Educational performance of young immigrants in Hong Kong, Macao and Vancouver

Abstract

The influx of school-age Chinese immigrant children to Hong Kong, Macao and Vancouver In recent years has caused a concern to local schools and educators. The change of learning environment and how it relates to school performance is a topic useful for explaining school success or failure among the groups of immigrant children. One way to explore the factors affecting school performance is to adopt a system model with variables under a four-domain design. The individual, family, school, and peer effect are major factors that cause school performance variations. The first aim of this study was to determine if any of the four domains could be related to school performance. The results of simple correlation indicated that there were four variables (future aspiration, school attachment, after-school activity participation, and peer influence) significantly associated with school performance of the three groups of immigrant children. Family variables were all insignificantly associated with school performance. The second aim of this study was to determine if the variables under the four domains could predict school performance. The results of the multiple regression indicated that there were six variables (gender, future aspiration, intention of stay, school attachment, after-school activity participation, school or other trip participation) that predicated school performance. The third aim of this study was to determine if there was a significant difference between different groups of immigrant children. The results of the t-test indicated that there was no significant difference between the mean school performance scores of groups with entrance examination and those that did not have entrance examination. Another t-test also revealed that there was no significant difference between the mean school performance scores of groups that entered to preferred class after migration and those that entered to not-preferred class. A one-way AN OVA test of three groups assigned to different grade upon arrival, moreover, found insignificant mean school performance among the groups in lower, just-right or higher grade. The fourth aim of this study was to examine the difference of school performance in the two surveys of the three cities. The results of t-test indicated no significant difference between the mean school performance scores of the two surveys in the Hong Kong and Vancouver but a significant difference in the Macao sample. The fifth aim of the study investigated the difference of selected variables among the three cities in the two surveys. Vancouver group achieved the highest median value in school performance scores in the first survey. Macao group outperformed Vancouver and obtained the first place in the second survey. Among the three, Vancouver group again obtained the highest median value in the two surveys of school attachment. Additional qualitative data from the Macao group also revealed other effects on school performance that quantitative data did not uncover. The effects were grouped into "feeling happy", "feeling unhappy", and "future educational expectation" domains. A culturally-based explanation of school performance of immigrant children was suggested for future evidence seeking activity.