Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies

Vol. 5, No. 2, June 2010, 97–107

Educational experiences and achievements of war-zone immigrant

1745-0136 Children and Youth Studies
1745-0128
RVCH
Vulnerable Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, Nov 2009: pp. 0–0

students in Canada
Lana Stermac*, Susan Elgie, Hester Dunlap and Theresa Kelly
Vulnerable
L. Stermac et
Children
al. and Youth Studies

Counselling Psychology Program, OISE/University of Toronto, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto,
Ontario, M5S 1V6
(Received 12 April 2009; final version received 26 October 2009)

This study examined the educational experiences and achievements of immigrant

students who entered the Canadian educational system from global war-zone (WZ) coun-
tries or regions experiencing extreme conditions of civil unrest and destabilization. As
exposure to traumatic experience of various types is known to affect the well-being of
individuals, questions about the potential learning challenges that exposure to the
traumatic events of war posed to students provided some of the impetus for this study.
The research compared backgrounds, academic achievements, school experiences and
self-perceptions among three groups of high school students: 245 students from WZ
regions around the world, 272 non-war-zone immigrant students from other global
regions and 276 Canadian-born (CB) students. Indices of academic performance,
participation, engagement and self-rated competencies were obtained from a Statistics
Canada database of 15-year-olds. The overall results of this study revealed that adoles-
cent immigrant students from WZ areas around the world were participating successfully
in the Canadian educational system. The findings indicated that WZ students were per-
forming as well as other immigrant and CB students on many indices of scholastic
achievement, and in some areas were surpassing them. As well, the results revealed that
immigrant students in general and WZ immigrant students in particular were connected
to and engaged with their school environment and their learning. A number of limitations
of the study are discussed.
Keywords: war-zone trauma; education; academic performance

Introduction
The educational experiences and academic performance of immigrant and refugee youth
have been the focus of ongoing research for a number of years (e.g. Rousseau, Drapeau, &
Corin, 1996, 1997; Simmons & Plaza, 1998). While much of this research has examined
the educational performance and needs of various groups, little attention has been directed
towards the more recent wave of immigrant youth arriving from war-zone (WZ) countries.
These youth may be at particular risk within the educational system due to the influence of
a number of insidious premigration factors (Rousseau et al., 1997; Stermac & Dunlap,
2005), and high rates of post-traumatic stress and other stress disorders have been docu-
mented in studies of children exposed to war (e.g. Papageorgiou et al., 2000). Examination
of the psychological sequelae of these events on recent immigrant students’ learning and

*Corresponding author. Email: lstermac@oise.utoronto.ca

ISSN 1745-0128 print/ISSN 1745-0136 online

© 2010 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/17450120903440399
http://www.informaworld.com
98 L. Stermac et al.

academic achievements, therefore, has become more important recently given the preva-
lence of unrest and military combat throughout the world.
The limited research examining the educational experiences of war-zone immigrant
students presents mixed findings with respect to how well these children perform in
school and adapt socially.

