Social Inclusion of Immigrant Irish Primary School Children: Urbanicity, School Size and School Composition

Martin H. Jones, Jennifer E. Symonds, Neil Kaye (), Seaneen Sloan, Dympna Devine, Gabriela Martinez Sainz and Olga Ioannidou
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Martin H. Jones: School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork, T12 K8AF Cork, Ireland
Jennifer E. Symonds: Social Research Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
Neil Kaye: Social Research Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
Seaneen Sloan: School of Education, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
Dympna Devine: School of Education, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
Gabriela Martinez Sainz: School of Education, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
Olga Ioannidou: School of Education, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland

Social Sciences, 2025, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-14

Abstract: Given world immigration patterns, understanding immigrant children’s social inclusion is crucial, especially the role of school characteristics. The current study examines how individual- and school-level factors shape immigrant children’s peer relationship In Ireland, a context that has experienced rapid demographic change by remains underexplored in the literature. Drawing on social network theory, we analyse data from 2244 primary school children across 98 schools, using measures of peer group size, friendship nominations, and network centrality to capture social inclusion. Multilevel regression models show that immigrant children report smaller peer groups compared to non-immigrant peers, while minority language use is consistently associated with lower levels of social centrality. Contrary to expectations, school size and urbanicity had limited effects, and classrooms with a higher proportion of immigrant students were associated with reduced inclusion overall, although immigrant children themselves benefitted somewhat from greater classroom diversity. Family affluence was positively associated with all measures of inclusion, highlighting the role of socioeconomic inequalities alongside migration background. The findings underscore the complex and multifaceted nature of social inclusion, showing that both structural and interpersonal dynamics shape immigrant children’s experiences in Irish schools, and pointing to the need for targeted strategies to address linguistic and socioeconomic barriers.

Keywords: immigrant children; social status; inclusion; social acceptance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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