Immigrant selectivity and second generation education in Italy
Theories of immigrant selection posit that immigrants' pre-migration social standing may explain their children's educational outcomes. However, this has only been tested in Nordic and Western European countries, where the children of immigrants perform especially well in education. Moreov...
| Authors: | , |
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| Format: | article |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
| Repository: | Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB |
| Language: | English |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ddd.uab.cat:325736 |
| Online Access: | https://ddd.uab.cat/record/325736 https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.3989/ris.2025.83.4.1499 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Immigrant selection Relative education Aspiration squeeze Aspiration paradox Italy Selectividad inmigrante Educación relativa Brecha de aspiraciones Paradoja de las aspiraciones Italia |
| Summary: | Theories of immigrant selection posit that immigrants' pre-migration social standing may explain their children's educational outcomes. However, this has only been tested in Nordic and Western European countries, where the children of immigrants perform especially well in education. Moreover, few studies investigate the impact of selection on different educational outcomes. Using the 2015 Italian survey 'Integration of the Second Generation', we investigate whether (a) immigrant parents are more educated than similar individuals in their countries of origin (positively selected); (b) selection is associated with children's school grades, attitudes, and aspirations; (c) selection explains educational differences across immigrant groups. We find wide variation in educational selectivity between origin groups. In line with prior evidence, educational selectivity is associated with higher educational aspirations but not school grades, which may lock the second-generation into an "aspiration squeeze", with ambitious goals but lower means to attain them. |
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