Belgian school inequality: Moroccan students’ unequal chances revealed

School promises every student the ability to progress according to their efforts and abilities. But in the accounts of several young Belgian-Moroccan students interviewed by researchers, this promise clashes with a more nuanced reality. The sense of injustice does not always arise from a single spectacular episode. It can build slowly, through a series of decisions, looks, expectations, or support that do not seem to be distributed in the same way.

An equality sometimes fragile

The study, published in 2025 in Social Psychology of Education, is based on interviews conducted with fourteen parent-youth pairs of Moroccan origin. The researchers analyzed how these families perceive school justice in the Flemish system, particularly in the relationship with teachers and in the decisions that mark students’ educational paths.

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In several testimonies, the perceived inequality is not limited to grades or academic tracks. It also appears in the support given to the student, in the clarity of explanations, in the possibility of being heard, or in the confidence that the school seems to place in them.

Some young people report feeling they did not receive the support they would have needed. Others mention difficult-to-understand decisions, or the impression that their potential was not always viewed with the same benevolence as that of other students.

This discomfort is more discreet than a sanction or a clear refusal. It plays out in ordinary moments: a missing explanation, an encouragement that does not come, an orientation that the family struggles to understand, a school difficulty that seems too quickly interpreted as a limitation.

Trust at the heart of the journey

The study also shows that expectations play an important role. For some young Belgian-Moroccan students, school did not always give them the feeling that their success was naturally possible. Several say they had the impression of having to demonstrate their worth more to be taken seriously.

This perception can weigh on their relationship with school. When a student feels that less is expected of them, they may end up experiencing each decision as a confirmation of their fragile place in the system. The issue then concerns not only school results, but also confidence, motivation, and the feeling of being fully recognized.

The authors recall that students of North African origin, predominantly Moroccan in Flanders, already face significant school inequalities. They are notably more present in less valued academic tracks and less represented in higher education than Belgian students without migratory background.

The study remains cautious. It does not say that every school difficulty is linked to origin, nor that it concerns all Moroccans in Belgium. Rather, it shows how some young people and parents interpret their journey based on repeated experiences: lack of support, low expectations, poorly explained decisions or feeling of not truly having a say.

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This is where the question of opportunities comes into play. School equality is not measured solely by access to a classroom. It also depends on what the student receives once they are there: support, explanations, confidence, and the real possibility of being considered worthy of their ambitions.