| dc.description.abstract | From 2006 to 2010, the experiences, views and future plans for Oslo youths were investigated by the LUNO survey (Young in Oslo Longitudinal). One of the main goals of the survey was to obtain knowledge about differences and similarities between adolescents with and without immigrant background. Oslo is the city in Norway with the largest proportion of youths with immigrant background in the population, and is therefore particularly suitable for a study with such a purpose. Half the children born in Oslo in 1992 participated in the study. Three data collections were conducted, from 9th grade in lower secondary school to 2nd grade in upper secondary school. This report is a broad presentation of findings from the LUNO survey. The purpose of the report is threefold. First, we investigate differences and similarities between adolescents with and without immigrant background in key areas such as friendships, family, education and future plans. Second, we investigate differences and similarities between youth with background from different countries. Third, we try to uncover explanations for understanding the differences we find. The report shows that there are similarities between adolescents with and without immigrant background when it comes to choosing secondary education and plans for tertiary education. A clear majority chooses a program in senior high school that leads toward tertiary education, and over fifty percent have plans to pursue tertiary education. The report shows significant differences when it comes to friendship, sense of learning environment at school and the process of applying for upper secondary education. Young people without immigrant background have fewer friends with immigrant background than the proportion of the immigrant population in the various parts of Oslo indicates. While youth with immigrant background have the most positive experience of the learning environment in 10th grade in lower secondary school, youth without immigrant background have the most positive experience in 2nd grade in upper secondary school. Compared with adolescents without immigrant background, young people with immigrant background experience the application for upper secondary education as more difficult. They sought information and help from several sources, and they were subsequently less satisfied with their choice of studies. Within these areas, the report contributes new knowledge. Below, we present more detailed findings from the report's five main chapters. Integration and sense of belonging In this report, we use four different measures to indicate integration and sense of belonging among youth with immigrant background: whether they feel Norwegian or not, their language skills in Norwegian when starting school, social interaction between young people with and without immigrant background and experiences of discrimination and racism. The report shows that young people with immigrant background look at themselves more as foreigners than Norwegians. This applies in particular to young people who immigrated to Norway after the age of seven, but also among Norwegian born immigrant youths more than half think of themselves as foreigners. About fifty percent of the adolescents with immigrant background report that their oral Norwegian was very good when they started school. This applies to both the Norwegian born immigrant youths and those who immigrated to Norway before the age of seven. Among adolescents who immigrated to Norway after the age of seven, about half reported that their oral Norwegian was poor. The report finds that poor language skills when starting school has a long term negative effect on grades. Furthermore, the majority of the youths with immigrant backgrounds report that they speak Norwegian with their friends, but there are few who primarily speak Norwegian at home. The report shows some indications of social segregation between adolescents with and without immigrant background. A clear majority of young people without immigrant background primarily have friends with similar backgrounds. This also applies to districts in Oslo with a high proportion of immigrants, where young people without immigrant background have fewer friends with immigrant background than the population composition suggests. Similar tendencies are also found among adolescents with immigrant background, but not nearly as significant. About fifty percent report that their friends either have Norwegian background or that they have an equal amount of friends with and without immigrant background. In neighborhoods with a low proportion of immigrants, they socialize more often with youths with Norwegian born parents. The majority of young people in Oslo with immigrant background have experienced being perceived as foreign by people around them. When we ask those who have been perceived as foreign whether they have been exposed to discriminatory actions, such as unfair or degrading treatment by other children or adults, few claim to have experienced this. However, nearly half the adolescents with immigrant background claim that they at least once have been exposed to something they experienced as racism. Many also say they have experienced derogatory media coverage of a self-selected group they identify with. This is particularly prevalent in country groups with a high proportion of Muslims. Parents and family The report shows that the vast majority - both among adolescents with and without immigrant background - state that their parents think it’s important that they finish high school, that they are interested in their schoolwork and that their parents think it is important that they pursue tertiary education. The differences in how young people with and without immigrant background experience their parents' view on their choice of secondary education are also small. A clear majority states that their parents believe that the adolescents own wishes and interests are important when making the choice, and that their parents are positive about the choice they did. Analyses show that youths with immigrant background in some areas experience greater expectations from their parents regarding school. This in particular applies to expectations that the adolescents do well in school, and that they pursue higher education. Young people with immigrant background also experience more often that their parents had a strong opinion about their choice of secondary education. Furthermore, there are major differences between adolescents with and without immigrant background when it comes to family learning environment in preschool age. This includes being read for by their parents, playing to learn numbers and talking about numbers and letters to learn reading and doing math. The biggest difference is when it comes to being read for. While nearly seventy percent of adolescents without immigrant background reports that their parents often read aloud for them before they started school, about twenty percent of the young people with immigrant background reports the same. Adolescents with and without immigrant background come from very different socio-economic backgrounds, which could help explain the discrepancy. However, we find no support for this hypothesis. Differences in socio-economic background do not contribute to explaining the differences in being read for by the parents in preschool age. A clear majority of young people reports that their family is characterized by cohesion and few arguments. Still, adolescents with immigrant background generally experience less conflict and a greater feeling of closeness in their families compared to youth without immigrant background. In particular this applies to young people from Turkey/Northern Africa/Middle-East, Pakistan and central