The NUIG Whitaker Institute study, which focused on Galway as the most culturally diverse area in the State, says this will result in a significant “under-representation” of children of migrants in third-level institutions.
The research found non-migrant children were twice as likely to sit higher level Leaving Certificate mathematics than Irish-born children of foreign-born parents.
Non-migrant children are also 2.25 times more likely to sit higher level Leaving Certificate science than Irish-born children of foreign-born parents.
The study by Dr Valerie Ledwith and DrKathy Reilly at NUIG’s school of geography and archaeology found 66.7 per cent of non-migrants planned to attend university, compared to 56.2 per cent of migrant peers. They attributed this trend to a “regime of power relations that privilege the position of Irish nationals” when it comes to school enrolment and attendance.
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The research also shows that young migrants are less likely to take Junior Certificate subjects at higher level, which restricts the student to sitting that subject at ordinary level for the Leaving Certificate.
