Preparation for participation

This thesis analyses the impact of the increase in immigration in 2015 on the policy content and framing of Newly Arrived Migrant Students (NAMS) and their integration in local secondary preparatory education policies in Rotterdam. The local-level policies are analysed in a multi-level context setting. The content and frames applied to NAMS and their integration in both local and national-level policies are researched in two timeframes, centred around June 2015. The increase in immigration in 2015 has resulted in a significant creation of additional local and national secondary preparatory education policies. In terms of the frames used to describe NAMS, policies created after June 2015 tend to be more mainstreamed and do not frequently target NAMS as a group. However, some groups within NAMS, such as drop-outs and unaccompanied minors, are still distinguished and negatively constructed. The expected acculturation of NAMS is referred to as integration by local and national-level policies before and after the increase in immigration. Policies created up until June 2015, however, tend to pursue more assimilationist goals. The goals described in the documents created after June 2015 are more in line with the definition of integration. When comparing the local-level policies of the municipality of Rotterdam with the national-level policies, the policies are related to each other. The national-level policies tend to be more generic, while local-level policies develop the generic national policies into more pragmatic policies to apply in the local-level context.