25]

53Although boys are more often directed to vocational tracks than girls, the proportion who obtain qualifications is no higher than among girls. Girls keep up better in the school system and are better at adapting their choices to their results, which are admittedly higher on average. They are also less often faced with failure in the vocational tracks.
The baccalauréat pass rate is higher among girls of whatever origin, but the gender gap widens in the second generation: 74% for girls and 64% for boys of French origin, compared with 70% and 46% of immigrants’ children (74% and 43% for students of North African origin and 69% and 43% for those of Portuguese origin). The gender gap is widest, therefore, among students of North African origin, with girls 31 percentage points ahead of boys.
The reasons for girls’ greater success may be a positive attitude towards school and a greater desire for emancipation (Zéroulou, 1988; Hassini, 1997; Guénif-Souilamas, 2000). Boys’ poor results are more difficult to explain. Reluctant enrolment in certain vocational courses and difficulty in finding an internship may be contributing factors.

What type of baccalauréat?

54What impact does social and geographical origin have on the type of baccalauréat obtained? With the democratization of the baccalauréat, social inequality has shifted towards the type of examination (Duru-Bellat and Kieffer, 2008): 69% of children with parents in higher-level occupations gain a general baccalauréat, compared with 13% of children of unskilled manual and clerical workers; conversely, 3% of the former obtain a vocational baccalauréat and 14% of the latter. The technology baccalauréat is obtained more by children with parents in intermediate occupations, or who are self-employed or skilled manual and clerical workers, in fairly similar proportions (between 19% and 22%).

55Only 20% of students of North African origin leave the lycée with a general baccalauréat, compared with 24% of those of Portuguese origin and 38% of students of French origin (Table 8). On the other hand, they are more numerous than the others in obtaining a technology baccalauréat (27%, 17% and 19%). In the case of the vocational baccalauréat, there is only a narrow gap between students of French or immigrant origin. It is among Portuguese-origin students that the proportion obtaining the vocational baccalauréat is highest (14%). The baccalauréat failure rate is twice as high for the children of immigrants than for those of French origin.

Table 8

Proportion of baccalauréat-holders and type of baccalauréat obtained, by migrant origin of students who entered year 6 in 1995 (%)

French origin Immigrant origin (total) Southern European origin North African origin Proportion of baccalauréat-holders 68.6 57.6 55.3 58.4 General baccalauréat 38.4 26.4 24.3 20.2 Technological baccalauréat 19.4 20.4 17.2 27.0 Vocational baccalauréat 10.8 10.8 13.8 11.2 Baccalauréat failure rate (among students who sit the exam) 6.6 14.4 14.2 15.7 Source: 1995 student panel and follow-up surveys (Family survey 1998, Youth survey 2002), DEP and INSEE, [producer], Centre Maurice Halbwachs [distributor]. Authors’ calculations. Interpretation: Among French-origin children entering year 6 in 1995, 68.6% obtained a baccalauréat and 38% a general baccalauréat.

Proportion of baccalauréat-holders and type of baccalauréat obtained, by migrant origin of students who entered year 6 in 1995 (%)

56To examine in greater detail the respective roles of social background and educational factors, we constructed further logistic models (Table 9).

Table 9

Impact of family and educational characteristics on the baccalauréat pass rate of students who entered year 6 in 1995, and the probability of passing a general rather than technology baccalauréat (binomial logits)

