Bi-ethnic Dutch students: educational outcomes, social functioning and experiences

Due to migration and increased interethnic partnering, the number of bi-ethnic children in Europe and the United States is substantial and increasing. This means that schools encounter an increase in bi-ethnic students. However, little attention is paid to the specific situation of these students by policy makers, researchers, school leaders and teachers.
This dissertation focuses on the educational outcomes, social functioning and experiences of bi-ethnic children in the Netherlands and thereby seeks to contribute to the sensitivity, awareness and understanding of bi-ethnic students. We focused on children who have one parent from an ethnic majority background and one parent from an ethnic minority background.
First, based on data on 12,841 sixth-grade students in primary education
of the national Dutch cohort study (COOL^5–18), this dissertation demonstrated that bi-ethnic students cannot simply be grouped with mono-ethnic students. Bi-ethnic students’ educational outcomes and social functioning differ from those of mono-ethnic minority students. Bi-ethnic students were also found to differ from mono-ethnic majority students, in the sense that, unlike mono-ethnic majority students, bi-ethnic students’ educational outcomes and social functioning were not related to the ethnic diversity of the student population in their schools.
Second, it was shown how bi-ethnic students differ demographically, socio-economically and culturally, and it was argued that therefore they cannot be referred to as a single group.
Third, an interview study showed that, despite these differences among bi-ethnic students and although students differed in their educational experiences, bi-ethnic students also had similar experiences that were related to their bi-ethnic backgrounds.