The Effect of Family Separation and Reunification on the Educational Success of Immigrant Children in the United States

Thomas (Tim) Gindling and Sara Z. Poggio ()
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Sara Z. Poggio: University of Maryland, Baltimore County

No 4887, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: For many immigrants, especially those from Central America and Mexico, it is common for a mother or father (or both) to migrate to the United States and leave their children behind. Then, after the parent(s) have achieved some degree of stability in the United States, the children follow. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, we examined the hypothesis that separation during migration results in problems at school after re-unification. We find that children separated from parents during migration are more likely to be behind others their age in school and are more likely to drop out of high school.

Keywords: immigrant children; education; family separation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I2 J13 J61 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 44 pages
Date: 2010-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-lab and nep-mig
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - revised version published in: Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2012, 38 (7),1155-1173

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