Publication Types:

Sticking to the core or going beyond? The Austrian Freedom Party ́s educational approach in a longitudinal perspective

Journal ArticleSSCI
Oliver Gruber, Philipp Schnell
Journal of Contemporary European Studies
Publication year: 2023

Although populist radical right parties (PRRPs) are actively studied in recent years, few research has addressed their approach to education policy. Previously not considered one of their signature issues, this paper argues that education has become important for PRRPs too. In a case study of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), one of the most longstanding and successful PRRPs in Western Europe, we explore key pillars of the FPÖ’s educational positions and their development over time. Drawing on qualitative content analysis of party programs, election manifestos and plenary debates from 1990 to 2020, our analysis shows that the policy area of education has indeed become an ideological battleground for the FPÖ. Its educational positions are largely grounded in the ideological core of PRRPs and comprise a fundamental critique of mainstream parties’ dominance in educational institutions (anti-mainstream); a nativist division on all levels of education (nativism); the advocacy of merit-based educational institutions coupled with authoritarian instruments of schooling (merit); and a plea for more liberalisation and competition in schools (liberalisation). Over time, positions become more nuanced, albeit only within the already established traits. These findings corroborate theoretical arguments for the influence of growing party age and government experience on PRRPs’ positions.

Unequal pathways. School-to-work trajectories for children of Turkish and Western-Balkan origin in Switzerland and Austria

Journal Article
Schnell, Philipp; Fibbi, Rosita
Swiss Journal of Sociology, Volume 42, Issue 2, 265-288
Publication year: 2016

This paper investigates educational and occupational pathways of children of Turkish and Western-Balkan origin and of the majority population in Austria and Switzerland. Using a representative sample of 2186 respondents living in two Swiss and two Austrian urban areas, our results show that descendants of immigrants have less chances to follow a constant successful path from education to occupation in both countries, mainly because successful trajectories are determined by the parent’s socioeconomic status. However, young adults of Turkish and Western Balkan origin in Switzerland are more often upward mobile than the majority group. Altogether, our results indicate slightly greater chances for upward mobility among young adults in Switzerland in comparison to Austria.

Getting ahead. Educational and occupational trajectories of the 'new' second-generation in Switzerland

Journal ArticleSSCI
Schnell, Philipp; Fibbi, Rosita
Journal of International Migration and Integration, Volume 17, Issue 4, 1085-1107
Publication year: 2016

This paper examines the educational and occupational trajectories among second-generation immigrants of Turkish and Western-Balkan origin in Switzerland. Using a representative sample of 1107 respondents in two Swiss urban areas, the findings reveal that descendants of immigrants have reduced chances to follow a constant successful path from education to occupation, which is mainly determined by parental socioeconomic status. However, young adults of Turkish and Western Balkan origin are significantly more often upward mobile than the majority group, a pattern that is robust against a range of controls. We find parental monitoring and family cohesion to be positively related with upward mobility. Moreover, second-generation immigrants are more likely to be upwardly mobile than starting high in the education system but subsequently moving downwards—a profile that is more frequent among Swiss origin youth. Our multivariate results indicate that a lack of intense parent–child communication and perceived discrimination in school are affecting this downward process.

The Academic Achievements of Immigrant Youths in New Destination Countries: Evidence from Southern Europe

Journal ArticleSSCI
Schnell, Philipp; Azzolini, Davide
Migration Studies, Volume 3, Issue 2, 217-240
Publication year: 2015

This article examines academic achievements of immigrant youths in four new immigration countries: Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The analysis based on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) of 2009 and 2012 reveals large educational achievement gaps between immigrant children and natives in all four south European countries. The achievement gaps shrink substantially after accounting for differences in family backgrounds. The drawbacks faced by immigrant children in these four new immigration countries are due to fewer economic and material resources being available to them. On the other hand, the educational background of parents does not account for immigrant−native differences in academic performance. This stands in contrast to many traditional European immigration countries in which a lack of educational resources explains larger parts of the educational disadvantages of immigrant children. Our findings provide empirical evidence for the very precarious socio-economic integration of adult immigrants in new destination countries who, despite their relatively strong educational credentials, are placed into the lowest occupational positions. Such weak occupational attainments among the parental generation translate into a lack of material resources and investments available to families to foster their children’s education.

