In Denmark, young people with an ethnic minority background have different educational expectations from those of their majority peers. This is one of the findings in a new study covering 3 600 pupils in ninth grade in 2020, carried out by VIVE (The Danish Center for Social Science Research). The study investigates educational expectations among Danish youth in general, and does not focus specifically on minority / migrant youth, but the findings are interesting from a migrant integration perspective.

Education is one of the most efficient ways to integrate into Danish society: it increases the chance of securing a job and a good income, it creates a social network with fellow students, and it establishes an individual in a more powerful position within Danish society and culture. People with an ethnic minority background and a good education also act as role models, providing a positive image of migration as opposed to the dominant stereotype of migrants, especially refugees, as being unemployed and poorly educated.

Minority youth tend more often to make a plan for their education, and to focus on subjects with strong job prospects. 58% of minority youth in Denmark have laid a plan for their education, which is only true for 40% of the majority youth. For 79% of youth with minority background, it was found to be important to expect that the chosen education path will guarantee a good job, while the same was found to be true for only for 52% of ethnic Danish youth.

According to the author of the study, part of the explanation for the differences lies with the parents: "Ethnic minority parents are engaged in their children's education and have more clear expectations. We know from previous studies that these parents urge their children to use the good opportunities for education in the Danish system which they were often not given themselves in their home countries." The home countries referred to here are mainly Middle Eastern countries, African countries, and Turkey.

58% of the minority youth answered that their parents expect them to continue to high school or higher education. Only 26% of majority youth said the same.

Compared with majority youth, ethnic minority youth:

• are in general more targeted in their choice, and more often make plans for their education;
• are more focused on a clear education outcome in the form of getting a job;
• are more concerned with prestige and status;
• more often have parents who expect them to continue to higher education;
• more often choose subjects that provide opportunities to help others.

The whole study can be found online here (in Danish).