Educational Commitment: The Immigrant Advantage?

David Biagas, University of Iowa
Mary E. Campbell, Texas A&M University
Freda Lynn, University of Iowa

Using the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS:2002), we test generational differences in the “educational commitment” of high school sophomores, comparing their academic interest and purpose. We find that first-generation youth are the most educationally committed, followed by second-generation youth and then those in the third or higher generation. These generational gaps are not explained by differences in parental behaviors, earlier measures of academic ability and expectations, perceptions of discrimination, or peer influences. However, interesting ethnic differences emerge and suggest that the familial and school context may be more important for understanding the educational commitment of Mexican-origin students than East and South Asian students. We find that, among the first-generation, living in the United States for a longer time is associated with less educational commitment as well.