ERIC Number: EJ903208
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Nov
Pages: 33
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1990-3839
EISSN: N/A
Academic Achievements of Children in Immigrant Families
Han, Wen-Jui
Educational Research and Reviews, v1 n8 p286-318 Nov 2006
Utilizing data on approximately 16,000 children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Kindergarten Cohort and a rich set of mediating factors on 16 immigrant groups, this paper examined the associations between children's immigrant generation status and their academic performance. The changes in academic achievements during kindergarten and first-grade were also examined to explore the varying learning paces exhibited by children from different countries of origin. Results indicate that, compared to third and later generation non-Hispanic white children, children of Latin American regions tended to have lower reading and math scores, while children of Asian regions tended to have higher reading and math scores. In addition, although children of immigrants may have either higher (e.g., children from East Asia) or lower scores (e.g., children from Mexico) by first-grade compared to third and later generation non-Hispanic white children, the former generally learned skills at faster paces, thus widening (e.g., for children from East Asia) or narrowing (e.g., for children from Mexico) academic achievement gaps. Child and family characteristics accounted for a large share of the differences in children's academic achievements. Home, school, and neighborhood environments may also matter but to a lesser extent. Research implications are discussed. (Contains 8 tables and 8 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Family Characteristics, Academic Achievement, Foreign Countries, Kindergarten, Immigrants, Mexicans, Correlation, Grade 1, White Students, Hispanic American Students, Asian American Students, Reading Achievement, Mathematics Achievement, Achievement Gap, Student Characteristics, Reading Skills, Mathematics Skills, Parents, Educational Attainment, Mothers, Marital Status, Family Structure, Socioeconomic Status, English (Second Language), Geographic Location, Place of Residence, Rural Areas, Urban Areas, Suburbs, Racial Differences
Academic Journals. e-mail: err@academic.journals.org; e-mail: service@academicjournals.org; Web site: http://academicjournals.org/ERR2
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 1
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Africa; Asia; Canada; Mexico; North America
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A