Family characteristics Baccalauréat obtained Panel of students entering year 6 in 1995 (n = 12,124) General baccalauréat obtained (rather than technological baccalauréat) among students who chose an undifferentiated year 10 (n = 6,648) Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Family’s migratory origin French, born in France (ref.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 French born outside France or foreigners born in France 0.06 – 0.10 0.24 * 0.20 0.23 * 0.10 0.24 * 0.20 Two Portuguese parents – 0.58 ** 0.21 0.17 * 0.14 – 0.46 * 0.10 0.41 0.55 Two North African parents – 0.47 *** 0.73 *** 1.04 *** 0.88 *** – 0.94 *** – 0.28 – 0.04 – 0.11 Two parents of other migratory origins – 0.49 *** 0.06 0.40 * 0.28 0.14 0.17 0.33 0.31 Mixed-origin family – 0.06 – 0.04 – 0.05 – 0.10 0.16 0.14 0.44 * 0.42 * Family’s socio-occupational status At least one higher-level occupation 0.09 – 0.04 – 0.10 0.27 ** 0.42 *** 0.35 ** At least one self-employed – 0.36 *** – 0.37 ** – 0.34 ** – 0.19 * – 0.20 – 0.14 Intermediate category (ref.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 Two skilled manual or clerical workers – 0.43 *** – 0.40 *** – 0.38 – 0.15 – 0.19 – 0.19 Mixed manual or clerical workers – 0.69 *** – 0.45 *** – 0.40 *** – 0.41 *** – 0.47 *** – 0.42 ** Two unskilled manual or clerical workers, or two inactive – 0.97 *** – 0.56 *** – 0.50 *** – 0.60 *** – 0.43 * – 0.36 * Father’s educational level (reference CAP) No schooling or non-response – 0.43 ** – 0.28 – 0.26 0.29 0.51 * 0.62 ** Primary, lower secondary, brevet – 0.22 *** – 0.07 – 0.08 0.09 0.19 * 0.19 * CAP-BEP (ref.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 Baccalauréat 0.48 *** 0.44 *** 0.40 ** 0.30 0.28 * 0.27 * Higher education 0.88 *** 0.70 *** 0.62 *** 0.10 0.69 *** 0.64 *** Mother’s educational level (reference CAP) No schooling or non-response – 0.51 *** – 0.18 – 0.20 0.12 0.31 0.20 Primary, lower secondary, brevet – 0.21 ** – 0.12 – 0.10 0.16 * 0.14 0.15 CAP-BEP (ref.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 Baccalauréat 0.50 *** 0.14 0.10 0.52 *** 0.39 ** 0.37 ** Higher education 0.82 *** 0.47 ** 0.41 ** 0.85 *** 0.74 *** 0.67 *** Father’s labour market status Active in employment (ref.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 Unemployed – 0.27 * – 0.10 – 0.11 – 0.11 0.08 0.09 Student’s characteristics Baccalauréat obtained Panel of students entering year 6 in 1995 (n = 12,124) General baccalauréat obtained (rather than technological baccalauréat) among students who chose an undifferentiated year 10 (n = 6,648) Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Sex Boy (ref.) 0 0 0 0 Girl 0.26 *** 0.23 ** 0.33 *** 0.34 *** Schooling history indicator (continuous) Age in year 6 – 0.93 *** – 0.87 *** – 0.72 *** – 0.67 *** Brevet score in French 0.16 *** 0.14 *** 0.34 *** 0.32 *** Brevet score in mathematics 0.19 *** 0.18 *** 0.18 *** 0.18 *** Time taken to complete years 6-9 3 years – 9.99 – 9.89 ns ns 4 years (neither ahead nor behind) (ref.) 0 0 0 0 5 years – 0.87 *** – 0.81 *** – 1.00 *** – 0.93 *** 6+ years – 1.90 *** – 1.76 *** – 1.94 ** – 1.70 ** School characteristics Non ZEP (ref.) 0 0 0 0 ZEP – 0.17 – 0.18 – 0.45 ** – 0.48 ** Type of school Public sector (ref.) 0 0 0 0 Private sector – 0.13 – 0.13 0.20 * 0.18 * Indicator of parental aspiration Does not aspire to general baccalaureat (ref.) 0 0 Aspires to general baccalauréat 0.65 *** 0.83 *** Language spoken at home French only (ref.) 0 0 Most often another language 0.18 – 0.10 French and another language 0.01 0.19 Constant 0.90 *** 1.07 *** 8.16 *** 7.46 *** 0.70 *** 0.14 * 1.70 1.04 G2 12455.3 1463.3 5673.5 5751.2 8431.2 672.0 3089.8 3232.1 Degrees of freedom 5 19 28 31 5 19 28 31 *= significant at 0.10 level; ** = significant at 0.05 level; *** = significant at 0.01 level. Source: 1995 student panel and follow-up surveys (Family survey 1998, Youth survey 2002), DEPP and INSEE [producer], Centre Maurice Halbwachs [distributor]. Authors’ calculations. Interpretation: The relative chance of obtaining a baccalauréat for a student of North African origin who entered year 6 in 1995 is lower than that of a French-origin student (– 0.47, model 1). It is higher when family background is taken into account (0.73, model 2). Compared with a French-origin student, this student, who entered an undifferentiated year 10, less frequently obtains a general baccalauréat than a technological baccalauréat (– 0.94, model 1), but the difference is no longer significant after controlling for family background.