Educational experiences of war-zone immigrant students

In an early US study of refugee children from war-torn Vietnam, authors Caplan, Choy,
and Whitmore (1992) found that the children of immigrants who had spent time in refugee
camps performed as well as or better than the national average of American students.
These findings were similar to another study of Vietnamese children (Zhou & Bankston,
1998) which also noted that, compared to their native-born peers, refugee children
performed better on standardized test scores.
Several studies of Hmong refugee students in the United States who had endured
previous hardships also found good academic performance (Mueller, 2001; Wisconsin
Policy Research Institute, 1997). Studies examining factors related to academic success
identify family solidarity and educational background as well as time spent on homework
as potentially influential (Belazelkoska, 2007; Kim, 2002). Serbian high school graduates
fleeing the conflict in the former Yugoslavia identified personal resiliency as well as
positive experiences within school, families and the community as factors important in
their achievements (Belazelkoska, 2007).
Other studies of war-zone refugees, however, have not entirely supported these
positive academic outcomes (Berthold, 2000; De Gourville, 2002, Hersi, 2005). Khmer
adolescent refugees reported experiencing difficulties in school and groups of African
students identified cultural clashes and social struggles as factors in their lower academic
performance.
The Canadian educational literature on school performance and adaptation of war-
zone immigrant and refugee children (e.g. Beiser, 1999; Kapreilian-Churchill, 1996;
Wilkinson, 2002) also presents mixed findings of academic performance. In his book on
Southeast Asian refugees living in Canada, Beiser (1999) made reference to children’s
academic success in their new schools, and Wilkinson (2002) also reports on the educa-
tional success of refugee youth living in Canada. These findings, however, are not sup-
ported by some other work in this area (e.g. Kaprielian-Churchill, 1996) which found that
Latin American immigrants were enrolled in basic education tracks and had dropout rates
higher than the Canadian average.
While the limited review of academic achievement among immigrant and refugee
students from conflict and war-zone areas appears mixed, research indicates that some
students can perform well academically while others may encounter struggles of various
kinds. War-zone refugee and immigrant students may face additional learning challenges
and unique mental health issues that have not been addressed within the school system
(Akamatsu & Cole, 2000; Beiser, Dion, Gotowiec, Hyman, & Vu, 1995; Cole, 1998;
Stermac & Dunlap, 2005). The work extant in this area suggests that a number of factors
may have a mediating effect or influence on students’ academic performance and achieve-
ments, including both motivational and attitudinal factors (e.g. Beiser et al., 1995). As well,
recent studies of immigrants, including those from WZs (e.g. Baolian Qin-Hilliard, 2003;
Belazelkoska, 2007; Kim, 2002; Plunkett & Bámaca-Gómez, 2003; Stermac & Dunlap,
2005a), indicate potentially differing motivational levels among female and male students
and the role of goal-directed behaviours as important in determining educational success.
 Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies 99

Current study
The examination of academic performance and educational experiences of immigrant
students from global war-zone areas demands increased research attention. Investiga-
tion of these educational outcomes has become of central importance recently due to
large numbers of students arriving from areas experiencing warfare or extreme social
instability, resulting in conditions associated negatively with learning and overall
health.
This study was designed to address the general dearth of knowledge about the educa-
tional experiences of war-zone immigrant students. The present research examined a
number of educational outcomes among immigrant youth who entered the Canadian
educational system from global war-zone countries or regions experiencing extreme
conditions of civil unrest and destabilization. Specifically, we compared the backgrounds,
academic achievements, school experiences and self-perceptions of war-zone immigrant
youth with those of immigrant youth from non-war countries and with Canadian-born
youth to determine how war-zone immigrant students were performing within the
Canadian educational system.

Method
Data set
Student information used in this study was drawn from the Statistics Canada Pro-
gramme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Youth in Transition
Survey (YITS) data set for 15-year-old students. YITS was designed to look at the
major achievements and transitions in young people’s lives and includes data on the
formal educational experiences, achievements, aspirations and expectations of Canadian
students. Data from 15-year-old respondents of YITS Cycle 1 are reported here (Statis-
tics Canada, 2009).

Sampling and population

A sub-sample of the PISA/YITS data set was developed to identify immigrant students from
global war-zone areas and comparison groups of other students. Respondents were divided
into three groups according to their place of birth. WZ countries and areas were confirmed
through United Nations and international data on global warfare and regional instability.
Groups consisted of immigrant students residing in WZs, those who had resided in non-war-
zone (NWZ) areas and those who were Canadian-born (CB).
Due to the relatively low numbers of WZ respondents within the data set, all were
retained in the research sample. Both immigrant and Canadian respondents were stratified
by province, and sampled in such a way as to mirror the distribution of the WZ respondents
over provinces. The relatively high percentages of WZ and NWZ respondents and a much
lower percentage of CB students with visible minority status resulted in Canadian students
being stratified by visible minority status as well. This strategy resulted in approximately
one-third of the CB sample being a visible minority.
A total of 793 weighted cases were retained in the analysis: 245 WZ students, 272
NWZ immigrant students and 276 CB students. In this article, all cases are reported using
Statistics Canada survey weights, reweighted close to the unweighted number. The numbers
of cases vary among analyses due to varying patterns of missing data or slight variations
in the application of the weighting variable by the statistical software.
100 L. Stermac et al.

