ERIC Number: EJ840923
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1476-718X
EISSN: N/A
Roots of Assimilation: Generational Status Differentials in Ethnic Minority Children's School Readiness
Hibel, Jacob
Journal of Early Childhood Research, v7 n2 p135-152 2009
This study examines the relationship between children's generational status and their cognitive and social school readiness, paying particular attention to racial/ethnic and national origin differences. This relationship is examined using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K). Results indicate that, while children of foreign-born mothers tend to have lower levels of school readiness than children of native-born mothers, this disparity is largely due to differences in family context characteristics. After controlling for an array of family background variables, non-Hispanic black, Asian, Mexican, Puerto Rican and other Hispanic children of foreign-born mothers are found to have similar levels of academic school readiness to co-ethnic children of American-born mothers. Analyses also indicate that a substantial portion of the school readiness gaps between minority children of foreign-born mothers and non-Hispanic white children of American-born mothers can be explained by family background differences. The study includes a discussion of the implications for assimilation theory and the study of early educational inequality. (Contains 2 tables, 5 figures and 2 notes.)
Descriptors: School Readiness, Equal Education, Mothers, Family Characteristics, Academic Achievement, Minority Group Children, Puerto Ricans, Correlation, Cognitive Development, Racial Differences, Ethnicity, Longitudinal Studies, Parent Influence, Immigrants, Context Effect, Family Influence, African Americans, Asian Americans, Mexican Americans, Hispanic Americans
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A