Predictors of Higher Education Outcomes for Children of Immigrants in the U.S

Background/Purpose:

Immigrant school-aged children are increasingly reshaping enrollment and graduation rates in American schools. Families who migrate to the U.S. pursue better educational opportunities for their children. These educational goals are in tune with those of the average population. However minority immigrant groups tend to have lower rates of graduation from high school and therefore lower expectations when planning for a four-year college degree. As immigrants increase their levels of education, so do income levels, which translates into higher living standards and social mobility. The aim for this study is to test, which selected parameters could correctly predict college-degree attainment in children of immigrants.  

Methods:  Data and Samples: A cross-sectional approach for the ‘Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study’ (CILS), 1991-2006, is used for this analysis. CILS is a three-wave longitudinal survey, N= 5,262, from 77 nationalities, who had at least one parent born outside of the U.S. A parental survey was conducted at Wave 2 (1996). The original study gathered data related to family relations and life events, school adjustment and career choice, neighborhood safety, and work interactions’ climate, amongst others.  Data was collected from public schools in Miami, FL and San Diego, CA.

Measures and Analyses Strategy: A total of nine parameters are analyzed in this binary logistic regression exercise. Parameters included are ‘parental support with homework’, ‘gender’, ‘nationality’, ‘household income’, ‘parents’ education’, ‘math and reading scores’, and ‘grade points average’. Indicators are recoded and collapsed as needed for stratification and simplification of analyses.  Univariate and binary analyses are performed to explore descriptive statistics and significance of mean differences on one DV and eight IV’s selected. A logistic regression model is conducted including eight IV’s to predict the DV ‘four year college degree’ in children of immigrants.

Results:

OR findings indicate that children of immigrants with higher grade point average (GPA), higher household income, having a parent with a college degree, and higher math and reading test scores, are most likely to attain a four year college degree. These results are congruent to national average non-immigrant students. OR’s for ‘nationality’ indicate higher probabilities for Asian Americans in attaining a four-year degree over Latin Americans and other nationalities.  Those children who identified as Latin American nationality are the least likely to finish a four-year college degree. Results also suggest that children of immigrants who receive less parental support with homework while in school are less likely to attain a four-year college degree.  

Conclusions and Implications:

Selected parameters for this study are not significant predictors of Bachelor’s degree attainment in children of immigrants. However, further research is needed to determine which indicators could predict four –year college attainment for non-Asian children of immigrants. Foremost, this data shows disparities in college attainment, particularly for children of Latin American origin. Overcoming educational and socioeconomic gaps for all groups of color, including children of immigrants, represents a major investment in social capital for the U.S.’s aspiration of equity across demographic groups.