Variables
The information reported includes categories of single-item variables as well as aggregated
variables constructed by Statistics Canada. Item response theory was used to aggregate the
items into scales for analysis; the resulting scales ranged from about −3 to +3. The main
variable categories included the following.

Academic achievement and school experience variables. Grades in mathematics, science

and English as well as overall grades were self-reported by respondents. The data were
originally on a seven-point scale and were converted to a scale from 40 to 100, using the
mid-points of the intervals (see Table 2).
A series of composite scales measuring students’ engagement with an attachment to
high school were used in this study. Two of the major derived scales constructed by Statistics
Canada included academic engagement (students’ ratings of attendance, assignment com-
pletion, involvement with school work, as well as variables asking students to rate their
attitudes towards learning, the usefulness of school work and relationships with teachers)
and social engagement (student’s perceptions of their social involvement and supports)
measures. An overall engagement scale was the average of these two.

Student self-perception. Several measures of students’ perceptions of themselves and their

social environments were examined. These included composite scales assessing self-
esteem (extent to which student felt worthy and accepted self), self-efficacy (confidence to
achieve and positive outcome), sense of mastery (extent to which student regarded his/her
chances as being under his/her control) and social support (extent to which student felt
they had support from family, friends or others).
A complete description of composite and single-item variables can be found within the
YITS/PISA student and parent questionnaire codebooks available through Statistics
Canada (see http://www.statcan.gc.ca/).

Data analyses
Two-way analyses of variance (ANOVAS) by place of origin (WZ, NWZ, CB) and gen-
der were used to address our main research questions comparing outcome among groups
followed by Dunnet C post-hoc tests. The alpha level was set at 0.05 for the ANOVAS.
The sample size used was sufficient for the exploratory purposes of the study. The eta2
statistic reported with ANOVA results is the partial eta2 for two-way analyses. All analy-
ses were carried out using the SPSS software package.

Results
Student background and demographic variables
Student respondents were 15 years of age at the time of data collection. War-zone students
had lived in and emigrated from war-zone regions throughout the globe including Africa,
Asia, Central America, Europe and the Middle East.
Female and male students were represented equally among the three groups, as
seen in Table 1. A higher proportion of visible minority members were represented
within the two immigrant student samples than within the Canadian sample. Immi-
grant students had lived in Canada for an average of 7.8 years. There were no group
differences on either socioeconomic status (as reported by Statistics Canada and
 Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies 101

Table 1. Participant demographic variables.

War-zone Non-war-zone Canadian-born
n = 245 n = 272 n = 276
Mean years in Canada (SD) 7.60 (3.76) 8.07 (3.99)
Gender (%)
Male 51 51.8 48.2
Female 49 48.2 51.8
Ethnocultural group (%)
Caucasian 28 33.5 68.1
Visible minority 72 66.5 31.9
Mean number of schools attended in 3.70 (1.86) 3.55 (1.64) 2.96 (1.42)***
Canada (SD)
Parent educational attainment (%)
Less than high school, high school 9.4 11 22.9
or trade school
College 54.7 52.7 54.9
University graduate, postgraduate 35.9 36.3 22.2***
***p ≤ 0.001; SD: standard deviation.

scaled to have a mean of zero and a standard deviation of 1; Wilms, 2002) or the
length of time in Canada.
We also examined the number of schools attended by students and found this to be
highly significant, F(2,787) = 15.17, p < 0.001, h2 = 0.04, revealing that WZ and NWZ stu-
dents had attended a greater number of schools than CB students; however, WZ and NWZ
did not differ.
The educational attainment of parents was examined as a background variable
and revealed no group differences. Parents of both immigrant groups, however,
were more likely to have completed university education than parents of Canadian
students, c 2(2, n=749) = 16.96, p < 0 .001.