Place Attachment and Social Ties - Migrants and Natives in Three Urban Settings in Vienna

Journal ArticleSSCI
Schnell, Philipp; Kohlbacher, Josef; Reeger, Ursula
Population, Space and Place, Volume 21, Issue 5, 446-462
Publication year: 2015

With ongoing immigration from ‘all over the world’, European cities are realising that the local level is gaining importance as a setting for interethnic coexistence. In this article, we investigate the attachment of migrants and natives to their local context in three neighbourhoods (one better‐off, two more deprived) in Vienna that differ in contextual, structural, and socio‐economic characteristics. We ask how the place attachment of natives and migrants is related to weak and strong social ties. In all three neighbourhoods, we found a majority of residents reported high or medium levels of attachment proving that urban neighbourhoods are still important contexts for local residents. A closer look revealed differences across groups and research areas: The strongest place attachment is displayed by natives in the middle‐class area of Laudongasse, with migrants being significantly less attached, but still more than migrants (and natives) in the two deprived settings. In social housing (Am Schöpfwerk), migrants are more attached than natives, whereas in Ludo‐Hartmann‐Platz, the difference is not significant. The first result is that obviously deprivation reduces individual place attachment. In contrast to previous studies we found that socio‐demographic factors are not relevant, it is social contacts that are important in explaining local attachment. For natives and migrants alike, close ties in the neighbourhood raise local attachment. Small talks are relevant for migrants but not for natives. This is in line with previous studies emphasising the special relevance of weak ties for migrants in supporting the integration process in a new environment.

Family involvement and educational success of the children of immigrants in Europe. Comparative perspectives

Journal Article
Schnell, Philipp; Fibbi, Rosita; Crul, Maurice; Montero-Sieburth, Martha
Comparative Migration Studies, Volume 3, Issue 10
Publication year: 2015

Recent literature has emphasised the importance of family involvement within immigrant families in determining their children’s educational pathways. On the one hand, the focus on family involvement and the transmission of familial resources becomes more important when disentangling ethnic educational inequalities for second-generation youth. On the other hand, particular practices of family involvement seem to counterbalance disadvantaged origins and become the driving force for educational success. However, few, if any, studies systematically explore the importance of family involvement for educational success by children of immigrants from an international comparative perspective. This introduction paper attempts to fill this gap. In addition to previewing the contents of the articles found in this issue, we include a comparative review of the main communalities found in the contributions of this special issue. The paper concludes with suggestions for future comparative research on family involvement and educational success by children of immigrants in Europe.

Behind the scenes. Family involvement and educational achievement of second-generation Turks in Austria, France and Sweden

Journal Article
Schnell, Philipp
Comparative Migration Studies, Volume 3, Issue 10
Publication year: 2015

This article explores school-related involvement strategies within Turkish families in Austria, France and Sweden and their linkages with educational achievements of their children. Using data from the TIES survey, results show that the educational attainment of second-generation Turks in Austria is much more dependent on various activities of support provided by their parents when compared to their counterparts in France and Sweden after holding family background characteristics constant. Besides, the educational success of second-generation Turks in Austria is reliant on the extra support they receive from older siblings beyond parental involvement and education background. No such significant effects were observed in either France or Sweden. The paper further reveals that second-generation Turks are more reliant on educational support from their parents than are the children of majority families within Austria. The paper suggests that these different findings across countries have to be read in the light of interaction mechanisms with institutional settings of the given education systems.

Turkish migrants and their descendants in Austria: Patterns of exclusion and individual and political responses

Journal Article
Sievers, Wiebke; Atac, Ilker; Schnell, Philipp
Migration Letters, Volume 11, Issue 3, 263-274
Publication year: 2014

Turkish immigrants and their descendants have become the main target of antiimmigrant political mobilization in Austria since the 1990s. They have come to epitomize the image of the Oriental enemy and the Muslim other. Based on these discursive constructions, Muslims in general, and Turks in particular, have often been described as unwilling to integrate into Austrian society. The articles in this special issue show not only that these discourses and exclusionary attitudes may result in discriminatory practices towards Turkish immigrants and their descendants in Austria, but also that the alleged unwillingness to integrate may be explained by the lack of effort made by the Austrian government and Austrian institutions to integrate this group.

