Most Irish secondary school students are not as determined to continue to third level as their immigrant classmates, a new study shows.
Nor did Irish pupils' parents have the same educational aspirations for their children as the parents of immigrants, according to the research published yesterday.
Immigrant students account for almost 3 per cent of the total number of pupils in secondary schools and the study's authors say education can play a vital part in overcoming the marginalisation of immigrant children in Irish society.
Forty-four pupils, 22 Irish and 22 immigrant, participated in the study conducted between December 2001 and March 2002 by the Children's Research Centre at Trinity College Dublin.
The immigrant children came from 30 countries from the European Union, eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. All had moved to Ireland in the past six years and were pupils at four schools in the greater Dublin area.
Many immigrant students saw higher education as "the only option open to them and felt it was necessary to gain third-level qualifications to achieve in Ireland," the study concluded.