Academic achievement variables

One of our main research questions focused upon the academic achievement of WZ
students. Available measures of academic achievements included respondent’s self-
reported marks in mathematics, science and English as well as overall marks (see
Table 2).
A two-way ANOVA by group and gender on reported mathematics grades revealed a
significant effect for group, F(2,734) = 12.13, p < 0.001, h2 = 0.03. Post-hoc Dunnet C tests
showed that both WZ and the NWZ groups reported significantly higher marks in mathe-
matics than the CB group. Examination of grades in English, F(1,739) = 36.64, p < 0.001,
h2 = 0.05, showed a significant effect for gender only. Girls reported higher marks than
boys in English, but groups did not differ. No group or gender differences were noted in
science marks.
Analysis of overall high school marks revealed significant findings for both group,
F(2,740) = 5.21, p < 0.01, h2 = 0.01, and gender, F(1,740) = 15.11, p < 0.001, h2 = 0.02. Post-
hoc testing revealed that the NWZ immigrant group reported significantly higher marks
than Canadian-born students, while WZ students were not significantly different from
either group. As well, girls reported higher overall marks than boys.
102 L. Stermac et al.

Table 2. Academic achievement variables for WZ immigrants, other immigrants and

Canadian-born students by gender.
Groups (mean, SD)
War-zone Non-war-zone Canadian-born F
Mathematics 75.1 (13.9) 77.6 (13.7) 71.6 (14.3) 12.13***
Males 76.2 (12.9) 78 (13.6) 71 (15) 0.256
Females 74 (14.9) 77.3 (13.9) 72.2 (13.7)
Language 74.7 (12.4) 75.6 (11) 74.8 (11.4) 0.810
Males 72 (12) 74.4 (10.9) 71.1 (11.5) 36.64**
Females 77.2 (12.3) 77 (11) 78 (10.3)
Science 76.9 (13.2) 76.1 (13.5) 74.9 (12.4) 1.64
Males 77.1 (13.2) 74.3 (14.7) 73.3 (13.8) 4.38*
Females 76.6 (13.2) 78.1 (11.9) 76.1 (11.8)
Overall marks 77.4 (10.6) 78.3 (10.2) 77.1 (10.4) 5.21**
Males 77.4 (10.6) 77.4 (10.2) 77.1 (10.4) 15.11***
Females 78.3 (10.3) 79.3 (10) 78.5 (9.86)
*p ≤ 0.05, **p ≤ 0.01, ***p ≤ 0.001; SD: standard deviation.

School engagement variables

Analysis of students’ engagement with and attachment to their high school revealed some
differences among the student groups (see Table 3). A two-way ANOVA examining
academic engagement with high school revealed that both group origin, F(2,808) = 16.97,
p < 0.001, h2 = 0.04, and gender, F(1,808) = 16.69, p < 0.001, h2 = 0.02 were significant.
Post-hoc tests indicated that the two groups of immigrant students who scored higher on
academic engagement than the Canadian group, however, did not differ from each other.
Girls reported more academic engagement than boys. Examination of origin and gen-
der effects on the social engagement in high school scale did not reveal any signific-
ant differences.

Table 3. School engagement variables for WZ, other immigrants and Canadian-born students by
gender.
Groups (mean, SD)
War-zone Non-war-zone Canadian-born F
Academic participation 0.48 (0.95) 0.48 (0.96) 0.15 (0.99) 12.21***
Males 0.33 (1.04) 0.38 (1.08) −0.12 (1.07) 25.95***
Females 0.63 (0.81) 0.59 (0.81) 0.39 (0.84)
Academic identification 0.42 (1.09) 0.28 (1.06) 0.014 (1.03) 10.41***
Males 0.42 (1.2) 0.17 (1.0) −0.06 (1.1) 2.67
Females 0.43 (1.0) 0.38 (1.1) 0.08 (0.92)
Academic engagement 0.54 (0.98) 0.45 (0.95) 0.10 (0.98) 16.97***
Males 0.45 (1.10) 0.33 (0.99) −0.10 (1.05) 16.69***
Females 0.63 (0.83) 0.58 (0.89) 0.28 (0.87)
Overall engagement 0.31 (1.03) 0.16 (0.97) 0.01 (0.99) 6.06**
Males 0.23 (1.06) 0.04 (1.05) −0.12 (1.03) 7.79**
Females 0.39 (0.99) 0.28 (0.88) 0.14 (0.93)
**p ≤ 0.01, ***p ≤ 0.001; SD: standard deviation.
 Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies 103