Impact of family and educational characteristics on the baccalauréat pass rate of students who entered year 6 in 1995, and the probability of passing a general rather than technology baccalauréat (binomial logits)

57Overall, for students of immigrant origin, the chances of obtaining the baccalauréat are clearly lower than for students of French origin (Model 1). However, in relative terms, this does not hold true for North Africans (Models 2 and 3): despite educational characteristics (late entry to year 6, poor performance in brevet continuous assessment) and social characteristics (low-educated parents, with unksilled jobs, father unemployed) that should represent a considerable handicap, these students have a significantly higher probability of obtaining the baccalauréat than other students of the same social background. Linguistic factors (language spoken at home) do not seem to affect the pass rate (the population is a selected one), whereas the role of parents’ aspirations is considerable (Model 4).
Although students of North African origin who enter the undifferentiated year 10 less often obtain a general baccalauréat than a technology one, the difference with respect to French-origin students is not significant once family characteristics are controlled for. Overall, obtaining a general baccalauréat is correlated with a privileged social background, with parents in higher-level occupations or who are themselves baccalauréat-holders (Model 2). All other things being equal, girls obtain the general baccalauréat more often than the technology baccalauréat; but girls of North African origin more often obtain the technology baccalauréat. The type of baccalauréat obtained is strongly correlated with school performance: a year repeated in primary school or collège or attendance at a ZEP school in year 9 reduces the probability of obtaining a general baccalauréat, whereas high scores in French and mathematics at the brevet or attendance at a private school raise that probability (Model 3). [26]
A major gap emerges, therefore, between students of French origin and those of immigrant background. The latter’s poorer school performance rules out the choice of a general track, which is reserved for better students. The distinction between these categories of student concerns not only whether or not they pass the baccalauréat but also which type of baccalauréat. The tracks with lower social prestige are filled with students from working-class backgrounds, including those of immigrant origin.
A complementary approach is to use the odds ratio. [27] We calculated the probability of obtaining the baccalauréat for all students in the panel by origin, and then only for the group with parents in manual or clerical occupations, to take account of the greater social homogeneity of students of immigrant origin (Table 10).

Table 10

Inequalities of access to the baccalauréat and the general baccalauréat for students of immigrant origin compared with those of French origin (odds ratios)

Student’s origin Baccalauréat obtained for students entering year 6 in 1995 General baccalauréat obtained Students who entered year 6 in 1995 Students in undifferentiated year 10 Baccalauréat holders Children of immigrants 0.62 0.56 0.64 0.81 Southern Europe 0.57 0.50 0.63 0.96 North Africa 0.64 0.40 0.39 0.79 Children of manual and clerical workers Children of immigrants 0.93 0.86 0.76 0.89 Southern Europe 0.98 1.13 1.08 1.21 North Africa 1.16 0.89 0.68 0.80 Source: 1995 student panel and follow-up surveys (Family survey 1998, Youth survey 2002), DEPP and INSEE [producer], Centre Maurice Halbwachs [distributor]. Authors’ calculations. Interpretation: The relative chance for a student who entered year 6 in 1995, whose parents are from southern Europe, of obtaining a baccalauréat is lower than that of a French-origin student (0.57). His/her relative chance of obtaining a general baccalauréat is half that of a student of French origin (0.50). This difference decreases when the student chooses an undifferentiated year 10 (0.63) and disappears for baccalauréat holders.

Inequalities of access to the baccalauréat and the general baccalauréat for students of immigrant origin compared with those of French origin (odds ratios)

58The odds ratios calculated for all students include career inequalities (track choice at the end of year 9 and dropouts) and performance inequalities (selectivity of qualifications). In order to evaluate the various types of inequality, we then calculated the odds ratio of obtaining a general baccalauréat for students who entered the undifferentiated year 10, which provides the candidates for that examination, [28] and then for all baccalauréat-holders in order to capture the differential selectivity of the types of baccalauréat.

