지역사회의 이주민 밀집도가 이주배경 학생 및 비이주배경 학생의 학업성취도에 미치는 영향

초록

The increasing influx of the cross-border migrant population into South Korea gives rise to ethnic enclaves characterized by a high degree of residential segregation. Drawing on a social disorganization perspective, this study hypothesizes that the level of immigrant residential concentration is negatively associated with pupils’ academic performance. We also hypothesize that such a negative “neighborhood effect” is mitigated among immigrant pupils vis-à-vis their native peers, due to the implementation of various “multicultural” policies for supporting this minority group over the past decade. The data from the Korea Multicultural Education Survey 2017 were used to examine these hypotheses. Analyses of the academic performance of 1,472 elementary and lower secondary pupils in Seoul and Gyeonggi appeared to give credence to both of these hypotheses. These results suggest that while current multicultural policies work effectively toward the welfare of immigrant pupils, the policy effect is not extended to their native peers, resulting in what might appear as an “unintended disadvantage” to non-immigrant students in neighborhoods of high immigrant concentration.

키워드