Table 4. Self-perception variables for war-zone, other immigrants and Canadian-born students by
gender.
Groups (mean, SD)
War-zone Non-war-zone Canadian-born F
Self-efficacy 0.27 (0.96) 0.18 (0.96) 0.18 (0.99) 4.00*
Males 0.45 (0.94) 0.38 (0.89) 0.09 (1.03) 19.51***
Females 0.08 (0.94) −0.04 (0.99) −0.02 (0.95)
Self-esteem 0.09 (1.1) −0.03 (1.0) 0.10 (0.95)
Males 0.35 (1.04) 0.05 (1.12) 0.16 (1.06) 13.89***
Females −0.16 (1.01) −0.12 (0.90) 0.05 (0.85)
Sense of mastery −0.09 (1.1) −0.07 (0.93) 0.10 (1.0)
Males 0.13 (1.18) 0.02 (0.98) 0.16 (1.10) 11.58***
Females −0.32 (0.97) −0.16 (0.87) 0.04 (0.98)
Social support 0.09 (1.0) −0.12 (1.1) 0.00 (1.1)
Males −0.03 (1.02) −0.31 (1.10) −0.28 (1.13) 29.00***
Females 0.22 (1.03) 0.08 (0.97) 0.27 (0.97)
*p ≤ 0.05, ***p ≤ 0.001; SD: standard deviation.

A two-way ANOVA by origin and gender on the overall engagement in high school
scale revealed that effects for both origin, F(2,807) = 6.06, p < 0.01, h2 = 0.02, and gender,
F(1,807) = 9.79, p < 0.01, h2 = 0.01, were significant. WZ immigrants had higher scores
than Canadian-born students and girls had higher scores than boys.

Student self-perceptions
Student self-perception ratings are presented in Table 4. Analysis of the self-esteem scale
by origin and gender revealed that boys rated themselves higher on self-esteem than girls
overall, F(1,781) = 13.89, p < 0.001, h2 = 0.02. Group differences were not significant.
Analysis of the self-efficacy scale found that boys rated themselves higher on this variable
than girls, F(1,803) = 19.51, p < 0.001, h2 = 0.02. The results also revealed that WZ students
had marginally higher scores on the self-efficacy scale than CB students, with no other
significant differences, F(2,803) = 4.00, p < 0.02.
A two-way ANOVA was carried out on the sense of mastery scale. Gender analysis
was significant, F(1,779) = 11.58, p < 0.001, h2 = 0.02, demonstrating that boys had higher
scores than girls. Group differences were not significant. Analysis of the social support
scale revealed that girls reported higher social support than boys, F(1,789) = 29.00, p <
0.001, h2 = 0.04. No other differences were found.

Discussion
This study examined the educational experiences and achievements of students who
immigrated to Canada from global WZ regions or areas of extreme civil unrest. As expo-
sure to traumatic experience of various types is known to affect the well-being of
individuals (Breslau, 1998; Briere, 1997), questions about the potential learning
challenges that exposure to the traumatic events of war posed to students provided some
of the impetus for this study.
One of our main questions focused upon war-zone immigrant students’ academic
performance in school. As the neurophysiological effects of stress reactions associated
with exposure to trauma may interfere with concentration, affect regulation and other
104 L. Stermac et al.

