by Francesca Borgonovi
Senior Analyst



Large-scale migration is starting to radically alter the makeup of today’s classrooms, bringing a new wave of social, cultural and linguistic diversity to schools in destination countries. Results from the latest publication of the Strength through Diversity project, The Resilience of Students with an Immigrant Background: Factors that Shape Well-Being, reveal that in 2015, almost one in four 15-year-old students in OECD countries reported that they were either foreign-born or had at least one foreign-born parent. Indeed, in Luxembourg and Switzerland, more than one out of every two 15-year-old students reported that they were either foreign-born or had at least one parent who was; and between 2003 and 2015, the share of students who had either migrated or had a parent who migrated across international borders grew by an average of six percentage points across OECD countries.

The ability of societies to preserve and promote social cohesion in the presence of large migration flows depends on their capacity to integrate immigrants. While migration flows can create difficulties for host communities, they also represent an opportunity for countries with ageing native-born populations that face labour and skills shortages. Effective education and social policies are essential for successfully integrating migrant children into society and unlocking the potential benefits of migration.

Schools often act as an early point of contact between young immigrants and their host societies, helping to determine their ability to participate in the labour markets of host countries, contribute to welfare arrangements, and feel part of their communities. This new OECD report is the first of its kind because it examines the overall resilience – “resilience” being the ability to thrive academically, socially and emotionally in adverse circumstances – of students with an immigrant background as they integrate into education systems. The report identifies both the risk factors that prevent immigrant students from successfully integrating and the protective factors that enable these students to flourish.

Many students with an immigrant background fail to achieve the academic, social and emotional outcomes that are comparable to those achieved by their native peers.

Despite the adversities they face, many students with an immigrant background actually overcome the various disadvantages that often accompany displacement, and display high levels of academic, social, emotional and motivational resilience. For example, as much as 49% of first-generation and 61% of second-generation immigrant students achieve at least baseline levels of proficiency in the three core PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) subjects of reading, mathematics and science; and as much as 59% of first-generation and 63% of second-generation immigrant students report feeling a strong sense of belonging at school. Crucially, many students with an immigrant background appear to be motivated to make the most of their educational opportunities: 71% of both first- and second-generation immigrant students report high levels of achievement motivation.

But many students with an immigrant background fail to achieve the academic, social and emotional outcomes that are comparable to those achieved by their native peers; they struggle to overcome socio-economic disadvantages, language barriers and the difficulty of forging a new identity.

Education systems play a key role in enabling students with an immigrant background to reach their academic potential, feel part of their communities and be satisfied with their lives. Findings from this new report suggest that when education systems adequately support students with an immigrant background, other students can benefit too. The growing diversity that arises from international migration can be a great opportunity for education systems, forcing teachers to rethink their pedagogical approaches and teaching styles. Doing so will better equip them to cater to the needs of each student, whether the student has an immigrant background or not. At the same time, if teachers and educators do not have the right support, they may not be able to adapt to these changes, and all students may suffer as a result.

Schools in many communities are already working to promote the resilience of students with an immigrant background, often jointly with other social service providers and civil society, and with direct financial and logistical support from national, regional or local governments. The Strength through Diversity project has been facilitating dialogue among countries through its dedicated Policy Forum series, but more can be done. This new OECD report can help educators build the resilience, and ease the integration, of all students with an immigrant background.

by Anna Choi 
Analyst, Economist/Analyst at CFE/LESI (Local employment, skills, and social innovation)



The notion of well-being and happiness has increasingly taken centre stage in our societies over the recent years. As Nobel Prize Economist Daniel Kahneman puts it, "there is a huge wave of interest in happiness among researchers. There is a lot of happiness coaching. Everybody would like to make people happier."

In addition to physical health, it has become clear that emotional health is vital for our overall well-being. Children who are in a good state of emotional well-being have higher odds of growing into adults who are happy, confident, and enjoy healthy lifestyles, consequently contributing towards a better society and improving the overall well-being of the population.

Perhaps this emphasis on well-being may reflect the increasing prevalence of emotional ill-being and mental health problems. Across OECD countries, almost one in four adults report experiencing more anger, worry and sadness than enjoyment, restedness and smiling or laughter every day. What is more alarming is that around 10-20% of children and adolescents around the world suffer from mental health problems, and an increasing number of children and adolescents have reported experiencing anxiety, depression, and difficulties sleeping over the recent decades. Emotional well-being during childhood and adolescence is particularly important as nearly one in two mental health problems among adults begin by age 14. A just released Trends Shaping Education Spotlight looks at this in more detail.

Given the importance of emotional well-being in early life, these trends are quite worrying for researchers, policy makers, teachers, and parents worldwide. This is perhaps reflected in the fact that schools and education systems around the world are increasingly concerned with their students' well-being. Since children and adolescents spend most of their time in schools, their learning environments can have a significant impact on their emotional well-being, in addition to the things they experience outside of school.

Schools and education systems around the world are increasingly concerned with their students' well-being.

Different factors can be conducive or detrimental to students' well-being, and many of these factors are interrelated. Stable emotional support and positive relationships with parents can act as a protective buffer during difficulties in life such as chronic stress, exposure to bullying, anxiety, and depression. Similarly, happier students tend to report having good relationships with their teachers, and those who receive high levels of support from their teachers tend to handle stress better at school. Outside of school, engaging in other activities such as volunteering can help foster co-operation and interpersonal trust. Socialising with friends outside of school is also positively associated with life satisfaction, sense of belonging at school, happiness and self-esteem.

While it is difficult to isolate a single winning strategy to enhance children’s and adolescents' emotional well-being, effective prevention programmes for depression, anxiety and suicide tend to all have something in common at their core: cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). The behavioural component within CBT focuses on coping strategies, social problem-solving skills, and interpersonal relationships, as well as the cognitive component involved in helping adolescents identify and gain control over thought processes and patterns in order to be more optimistic.  Similarly, CBT programmes targeted towards lowering anxiety have a related behavioural component that helps participants block avoidance behaviour, and a cognitive therapy component that emphasises the monitoring of feelings and behaviours and efforts towards cognitive restructuring to change anxious thoughts and processes.

It is important to involve and collaborate with different actors—schools, teachers, and parents—to improve the effectiveness of different prevention programs and thus enhance children’s and adolescents’ well-being. An open line of communication between teachers and parents can raise the awareness of the problem as some children may be reluctant to openly discuss the challenges and emotional difficulties they are going through, whether it be depression, anxiety, or bullying. It is also important to provide support and training to teachers and parents to monitor and detect children's symptoms and behaviours early on (including depression, bullying, chronic stress, and other behavioural problems).

If not properly addressed, issues of mental health and well-being may not only impact individuals at the school level, but also have far-reaching effects on the society at large.