Against the Odds and Beyond Deficit Thinking: Academic Success and Excellence in Minoritized Schools

• In Event: Sense of Belonging: School, Campus, and Classroom Climate

Abstract

In the face of severe ethnic educational inequalities in Belgium, many minoritized students achieve academic success and excellence. This paper examines the impacts of deficit-thinking versus asset-based approaches in explaining this success, utilizing data from 3073 students across 58 primary schools, focusing on 18 minoritized schools. The study reveals negative implications of deficit-thinking, mixed outcomes from ignoring cultural differences, but finds asset-based methods, which include culturally relevant teaching, anti-discrimination measures, and a diverse curriculum, to be the most consistent predictor of success. The study underscores the need for policy shifts to prioritize asset-based methods for promoting widespread academic success.

Authors

• Orhan Agirdag, KU Leuven

• Roy Konings, KU Leuven

• Jozefien De Leersnyder, KU Leuven