cognitive–emotional modulation (Gupta & Zimmer, 2008), we examined indices of

academic performance, specifically grades, to explore learning effects potentially related
to this. Outcomes based on various measures of academic achievement revealed that WZ
students did as well in school as the comparison students and in some areas even surpassed
other students. These results support some of the previous research in this area indicating
that war-zone immigrant students are achieving well academically (e.g. Beiser, 1999). Both
groups of immigrant students had higher marks in mathematics than those born in Canada
and marks similar to CB students in science and language. However, immigrant girls gener-
ally reported higher marks in these subjects than boys. These findings are consistent with
those obtained by other researchers who have found gender differences in academic per-
formance, where girls often outperform boys in specific areas of study as well as in overall
grades (Adams et al., 2004; Baolian Qin-Hilliard, 2003).
The current research revealed that war-zone and other immigrant students had signi-
ficant attachment and involvement with their schools compared to CB students, a factor
which may be a contributor to overall academic success. Similar to trends in academic
achievement, gender differences also emerged in these areas. Girls, in particular,
reported high levels of both academic participation and engagement, which may be due
partially to or attained through girls’ reports of greater social support and involvement
in extracurricular and social activities irrespective of immigration status. Other research
revealing high-academic motivation among girls from immigrant families also identifies
the importance of support factors in academic engagement (e.g. Plunkett & Bámaca-
Gómez, 2003).
In-depth investigation of factors associated with the findings of positive academic per-
formance and high levels of engagement among war-zone immigrant students is limited
by the information available in this study. The effects of stress reactions as well as the
extent of the exposure to traumatic events among the students are unknown. A number of
the variables available to us in this study and other research, however, suggest that student
motivation and parental background may be important factors in relationship to immigrant
student performance in the Canadian school system.
Our findings of strong indicators of educational involvement among WZ and other
immigrant students and somewhat lower, but comparable, levels of social engagement in
comparison to their CB peers may raise issues related to integration and acceptance of
immigrant students within the educational system. Taken together with some of our earlier
research (Stermac, Brazeau, & Martin, 2008), highlighting the importance of social con-
nections to new environments in adult WZ immigrant mental health, these findings point
to possible areas of focus or intervention for immigrant youth. While only limited
information about school environments was available in the present study, the results
indicate that exploration of immigrant integration and social engagement is an area of
importance for ongoing research.
In addition to academic adjustment, the present research also investigated psychologi-
cal variables contributing potentially to students’ educational experiences. WZ students in
general had higher scores on measures of self-efficacy than CB students, but not other
immigrant students. Aspects of how students viewed themselves and their capabilities also
revealed a number of gender differences. Boys reported higher self-esteem, self-efficacy
and sense of mastery than girls. Girls, however, reported higher social support than boys.
As social support has been linked to both performance and positive adjustment, it is
important to explore this further in relation to both academic achievements and overall
educational experiences among immigrant students who have not reported high levels of
social engagement with their schools.
 Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies 105

Limitations and suggestions for further research

This study has several limitations that should be noted. As mentioned earlier, the back-
ground information available about student respondents and their parents was limited and
the circumstances under which these families lived or the exact time since they left their
countries of origin was not known. The ways in which families coped with the turmoil in
their countries of origin may have varied greatly and affected their mental health. Other
research we have completed (Stermac, Brazeau, & Kelly, 2008) suggests that, despite the
severity of traumatic incidents and psychological distress experienced in the premigration
environment, the majority of immigrants reported significantly improved mental health
following emigration. While the premigration experiences of the respondents in the
present study may have been similar to those described in our previous research, this
information was not available and the effect of traumatic events on the respondents in this
study is unknown. Moreover, information about the educational environment immigrants
students entered in Canada was also not available. Further critical analysis is needed of
multicultural integration (Conger, 1995) and the effects that this may have had on our
results. As indicated earlier, the learning needs and special challenges faced by youth
experiencing traumatic events need to be identified and explored further.
Another limitation of this study is the self-reporting of data. As all grades were self-
reported, there may be systematic inaccuracies. Similar to this potential bias is the obvious
social desirability response within some of the school attachment scales. While our sample
is drawn from a large Canadian survey, it may not have represented the overall population
of immigrant students and, in particular, the WZ immigrant student population.

Conclusions
The overall results of this study suggest that adolescent immigrant students from WZ areas
around the world are participating successfully in the Canadian educational system. The find-
ings indicate that WZ students are performing as well as other immigrant and CB students on
many indices of scholastic achievement, including science and language. The results also
indicate that in some areas of scholastic achievement, such as mathematics, WZ immigrants
are performing exceedingly well and surpassing CB students. Of particular interest are the
findings of the extent to which immigrant students in general and WZ immigrant students in
particular are connected to and engaged with their school environment and their learning. This
may be an important finding in terms of the student’s overall life satisfaction and their future
civic engagement. Further research is warranted on the role of academic engagement in both
educational and career transitions.
These results present important and interesting findings about immigrant students who
may have experienced adverse and or traumatic events in their homelands and who may
have faced special challenges within the Canadian educational system. While these find-
ings appear to support a successful academic transition into the Canadian educational sys-
tem at the high school level, further research and critique are needed on examining aspects
of integration and the relationship between social and academic engagement in this special
group of immigrant students.

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