Does a lack of teachers' recognition of students with migration background contribute to achievement gaps?

Based on Honneth's recognition theory, this study aimed at investigating whether students with a migration background reported receiving less recognition from teachers than students without a migration background. Also, we explored whether such a difference contributed to explaining the disparity between the groups in reading achievement. To answer these research questions, we used data from a German study on school quality (STEG-S; n = 2105 students), and from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA; n = 6504 students). The results show that, indeed, students with a migration background experienced less recognition from teachers in terms of cognitive respect. Students reporting lower levels of cognitive respect from reading teachers further achieved poorer outcomes in the reading test at the end of the first term of grade 5, controlling for test results at the beginning of the term. Accordingly, cognitive respect from the reading teacher mediated the effect of the migration background on reading achievement. These effects were small but might accumulate over time. Hence, recognition in the classroom appears to be one piece of the puzzle for understanding how educational disadvantages persist and are reproduced for students with a migration background.