University completion among children of immigrants in seven western countries

Résumé En

We use probit analysis of national datasets in the United States, Canada, England and Wales, Netherlands, Belgium, and France to examine gross university completion by children of immigrants relative to native majorities and completion net of social origins. This allows us to examine the extent to which children of immigrants and natives face penalties or benefits associated with their ethnic origin in their host countries. Some second-generation groups are more likely to complete tertiary education relative to the native majorities including Chinese, Indians, Black Caribbeans and Black Africans in England and Wales, Chinese and South Asians in Canada, and East Asians and whites in the United States. Children of immigrants in Canada particularly stand out in terms of positive higher education outcomes relative to the majority population. Groups that fare significantly worse than the native majority include Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in the United States, and Moroccans and Turks in Belgium and the Netherlands. Only in a few cases do social class origins explain second-generation disadvantage in university completion. In the case of second-generation Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and whites in England and Portuguese in France we see a net advantage emerge when controlling for social origins indicating that those with similar circumstances to native majorities are more likely to complete university degrees. However, the higher education disadvantage of some ethnic groups cannot be explained by social origins suggesting that these groups face ethnic penalties in the higher education process. The authors discuss the implications of these findings in immigrant receiving societies