1. Segmented Assimilation? Explaining Ethnic Disparities in the School Achievement of Second Generation Students.
- Author
-
Wight, Ellen
- Subjects
ACADEMIC achievement ,THEORY ,CHILDREN of immigrants ,BILINGUAL students ,PARENT-child relationships ,CONFLICT of interests - Abstract
This paper assesses the utility of “segmented assimilation” theory in predicting the academic outcomes of second generation immigrant students. It uses the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study to regress students’ GPA on measures of “selective acculturation,” particularly fluent bilingualism. An initial OLS regression offers slight support for the idea that fluent bilingual students have more positive academic outcomes than English monolingual students. A multinomial logistic regression then assesses predictors of fluent bilingualism, finding that being Latino and attending a private bilingual school are the main positive predictors of this language category. Finally, the paper considers the argument of segmented assimilation theory that selective acculturation should matter for those students from families with lower socioeconomic status, who are theoretically most “at risk” of “dissonant acculturation”. Interactions intended to demonstrate differences in the influence of selected acculturation variables for Latinos and for those students who are “at risk” were found not to be significant. The analysis therefore offers limited support for hypotheses motivated by segmented assimilation theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2005