Family Background and Higher Education Attainment Among Children of Immigrants

Mitzi K. Lauderdale () and Stuart J. Heckman ()
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Mitzi K. Lauderdale: College of Human Sciences, Texas Tech University
Stuart J. Heckman: School of Family Studies and Human Services, Kansas State University

Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 2017, vol. 38, issue 3, No 3, 327-337

Abstract: Abstract This study uses a modified form of Perna’s educational choice model (Studying college access and choice: A proposed conceptual model, Springer, Berlin, 2006) to examine whether children of immigrants have an “immigrant advantage” related to educational attainment. Children of immigrants represent approximately one in four children in the US and are the fastest growing segment of school-aged children. Using data from all 16 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997–2013), a random effects regression analysis indicated that children with at least one immigrant parent had a higher likelihood of higher education attainment. When separate regressions were run by race/ethnicity, the immigrant advantage was only present for Black and Hispanic respondents. Results presented evidence of omitted variable bias when modeling higher education attainment where parental immigration status was absent.

Keywords: Immigrant advantage; College attainment; Children of immigrants; Higher education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10834-017-9537-4

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