School qualifications of children of immigrant descent in Switzerland

Author(s) : Rosita Fibbi, Mathias Lerch, Philippe Wanner

Source : http://dx.doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9780814707425.003.0006

Abstract:

This chapter considers the full range of labor-migrant groups in Switzerland; some of these groups hail from nearby, “culturally close” countries such as France and Italy, whereas others originate in more distant countries such as Turkey. There are complex patterns of educational attainment and employment by country of origin, generational position, gender, and other factors, but several findings stand out. When it comes to educational attainment, which in a common Swiss view accounts for second-generation disadvantage in the labor market, the culturally close groups do not necessarily outperform the culturally distant ones, despite prevailing stereotypes. In the labor market, the children of all the immigrant groups suffer from a higher risk of unemployment compared to native Swiss, even when they hold Swiss citizenship. But unemployment hits the second generation from the culturally distant groups especially hard, and this finding makes plausible the notion of discrimination.

Keywords:   Switzerland, culturally close groups, culturally distant groups, labor market, unemployment, educational attainment, discrimination, immigrant groups, labor-migrant groups