The Achievement of Spanish Speaking Students in Secondary Schools in England

Y

15

Foreign Countries; Spanish Speaking; Minority Group Students; Secondary School Students; Urban Schools; Language Usage; Low Achievement; Geographic Location; Student Characteristics; Underachievement; Barriers; Poverty; Student Mobility; At Risk Students; Achievement Gap; Educational Attainment; English (Second Language); English Language Learners; Language Fluency; Socioeconomic Status; Gender Differences

United Kingdom (London); Europe; Latin America

10.1080/15348431.2021.1899925

1534-8431
1532-771X

This research aims to examine Spanish-speaking students' attainment to improve our knowledge about students at the end of secondary school in England. The sample consisted of students who completed the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in inner London Local Authority. The findings of the analysis of GCSE results by language spoken at home suggest that, overall, students who speak Spanish language do less well than other groups, and their low attainment is a key concern for policymakers and teachers. However, while this is true overall, there were wide differences in performance when broken down into European speakers and Latin American speakers. The empirical evidence suggest that European Spanish speakers do better that Latin American Spanish speakers. A number of factors were identified in the underachievement of Spanish students, including the language barrier, poverty, and pupil mobility rate. Policy implications for data collection and further research are discussed in the final section.

As Provided

2023

EJ1390675