and eastern Asia. The absence of open conflict between parents and children in these families can also be understood as indicating that such behavior is not accepted to the same extent as in families with Norwegian born parents. School grades and choice of upper secondary school In line with previous research, it was found that adolescents with two Norwegian born parents have better grades than young people from immigrant families. The difference between the two groups can be explained by differences in socio-economic background, self-rated skills in Norwegian and being read for by the parents as a child. Furthermore, there was a weak correlation between having friends with a Norwegian background and school grades – a higher proportion of friends with Norwegian background were related to better grades. Adolescents who have immigrated to Norway after the age of seven performed poorer in school, which is consistent with several previous studies. The impact of having immigrated to Norway after the age of seven on school grades were reduced when self-rated skills in Norwegian and being read for as a child were included in the analysis. Whether young people live in neighborhoods where a high or low proportion of the population have immigrant background was not related to school performance and the choice of upper secondary education. There were some differences between different areas of the city, but these may not necessarily be attributed to the proportion of the population with immigrant background. Neighborhoods that differ according to the proportion of people with immigrant background, also differ in the proportion of the population with higher education. This makes it difficult to say whether the differences in, for example, school performance between areas of the city actually are due to the proportion of the population with immigrant background, or if it is the education level of the population that is of importance. The proportion of young people seeking admission to upper secondary education that leads to tertiary education is clearly higher in Oslo than in the rest of Norway. This applies to adolescents both with and without immigrant background. There are only minor differences between the groups in the choice of upper secondary education. Young people with background from central and eastern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa more often than adolescents with Norwegian born parents select programs that lead to tertiary education. Otherwise, no country groups differ from youth with Norwegian born parents. Compared to youth without immigrant background, young people with immigrant background were more often dissatisfied with the education program they attended in 2nd grade at upper secondary school. Furthermore, there were more youths with immigrant background who stated that it had been difficult to choose education program. Those who had a difficult time choosing upper secondary education, were also less satisfied with the program they attended in 2nd grade. Whether the youths had gotten into their primary choice when applying for upper secondary education was not related to satisfaction. Learning environment in school At least fifty percent of the youths reported that they enjoy school and that they learned a lot of exciting things. After the transition from lower to upper secondary school, the satisfaction with school declined among adolescents with immigrant background. The development went in the opposite direction among those without such background. Also in terms of perceived support from teachers and experiences with bullying, young people with immigrant background had a more negative development during this time period. Overall, these findings indicate that adolescents with immigrant background on average have a more positive experience of the learning environment in lower secondary school than in upper secondary school. Young people without immigrant background experience the transition differently, and have the most positive experience in upper secondary school. Socio-economic background, age at immigration, Norwegian language skills, having experienced that the parents tried to influence the choice of education program in upper secondary school and perceived satisfaction with the education program were relevant to the changes in satisfaction with school from lower to upper secondary school. The differences in perceived learning environment may be of importance for understanding why young people with immigrant background have a higher risk of not completing upper secondary school. The proportion of adolescents who spent much time on homework was significantly higher among adolescents with immigrant background than among those without. Differences were also found between youth with background from different countries. The proportion of adolescents who spent more than two hours daily on homework were significantly higher among youth with background from Turkey, Asia and Africa than among youth with Norwegian born parents. Adolescents with background from central and eastern Asia spent the most time on homework. However, we found that those who spent much time on homework did not have better grades than those who spent less time. Adolescents with and without immigrant background have roughly the same perception of their performance in the teaching situation in school, despite differences in school achievement. A possible reason for not finding any differences, may be that differences in performance level between the schools in Oslo mean that young people primarily compare themselves with others with similar background and performance level as themselves. Future plans The proportion with plans of pursuing tertiary education is roughly the same among adolescents with and without immigrant background. There are no differences in the percentage that change their aspirations from lower to upper secondary school. School achievements are significantly relevant to whether the youths plan to pursue tertiary education or not. Among adolescents without immigrant background, we find that those with high socio-economic background have the highest aspirations. We find no such association for adolescents without immigrant background. Compared to adolescents without immigrant background, more of the adolescents with such background think it will be difficult to get a job, even with tertiary education. There is also a significant increase in the proportion who thinks this will be difficult from lower to upper secondary school. Compared with youths with two Norwegian born parents, all the other immigrant groups are more pessimistic when it comes to future job opportunities. We find that poor grades in school, dissatisfaction with the education program in upper secondary school, a stronger identity as foreigner than Norwegian and perceived racism are related to pessimism with regards to job opportunities. The report also examines young people's plans and expectations in other areas than education and future occupation. Both among adolescents with and without immigrant background very few imagine that they will be divorced, while over fifty percent expect to own their own home. Furthermore, slightly less than fifty percent are fully confident that they are going to have a good and happy life. The differences in these areas between adolescents with and without immigrant background are small. However, adolescents with immigrant background feel to a much greater extent that they are obligated to take care of their family and parents in the future. We also find significant differences between adolescents with different background from different countries. Young people from Pakistan are the ones most likely to feel future commitment to their family and parents. | en |
