Early reading achievement of children in immigrant families: Is there an immigrant paradox?

Abstract

This article examines whether longitudinal reading trajectories vary by the generational status of immigrant children as they begin formal schooling through the 3rd grade. The results of the hierarchical linear model indicated that 1st and 2nd generation children (i.e., those born in a foreign country and those born in the United States to foreign-born parents, respectively) had higher achievement scores at the spring of kindergarten than did 3rd generation children. Yet, controlling for race/ethnicity and maternal education fully reduced the 1st generation advantage. In addition, 1st generation children grew in reading achievement at a faster rate than did 3rd generation children. Controlling for a host of proximal and distal factors that included demographic, race/ethnic, family, and school characteristics somewhat reduced the association between generational status and rate of growth. First and 2nd generation children continued to increase their reading scores at a faster rate than did 3rd generation children. It is likely that additional factors not measured in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Kindergarten cohort, such as selection, cultural, or motivational factors, would be useful in further explaining the immigrant advantage.

The Influence of Family Capital on Children's Working Memory in New Immigrant Families in the United States

“…De Feyter & Winsler, 2009;Greenman, 2013) and the so called "immigrant paradox" in education (Palacios, 2008). The immigrant paradox in education refers to the phenomenon in which the first generation youth usually outperforms their counterparts who are second or above generation although the former has less proficiency in English and knowledge of main stream culture than the latter.…”

“…Scholars have consistently found that parental education, an indicator of human capital, is positively associated with educational attainment and cognitive development of children in both non-immigrant and immigrant families (Fulgini 1997;Mistry, et al, 2009;Palacios, Guttmannova, & Chase-Lansdale, 2008;Plunkett & Bámaca-Gómez 2003;Pong & Landale, 2012). Upon examining the New Immigrant Survey, Pong and Landale (2012) concluded that the educational level of immigrant parents prior to immigration had the strongest association with the academic achievements of their children.…”

“…Upon examining the New Immigrant Survey, Pong and Landale (2012) concluded that the educational level of immigrant parents prior to immigration had the strongest association with the academic achievements of their children. Moreover, the educational attainment of mothers differentiated the trajectories of reading achievements among kindergarten aged children in immigrant families (Palacios et al, 2008). In addition to general knowledge and practical skills, knowledge about early childhood development can be seen as human capital as it is supportive of parents with the provision of developmentally appropriate care for their young children (Bornstein & Cote, 2007;Glick, Bates, & Yakibu, 2009).…”

Early Academic Achievement Among American Low-Income Black Students from Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Families

“…There is some evidence of a Black immigrant advantage in reading achievement in third grade (Palacios et al 2008), yet other studies with school-aged children find no differences in achievement and indicate that all Black students, regardless of immigrant status, significantly underachieve relative to Whites (Glick and Hohmann-Marriott 2007). Of note, studies of older children typically focus on the immigrant status of the student rather than that of the parent (whereas parental immigrant status is typically examined in studies of younger children).…”

Reading and Math Achievement among Low-Income Urban Latino Youth: The Role of Immigration

“…These findings have been reported in several domains of functioning including educational attainment such as grades in English and math (e.g., Fuligni 1997; Kao and Tienda 1995) and high school completion (Driscoll 1999), yet they are not uniform across ethnic groups. Findings regarding the relationship between immigrant status and academic achievement of Latino children and youth have been mixed, ranging from no differences in achievement between native and foreign-born youth (Harris et al 2008; Kao and Tienda 1995), an advantage of the second generation over first and third generation (Fuligni 1997), and a small advantage of first generation Latinos over second and third generations (Palacios et al 2008). The common theme, though, is that Latinos underperform in relation to other ethnic groups (Fuligni 1997; Harris et al 2008; Kao and Tienda 1995; Palacios et al 2008).…”