Against the odds? – A study of educational attainment and labour market position of the second-generation ethnic minority members in the UK

Abstract

Much research in the UK has shown a close relationship between family position and educational attainment. Yet, this association seems to apply to whites rather than to children from ethnic minority backgrounds who are usually found to outperform whites in spite of their poorer family situation. The classical theories do not give an adequate account of this apparent mismatch as they were designed for the general population. I propose a thesis of 'reinvigorated ambition' to try to explain the second-generation drive for success. Drawing data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, I show that multiple disadvantages faced by ethnic minorities in the labour market give pervasive signals to the second generation that they have to aim higher and work harder in order not to fall too low in their life trajectory. The educational success of children from ethnic minority heritages can thus be seen as a determined effort to shield off cumulative discrimination in the labour market and in wider society.

Ethnicity and higher education: The role of aspirations, expectations and beliefs in overcoming disadvantage

“…Furthermore, he criticised the segmented theory due to lacking empirical support and the theses of ethnic optimism, ethnic capital and lower opportunity cost. The latter, as argued by Li (2018), neither explain why the optimism or support is available to some but not to other groups nor do they explain why ethnic minorities make better use of the opportunities than their white peers.…”

“…Most of these studies face two key theoretical challenges. The first challenge is associated with the inadequacy of the classical origin (O)-education (E)-destination (D) framework in explaining the disadvantage or the success of minority groups(Goldthorpe, 1996; Li, 2018). Broadly speaking, this approach argues that primary effects or class-based resources (Boudon, 1974; Breen and Goldthorpe, 1997) are the key determinants of educational success.…”

“…In the opening paper of this special issue, ‘ Against the Odds? ’ Li (2018) proposes a new thesis on ‘reinvigorated ambition for second-generation education’ to explain the mismatch between ethnic minorities’ socio-economic disadvantages, e.g. in the labour market, and the second-generation’s educational attainment.…”

“…Having criticised the classical modernisation theory, the social reproduction and the rational choice theory, Li (2018) does not actually claim that second-generation students are not affected by their family circumstances in terms of advantages and disadvantages. On the contrary, he argues that the family socio-economic background and material circumstances affect minorities just as they affect the majority group.…”

“…This is precisely the mismatch that this paper aims to explain. Li (2018) incorporates insights from both stratification and ethnic studies traditions to develop his thesis on ‘reinvigorated ambition for second-generation education’. He argues that young people with ethnic minority backgrounds expect that there will be greater difficulties for them than for their white peers in finding employment and gaining career advancement.…”