We investigated students’ resilience predictors during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a two-wave longitudinal sample (n = 713) of students from Greece, Germany, and Switzerland (eighth grade in autumn 2020 and ninth grade in autumn 2021), we determined which social and individual predictors longitudinally predicted resilience before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We identified the high likelihood of individual factors (self-esteem, self-efficacy) fostering resilience by social factors (teacher, parents, and social resources). Multigroup structural equation modeling analyses demonstrated that the adolescent population was best typified by two growth trajectory classes: a low-anxiety class characterized by a low initial level of depression/anxiety and a high-anxiety class characterized by a higher initial level of depression/anxiety. The model was gender-, migration-, and country-invariant. Overall, the model showed that teachers overlook adolescents with high anxiety or depression levels, but parents support them more. These findings highlight the necessity to pay attention to students’ depression or anxiety symptoms and to satisfy their basic psychological needs, as vital prerequisites for their meaningful, coherent engagement in modern societies despite the odds.

Adopting the theoretical approach of recognitive justice and the degree of students’ recognitive experiences regarding empathy, respect, and social esteem, the present study focused on educational inequalities in the multicultural school and the factors that affect their appearance and reproduction. We examined the existence of social relations’ differences in a sample of 1303 students from 69 secondary schools in Greece, using a questionnaire constructed to investigate students’ recognitive experience of their relationships with teachers. By applying an intersectional approach, mainly through multiple regression analysis and multivariate interaction tests with MANOVA, we were able to identify that migrant students and students from families with a low educational level experienced a significantly lower degree of recognition, mainly with the forms of respect and social esteem, both in their relationships with teachers and with peers. Additionally, levels of recognition among teachers explained the large amount of variability in academic achievement and self-esteem, while higher levels of recognition among peers were a significant predictor of the respective students’ higher self-esteem. These deficits in recognition concern pedagogical practices that deprive these groups of students of opportunities and possibilities for equal participation in teaching and school life.

Although acculturation is considered a mutual process, no measure assesses attitudes toward mutual acculturation. Through a novel four-dimensional measurement, this study addresses this research gap by assessing attitudes toward minority and majority acculturation and its relation to psychological adjustment for immigrant-background minority and non-immigrant majority adolescents in public secondary schools in three European countries: in Germany (n = 346, 46% female,M_age = 12.78 years, range 11–16), Greece (n = 439, 56% female,M_age = 12.29 years, range 11–20), and Switzerland (n = 375, 47% female,M_age = 12.67 years, range 11–15). Latent profile analyses led to three distinct acculturation profiles in all three countries: strong and mild mutual integration profiles, where both migrant and majority students are expected to integrate, and a third profile assuming lower responsibility upon the majority. Additionally, those in the strong- and mild-integration profiles reported stronger psychological adjustment than those assuming lower responsibility upon the majority, which held for all students in Switzerland and mostly for those without a migration background in Germany. The findings demonstrate the importance of a mutual acculturation framework for future research. Moreover, as most adolescents fit in with one of the mutual integration patterns, findings stress that no matter their migration background, adolescents favor mutual integration including the expectation on schools to enhance intercultural contact.

This study focuses on the examination of possible differences between immigrant and native students regarding peer acceptance, self-esteem, school anxiety, interest in school, and academic performance, which are considered to be indicators of school acculturation. The outcomes of the study reveal that there are differences between immigrant and native students in terms of academic performance, peer acceptance, self-esteem, and school anxiety.

The present study investigates in-service Greek teachers’ levels of knowledge about and familiarity with differentiated instruction ( di ) in relation to certain teacher and school characteristics, as well as their implementation practices in primary schools. Knowledge of di pertains to teachers’ understanding of its principles and key components. Familiarity with di , on the other hand, refers to teachers’ comfort level in applying these elements in their teaching practices. Self-reported questionnaires were completed by 517 Greek primary school teachers, and subsequently, interviews were conducted with 10 primary school teachers to explore in depth their perceptions regarding the definition and advantages of di and ways of implementing. The findings revealed that teachers appeared to have moderate knowledge of di and familiarity with implementing differentiated instruction strategies. Further qualitative analysis showed that teachers primarily use classroom strategies that require less preparation or tailored instruction and do not actually implement the di model. Their levels of knowledge and familiarity with di are mainly influenced by their teaching experience and in-service training concerning student diversity and innovative teaching approaches. The outcomes of the study have important implications for teachers’ further training and professional development in di .