59On the whole, immigrants’ children are less likely to pass the baccalauréat than students of French origin (odds ratio 0.62). For the general baccalauréat, they are half as likely (odds ratio 0.56) and even less likely if they are of North African origin (odds ratio 0.40). Most of this inequality is social in nature: taking only the children of manual and clerical workers, odds ratios are close to unity. [29]

60For students who entered the undifferentiated year 10, the gap is noticeably smaller between students of immigrant origin as a whole and those of French origin (odds ratio 0.63), reflecting the fact that much of the inequality occurs at the point of track choice at the end of collège. However, students of North African origin maintain their relative distance behind those of French origin. They are then often advised to take the technology baccalauréat, since some of them do not have a high enough level to follow a general track. For these students, therefore, inequality occurs at two points, at the start and end of year 10.

61The inequalities observed among baccalauréat-holders concern the type of baccalauréat obtained (general rather than vocational or technology) and their differential selectivity. They are much less marked than those for the panel as a whole, but still greater for students of North African than of Portuguese origin. On the other hand, taking only students with parents in manual and clerical occupations, the inequalities are similar to those of students entering year 6: those of North African origin more often obtain a technology baccalauréat and less often a vocational one.

62Immigrant parents express high educational aspirations at the end of collège that have a positive effect at various points in their children’s educational trajectories: from track choice at lycée to passing the baccalauréat, after controlling for social and family background, national origin, gender of child and school performance (Tables 6 and 9). Particularly high among North African families, these aspirations – an integral component of migration dynamics – positively affect their children’s educational trajectories, since they are contributory factors in success. [30] Beaud and Beaud-Deschamps (2003) also note in their study of manual workers at Sochaux-Montbéliard (most of whom are of North African origin) an “over-investment in education (including post-secondary education) among working-class families hit hard by unemployment, wage insecurity and the pauperization of their living environment”. Students’ strategies are a reflection of this pressure to succeed. The choice of a technology track is thus more a fallback strategy or a forced adaptation by students, their families and teachers, in response to poorer performance on average. This option may be interpreted as a reasonable alternative that maintains their chances of further education.

63Two discrepancies emerge in North African families: between parents’ aspirations and their social background, and between their children’s actual school careers and their initial aspirations. First, the desire to choose the general track contrasts with that of French manual worker parents, who prefer vocational and technology tracks (although their aspirations too are changing). Second, their children’s educational trajectories, usually in vocational or technology tracks, diverge from the general tracks aspired to and tend to be aligned with those of students with a similar socio-occupational background. Parents’ aspirations lead to the choice of technology tracks rather than vocational ones (BEP, vocational baccalauréat). On the other hand, the educational trajectories of students of Portuguese origin correspond to some extent to their positive representation of vocational tracks, especially apprenticeship, but there is an increase in popularity of general tracks and a trend towards greater similarity of track choice (Brinbaum and Kieffer, 2005).
This study gives a picture of students’ objective school careers, captured through a combination of subjective dimensions (such as aspirations, perseverance, perception of school) and specific population characteristics (gender, social, migrant and geographical origin).
Four major types of educational trajectory can be identified. The first type is voluntary early leaving. Students of Portuguese origin are slightly more likely to belong to this group. Some of them have a different experience of school, since leaving the educational system often coincides with early entry into the labour market. The second type is forced leaving after failing examinations: this is more frequent among students of North African origin. It reflects both their perseverance (they wait for the examination result) and the difficulties they have faced since primary school. They have more often been denied their first choice of school and perceive their school experience as a social relegation. Boys form the majority in both these types. The third type concerns students who, because of actual or perceived poor performance, adapt or readjust their ambitions. These include students of North African origin who obtain the technology baccalauréat, among whom girls form a small majority. Their educational trajectories diverge from their parents’ aspirations, and represent a “least bad” compromise. For some, choosing the technology track is a strategic move to maintain their chances of going on to university. And fourth, there are the students whose careers are in line with their aspirations, either on vocational tracks (more often boys of Portuguese origin) or on general tracks (more often girls of Portuguese or North African origin) and who do well in them.

