Twenty years of research on immigration and school in Spain: taking stock of some of the lessons learned ( Veinte años de investigación sobre inmigración y escuela en España: balance de algunas lecciones aprendidas )

Abstract

The purpose of our study is to conduct a systematic review of the research conducted on immigrant students in the school context in Spain from 2000 to 2020 contained in the SCOPUS and Web of Science databases. Our intention is to analyse the arc of Spanish research on immigration and school over these years. To do so, we have evaluated the emerging topics through content analysis, organizing the studies found according to the topics they discuss: (1) the social construction of immigrant students; (2) schooling processes; (3) educational measures at school; (4) teachers; (5) managing multilingualism at school; (6) the process of adapting to school and society; (7) family and school; (8) educational trajectories and school success; and (9) relations between educational policies and practices. The analysis helps us to understand the situation of educational research in this field, as well as to identify the challenges still pending which may guide both future studies and school practices in order to contribute to the real educational inclusion of these students.