Page 169 - Ana Kozina and Nora Wiium, eds. ▪︎ Positive Youth Development in Contexts. Ljubljana: Educational Research Institute, 2021. Digital Library, Dissertationes (Scientific Monographs), 42.
P. 169
components of positive youth development among native students ...
than their peers do. One reason for this might be that the PISA 2018 test
focused on reading comprehension of Slovenian texts, which is not a lan-
guage in which immigrant students are proficient. The PISA results gene
rally reveal that the gap between immigrant and native students is larger in
reading achievement than in mathematics or problem-solving and associ-
ate this gap with the language barrier (Schleicher, 2015). Moreover, the low-
er perception of self-efficacy (self-efficacy regarding global issues, self-con-
cept of reading) among students with an immigrant background in our
survey could be attributed to the extent that other students with a similar
background and their own struggles at school are observed because stu-
dents with an immigrant background in Slovenia do not thrive compared
to native students with respect to academic achievements.
There were no significant differences among the student groups con-
cerning resilience and meaning of life. Still, the PISA 2018 results show
that on average immigrant students are more resilient (OECD, 2019a)
and express a weaker purpose in life than native students (OECD, 2019b).
Nonetheless, first-generation immigrants express higher levels of cogni-
tive flexibility/adaptability than their second-generation immigrant peers,
which may be explained by the fact that first-generation immigrant stu-
dents were directly exposed to two cultures, while their second-generation
peers have grown up in Slovenia and thus had only indirect exposure to
their cultural heritage. As shown in Peer and Medica’s (2017) case study, the
development and maintenance of immigrant students’ non-Slovenian cul-
tural identity are limited to the private sphere of their lives. This might af-
fect their level of cognitive flexibility (Tadmor & Tetlock, 2006).
As regards connection, Slovenian second-generation immigrants
show the most concerning results. Their perception of teacher support, pa-
rental emotional support, and co-operation among students at the school is
the lowest among all three student groups, which might indicate some level
of social alienation. These results are even more concerning in the light of
Wortley’s (2009) findings that social alienation is a risk factor associated
with immigrant youth criminality and Silber and Bhatt’s (2007) process
model of radicalisation where social alienation is one of the triggers for the
pre-radicalisation phase.
First-generation immigrants, on the other hand, express the highest
perception of teachers’ support in Slovenian language lessons, which may
be attributed to their poorer comprehension of the Slovenian language and
the fact these students are entitled to different forms of support as part of
169
than their peers do. One reason for this might be that the PISA 2018 test
focused on reading comprehension of Slovenian texts, which is not a lan-
guage in which immigrant students are proficient. The PISA results gene
rally reveal that the gap between immigrant and native students is larger in
reading achievement than in mathematics or problem-solving and associ-
ate this gap with the language barrier (Schleicher, 2015). Moreover, the low-
er perception of self-efficacy (self-efficacy regarding global issues, self-con-
cept of reading) among students with an immigrant background in our
survey could be attributed to the extent that other students with a similar
background and their own struggles at school are observed because stu-
dents with an immigrant background in Slovenia do not thrive compared
to native students with respect to academic achievements.
There were no significant differences among the student groups con-
cerning resilience and meaning of life. Still, the PISA 2018 results show
that on average immigrant students are more resilient (OECD, 2019a)
and express a weaker purpose in life than native students (OECD, 2019b).
Nonetheless, first-generation immigrants express higher levels of cogni-
tive flexibility/adaptability than their second-generation immigrant peers,
which may be explained by the fact that first-generation immigrant stu-
dents were directly exposed to two cultures, while their second-generation
peers have grown up in Slovenia and thus had only indirect exposure to
their cultural heritage. As shown in Peer and Medica’s (2017) case study, the
development and maintenance of immigrant students’ non-Slovenian cul-
tural identity are limited to the private sphere of their lives. This might af-
fect their level of cognitive flexibility (Tadmor & Tetlock, 2006).
As regards connection, Slovenian second-generation immigrants
show the most concerning results. Their perception of teacher support, pa-
rental emotional support, and co-operation among students at the school is
the lowest among all three student groups, which might indicate some level
of social alienation. These results are even more concerning in the light of
Wortley’s (2009) findings that social alienation is a risk factor associated
with immigrant youth criminality and Silber and Bhatt’s (2007) process
model of radicalisation where social alienation is one of the triggers for the
pre-radicalisation phase.
First-generation immigrants, on the other hand, express the highest
perception of teachers’ support in Slovenian language lessons, which may
be attributed to their poorer comprehension of the Slovenian language and
the fact these students are entitled to different forms of support as part of
169