Conclusion

64This study presents new findings from a broadened analysis of complete secondary school careers (successive track choices, types of track and qualifications obtained). We confirm earlier findings (Vallet and Caille, 1996a), relating in particular to the early difficulties of immigrants’ children and their more frequent choice, all other things being equal, of the undifferentiated year 10. A clear differentiation is observed between the technology and vocational baccalauréats. Far from showing homogeneity, school careers vary substantially by country of origin (Portugal or North Africa) and by gender, with more marked differences between students of immigrant origin than between those of French origin. Most high achievers among immigrants’ children are girls, particularly of North African origin. Is it right to say that these inequalities are related to origin? The inequalities of school performance are mainly social, supporting the theories of social reproduction. Disadvantaged by low incomes and poor job security combined with a difficult educational environment due to urban segregation, immigrant families present many characteristics unfavourable to their children’s success at school. From this point of view, students of North African origin have school careers characterized by “all other things being unequal” (Héran, 1996). Affirmative action policies to reduce the injustice caused by these factors, with greater resources going to ZEPs, have not produced the hoped-for results (Meuret, 1994; Bénabou et al., 2004). More thought should be given to the financial and material resources directed towards students in difficulty in the very early years of education, since the foundations of inequality are largely laid down in primary or even nursery school. The difficulty experienced by some students in catching up their initial lag, even after repeating years, calls for a rethink of the methods used to accompany children who start failing at a very young age.

65Unlike parents from the middle and higher social categories, whose educational strategies are better suited to the way the system operates (see work by Agnès van Zanten), immigrant parents possess very few social or educational resources to help their children at school. Their children state more often than others that they had no help from their parents or information from their teachers and career advisors at key points of track choice (Brinbaum and Kieffer, 2005). In particular, students of North African origin guided towards vocational tracks often express a feeling of injustice about school decisions, perceived rightly or wrongly as discrimination against them. Failure at school is a painful experience for them, with the feeling of being “excluded from within” (Bourdieu and Champagne, 1999; Beaud, 2002). These findings challenge the way our education system manages the processes of track choice and access to courses in vocational tracks, because these students are guided towards courses that do not always correspond to their wishes, that may be socially undervalued, and that do not always guarantee a job. Some who have looked for internships in the business world have been exposed to a lack of offers and negative attitudes that reveal discrimination in the labour market (Dhume and Sagnard-Haddaoui, 2006). This is more often the case for North Africans than for Portuguese. Unlike the former, the latter may be helped by family and community networks.

66On the other hand, track choice for year 10 is less selective with respect to students of North African origin (controlling for socio-occupational and educational background, gender, earlier performance and type of school attended), which indicates, at national level, an absence of discrimination against these students at the year 10 track choice stage. [31] The mechanism is different from that reflecting social inequality in education: immigrant origin lowers school performance early on (primary school effect) and raises it when track choices are made after collège (secondary school effect).

67Some sociologists have highlighted institutional practices that are more lenient towards students of immigrant background, providing a “more permeable filter” (Beaud and Beaud-Deschamps, 2003; Felouzis 2003) that encourages students to choose an undifferentiated year 10 even though their academic level is not high enough to guarantee success at the end of secondary school and beyond. Another explanation may be the high aspirations of immigrant parents, especially North Africans, and their children’s perseverance in staying in more academic tracks in order to avoid unskilled jobs and unemployment and to anticipate discrimination in the labour market. Despite limited initial resources, some families push very hard in this direction.
Students of North African origin are then mainly guided towards technology tracks. Is this a “second chance or deferred elimination?” (Felouzis et al., 1995). On the one hand, they raise their chances of obtaining a baccalauréat, usually technology, while on the other, low-performing students access more demanding tracks. “Second generation” children thus participate in the trend towards educational democratization and many obtain the baccalauréat. Educational standards have indeed risen considerably from one generation to the next, particularly between mothers and daughters. The daughters grasp the new opportunities offered by educational expansion, make the right track choices and end up doing better.
Some of the cohort that entered year 6 in 1995 are now in higher education. In 2002, most students of immigrant background expressed the desire to pursue a university course, usually a BTS or DUT (two-year vocational qualifications), whatever the track they had taken in secondary school. However, they do not leave secondary school with the baccalauréats that offer an equal chance of success in higher education (Thomas, 2003). Frickey and Primon (2002) used the Generation 1998 survey data to show that dropping out of university or leaving without a qualification are more frequent among students of immigrant origin, especially North African. For those who graduate, their degree “does not guarantee equal access to the labour market”. These students have suffered social inequalities in education and segregation at school that, for some, restrict their progress and equality of access to qualifications, particularly the high-prestige ones. Upon entry into the labour market, this segregation is compounded by discrimination (Silberman and Fournier-Mearelli, 2006), blocking their aspirations to upward social mobility. To ensure that their school careers are not an uphill struggle, young people of immigrant origin should have equal opportunities for success at school.