Key Determinants of Academic Achievement Among Immigrant Children in the U.S.: Analyzing Marginal Differences Between First-Generation and Second-Generation Immigrants

Abstract

This thesis investigates the determinants of educational attainment among immigrant children in the United States, utilizing a novel measure, the Relative Time of Arrival (RTA), alongside socioeconomic, familial, parental influence, and personal life experience variables. Data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS) and Immigration and Intergenerational Mobility in Metropolitan Los Angeles (IIMMLA) provide a comprehensive empirical base for the analysis of this paper. The study reveals that the RTA measure and other factors significantly influence both broad and specific educational attainment outcomes. Key findings indicate that measures of parental influence, including parental savings for higher education and parental educational attainment, and family income are important predictors of higher educational attainment. The RTA measure shows mixed results; the analysis of the IIMMLA data confirms some stereotypes of first-generation immigrant resilience and drive as they are more likely to achieve advanced degrees and less likely to drop out of college. However, analysis of the CILS data paints a story of first-generation immigrants attaining high school diplomas at higher rates than second-generation immigrants. The results emphasize a complex landscape where individual aspirations, life experiences, and familial resources are all also pivotal to immigrant education outcomes, and thereby opportunities in the U.S.