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Adaptation and inequality: children of immigrants in Canadian schools

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  • Christopher Worswick

Abstract

Children of immigrant parents have comparable test scores in reading and mathematics to those of the children of the Canadian born. Children of immigrant parents whose mother tongue is neither English nor French have low performance in vocabulary before age six but performance in mathematics and reading that is comparable to that of the children of Canadian-born parents by age fourteen. The 10th percentile of the vocabulary distribution is lower for children of immigrant parents whose mother tongue is neither English nor French than for children of Canadian-born parents. However, this difference is not present in reading and mathematics test scores.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher Worswick, 2004. "Adaptation and inequality: children of immigrants in Canadian schools," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 37(1), pages 53-77, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:cje:issued:v:37:y:2004:i:1:p:53-77
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    Cited by:

    1. Ryan Bacic & Angela Zheng, 2022. "Income-Achievement Gaps in Canada," Department of Economics Working Papers 2022-04, McMaster University.
    2. Sweetman, A. & van Ours, J.C., 2014. "Immigration : What About the Children and Grandchildren?," Discussion Paper 2014-009, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    3. Dehong Luo & Jing Gong, 2022. "Effects of Home Language and Socioeconomic Status on Modern Standard Written Chinese Literacy," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, November.
    4. Casey Warman & Matthew D. Webb & Christopher Worswick, 2019. "Immigrant category of admission and the earnings of adults and children: how far does the apple fall?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(1), pages 53-112, January.
    5. Abdurrahman Aydemir & Wen-Hao Chen & Miles Corak, 2013. "Intergenerational Education Mobility among the Children of Canadian Immigrants," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 39(s1), pages 107-122, May.
    6. David A. Green & Christopher Worswick, 2017. "Canadian economics research on immigration through the lens of theories of justice," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 50(5), pages 1262-1303, December.
    7. Chen, Wen-Hao & Aydemir, Abdurrahman & Corak, Miles, 2005. "Mobilite intergenerationnelle des gains chez les enfants des immigrants au Canada," Direction des études analytiques : documents de recherche 2005267f, Statistics Canada, Direction des études analytiques.
    8. James Ted McDonald & Christopher Worswick, 2013. "Intergenerational Implications of Immigration Policy on Apprenticeship Training and the Educational Distribution in Canada," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 39(s1), pages 165-185, May.
    9. McDonald, James Ted & Worswick, Christopher, 2011. "Incidence and Returns to Apprenticeship Training in Canada: the Role of Family Background and Immigrant Status," CLSSRN working papers clsrn_admin-2011-3, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 27 Jan 2011.
    10. HAGIWARA Risa & LIU Yang, 2020. "The Disparity in High School Enrollment between Native and Immigrant Children in Japan," Discussion papers 20016, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    11. Abdurrahman Aydemir & Wen-Hao Chen & Miles Corak, 2009. "Intergenerational Earnings Mobility among the Children of Canadian Immigrants," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(2), pages 377-397, May.
    12. Abdurrahman Aydemir & Wen-Hao Chen & Miles Corak, 2009. "Intergenerational Earnings Mobility among the Children of Canadian Immigrants," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(2), pages 377-397, May.
    13. Kucera, Miroslav, 2008. "The Educational Attainment of Second Generation Immigrants in Canada: Analysis based on the General Social Survey," MPRA Paper 14036, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Marina Gindelsky, 2019. "Testing the acculturation of the 1.5 generation in the United States: Is there a “critical” age of migration?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 31-65, March.
    15. Miles Corak, 2016. "`Inequality is the root of social evil,' or Maybe Not? Two Stories about Inequality and Public Policy," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 42(4), pages 367-414, December.
    16. Böhlmark, Anders, 2008. "Age at immigration and school performance: A siblings analysis using swedish register data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 1366-1387, December.
    17. Risa Hagiwara & Yang Liu, 2023. "Disparity in high school enrollment between native and immigrant children in Japan," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 37(1), pages 25-50, March.
    18. Anna Christina D'Addio, 2007. "Intergenerational Transmission of Disadvantage: Mobility or Immobility Across Generations?," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 52, OECD Publishing.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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