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No Margin for Error: Educational and Occupational Achievement among Disadvantaged Children of Immigrants

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  • Alejandro Portes

    (Princeton University, Princeton Center for Migration and Development)

  • Patricia Fernández-Kelly

    (Sociology Department and the Office of Population Research at Princeton University)

Abstract

The authors review the literature on segmented assimilation and alternative theoretical models on the adaptation of the second generation, summarize the theoretical framework developed in the course of the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study, and present evidence from its third survey in South Florida bearing on alternative hypotheses. The majority of second-generation youth are progressing educationally and occupationally, but a significant minority is left behind. The latter group is not distributed randomly across nationalities but corresponds closely to predictions based on immigrant parents' human capital, family type, and modes of incorporation. Members of the second generation, whether successful or unsuccessful, learn English and American culture, but it makes a big difference whether they assimilate by joining the middle class or the marginalized, and largely racialized, population at the bottom of the society. Ethnographic narratives put into perspective quantitative results and highlight the realities of segmented assimilation in current U.S. society.

Suggested Citation

  • Alejandro Portes & Patricia Fernández-Kelly, 2008. "No Margin for Error: Educational and Occupational Achievement among Disadvantaged Children of Immigrants," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 620(1), pages 12-36, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:620:y:2008:i:1:p:12-36
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716208322577
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. repec:pri:cmgdev:wp0502i.pdf is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Charles Hirschman, 2001. "The educational enrollment of immigrant youth: A test of the segmented-assimilation hypothesis," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 38(3), pages 317-336, August.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Jerf W. K. Yeung & Hui-Fang Chen & Zhuoni Zhang & Andrew Yiu Tsang Low & Herman H. M. Lo, 2022. "Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way? Social and Mental Forces of Successful Adaptation of Immigrant Children in Young Adulthood," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-28, May.
    3. Jeehye Kang & Ingrid P. Whitaker, 2022. "Mexican-Origin Children's Educational Expectations and Academic Performance: Disparities Across Maternal Legal Status and Children’s Immigrant Generation," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(3), pages 1191-1216, June.
    4. Mariana Sanchez & Eduardo Romano & Christyl Dawson & Hui Huang & Alicia Sneij & Elena Cyrus & Patria Rojas & Miguel Ángel Cano & Judith Brook & Mario De La Rosa, 2016. "Drinking and Driving among Recent Latino Immigrants: The Impact of Neighborhoods and Social Support," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-15, October.

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