Generation Status, Social Capital, and the Routes
Out of High School
Michael J. White and Jennifer E. Glick
This study investigates immigrant-native differences in education and employment activities during late adolescence. The study asks if the same human and social capital characteristics employed as explanations for nativity differences in achievement are predictive of high school participation versus other activities such as labor force participation within a group of adolescents. The study found, despite their lower levels of human capital and lower previous academic performance, recent immigrants who arrive in the United States as adolescents are more likely than those who arrive earlier or those born in the United States to persevere in high school. Access to familial social capital and attitudinal measures help explain some of this effect. As for those who do leave school early, socioeconomic status and language background play a role in the future decisions they make. The most intriguing concept that I found in the study was, while recent immigrants are more likely to finish in high school, once they leave they are no more likely to pursue additional education than their U.S. born counterparts. I loved how this article thinks past the typical “immigration as a burden” and analyzes the progress of immigrant children or the children of immigrants. This study asks if immigrant youth are more or less likely than those born in the United States to participate in ‘‘human capital enhancing activities’’ such as high school or other types of training as opposed to leaving school early and entering the labor force directly? This article challenged me to look beyond immigration and look at the social and human capital that people outside country can bring to America.
