Sociology Mind 2012. Vol.2, No.1, 116-126 Published Online January 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/sm) DOI:10.4236/sm.2012.21015 Newcomers in Educational System: The Case of French-Speaking Part of Belgium Altay A. Manço, Patricia Alen Institut de Recherche, Action et Formation sur les Migrations, Liege, Belgium Email: amanco@irfam.org Received July 13 th , 2011; revised September 6 th , 2011; accepted November 2 nd , 2011 According to the Lisbon strategy for a knowledge society, entering school plays a significant role for any young immigrant. In Belgium, this issue is very worrying, as equity between native born students and those of foreign origin seems to be lacking. Finally, the situation in French-speaking Belgium is even more difficult than in the Flemish part of the country. Also, this paper aims to explore the strategies in place to welcome and integrate these children. It portrays specific guidance devices for young newcomers and analyzes possible correlations between them and the rate of academic success. In light of particulari- ties of the Belgian educational system especially linked to the fact that we are in a federal state with dif- ferent languages of reference, our study covers the portion of the federal state where French is the official language. The targeted group is that of newcomers of age to attend secondary school. The method of analysis and synthesis of available information includes both quantitative and qualitative data. Our ap- proach was based on the description and analysis of the context of recognition and knowledge acquisition of young students of foreign origin in secondary education. Our analysis focuses on: accessibility to edu- cation and equality of success; adequacy to requirements, consistency and efficiency, as well as effec- tiveness of the education system; the relevance and specific training of teachers adapted to the newcomers; sustainability of the results: the insertion and future integration of youth; and finally, various linguistic, social and psychological dimensions, as well as citizenship. The report identifies some key elements of the context of schooling for young newcomers and offers brief elements of understanding of the history of immigration in this region. Specific and general practices for integration and schooling of young migrants, including accompanied or unaccompanied minor asylum seekers, are described. Finally, these elements are analyzed in terms of accessibility standards to school education, criteria for adequacy of such educa- tion to the specificity of immigrant children and finally, criteria for system effectiveness, and practical tracks are proposed. Keywords: Migrants; Newly Coming Families; Educational System; French-Speaking Part of Belgium; Assessment Introduction According to the Lisbon strategy for building a knowledge society (Rodrigues, 2003), entering school plays a significant role for any young immigrant in Europe. This is not just global social integration, but also the acquisition and valuing of accu- rate knowledge of these young people required as a part of job search and social mobility. In Belgium, this issue is very wor- rying as equity between native born students and those of for- eign origin seems to be lacking. Indeed, the results of the PISA study (OECD, 2006) show, for example, that school perform- ances of migrant students are poor throughout Belgium. More importantly, no other industrialized nation shows as great a gap between immigrant students and nationals, and the results ob- tained by these students are among the lowest compared to other European countries. Finally, the situation in French- speaking Belgium is even more difficult than in the Flemish part of the country. Also, this paper aims to explore the strate- gies in place to welcome and integrate these children. It por- trays specific guidance devices for young newcomers and ana- lyzes possible correlations between them and the rate of aca- demic success. In light of particularities of the Belgian educational system especially linked to the fact that we are in a federal state with different languages of reference, our study covers the French Community of Belgium (FCB) or French Community Wal- lonia-Brussels, thus this portion of the federal state where French is the official language. The targeted group is that of newcomers of age to attend secondary school. Officially, this encompasses the 12 to 18 year-old age group. However, since we wish to take into ac- count the transitions primary-secondary-school and secondary- graduate school, this age-frame should be viewed more broadly, especially as the target group falls far behind in school. Our study therefore focuses on youth aged 11 to 20 years. The method of analysis and synthesis of available informa- tion includes both quantitative and qualitative data. The latter are the result of a review of French literature on the subject. It is worth mentioning that hardly any existing document ad- dresses the whole process. Our approach was based on the de- scription and analysis of the context of recognition and knowl- edge acquisition of young students of foreign origin from third- countries in Belgian French-speaking secondary education. Our analysis focuses on the following dimensions: accessibility to education and equality of success; adequacy to requirements, 116 Copyright © 2012 SciRes.