The social wellbeing of second-generation Turks in two Austrian cities

Journal Article
Schnell, Philipp
Migration Letters, Volume 11, Issue 3, 300-315
Publication year: 2014

The most recent Austrian Integration Report indicates that a substantial proportion of Turkish immigrants do not feel at home in Austria. Whether these lower levels of social well-being also apply to the Turkish first, second or follow-up generations in Austria is uncertain. This article aims to fill this gap by asking how the Turkish second generation perceives their social inclusion into Austrian society. Results based on the TIES survey reveal that social well-being is largely determined by immigrants’ socioeconomic achievements as well as by experiences of discrimination in their educational and occupational trajectories and daily life. Intergenerational progress is also found to be positively related with social well-being but at a much lower level.

Success against all odds: Educational pathways of disadvantaged second-generation Turks in France and the Netherlands

Journal Article
Schnell, Philipp; Crul, Maurice; Keskiner, Elif
Education Inquiry, Volume 4, Issue 1, 763-785
Publication year: 2013

By drawing on comparative analyses of successful second-generation Turks from disadvantaged family backgrounds in France and the Netherlands, this article examines pathways and mechanisms that lead to educational success against the backdrop of structural and familial disadvantages. We foreground the experiences and practices of successful second-generation Turks in both countries and demonstrate the importance of institutional arrangements and their interactions with individual resources to account for their success. We use data from the “The Integration of the European Second Generation” (TIES) survey to reconstruct school careers and to inventory opportunities and constraints presented to them in the most important selection processes. We illustrate our findings with life stories drawn from qualitative interviews with TIES respondents in both settings. Combining the results of both quantitative and qualitative data analysis allows us to unravel the mechanisms of the educational success of second-generation Turks from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Strong ties inside and outside the neighbourhood. An exploratory analysis of the spatial dimension of ego/alter relations in three urban settings in Vienna

Journal Article
Kohlbacher, Josef; Reeger, Ursula; Schnell, Philipp
Finisterra XLIV (96), 43-64
Publication year: 2013

Neighbourhood embeddedness in six European cities: Differences between neighbourhood types and immigrant background

Journal ArticleSSCI
Schnell, Philipp; Kohlbacher, Josef; Reeger, Ursula
Polish Sociological Review, Volume 180, Issue 4, 523-544
Publication year: 2012

This paper analyses neighbourhood embeddedness of immigrant and non-immigrant populations in six European cities. We define neighbourhood embeddedness as an individual level concept and distinguish two main dimensions: place and network embeddedness. The neighbourhood embeddedness concept provides us with the possibility to study attitudinal and behavioural aspects of individuals related to the place of living. Using data from the ‘Generating Interethnic Tolerance and Neighbourhood Integration in European Urban Spaces’ (GEITONIES) project, we explore communalities and differences in the degree of embeddedness and its underlyingmechanisms for immigrant and non-immigrant residents across a set of different neighbourhood types. Our findings suggest that neighbourhoods are still important focal points of social life. But immigrants are characterized by higher levels of neighbourhood embeddedness than native residents which are mostly related to the strong link between perceived feelings of attachment to the people in the neighbourhood and the place as such.

Educational Achievement Gaps between Immigrant and Native Students in Two “New Immigration Countries”: Italy and Spain in comparison

Journal ArticleSSCI
Azzolini, Davide; Schnell, Philipp; Palmer, John R.
ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volume 643, Issue 1, 46-77
Publication year: 2012

The authors use 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data to determine how immigrant children in Italy and Spain compare with native students in reading and mathematics skills. Drawing on the vast empirical literature in countries with traditionally high rates of immigration, the authors test the extent to which the most well-established patterns and hypotheses of immigrant/native educational achievement gaps also apply to these comparatively “new” immigration countries. The authors find that both first- and second-generation immigrant students underperform natives in both countries. Although socioeconomic background and language skills contribute to the explanation of achievement gaps, significant differences remain within the countries even after controlling for those variables. While modeling socioeconomic background reduces the observed gaps to a very similar extent in both countries, language spoken at home is more strongly associated with achievement gaps in Italy. School-type differentiation, such as tracking in Italy and school ownership in Spain, do not reduce immigrant/native gaps, although in Italy tracking is strongly associated with immigrant students’ test scores.