A Muslim school advantage? Evidence from a natural experiment

In this study, Said Hassan examines the impact of Muslim schools in Denmark on ethnic minority children’s academic performance.

Using a natural experiment design that induced a sudden and unanticipated student flight from Muslim to public schools, Said documented large positive Muslim school effects in reading and mathematics.

He tested two theoretical mechanisms underlying the observed effects: ethnic homogeneity and teacher biases, finding that ethnic homogeneity is a key driver of the observed positive effects, lending support to oppositional culture explanations.

From a policy perspective, these results highlight that targeted assimilation policies that seek to further the social integration of ethnic minorities may potentially have unintended consequences and come with costs to other outcomes that policymakers care about—in this context, academic performance.

This event will be particularly useful for researchers and policymakers.

Related links

• CEPEO Annual Lecture and Seminar Series
• Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO)
• Department of Learning and Leadership

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Public domain pictures via Pixabay.