The Effect of Young Migrants’ Ethnic and Acculturation Identity on Educational Trajectories of Students with Migratory Background

Alessio Buonomo , University of Naples Federico II
Giuseppe Gabrielli, University Federico II of Naples
Salvatore Strozza, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II

Children of migrants represent a large and increasing component of European population; their human capital increasingly affect the host country economy. The literature on the educational attainment of immigrant students is growing over time and plays a central role in recent public debate. The concept of ethnic identity is attracting increasing research interest from scholars in socio-economic disciplines. Different studies analyse the ethnic identity looking at the migrants’ “ties to the background culture and their affiliation to the host country” focusing on economic outcomes. Only few studies determine the effect of young migrants’ ethnic identity on their educational trajectories. The main aim of this contribute is to analyse the effects of mothers’ ethnic (and acculturation) identity on educational trajectories of their children in Italy. The main source makes use of new and unique data set collected by National Institute of Statistics (Istat) on “Integration of the second generation” (ISG). Our results show an intergenerational effect of maternal ethnic identity on educational trajectories of immigrant descendants. Moreover, they support the view that both Italian and minority ethnic identity of mothers play a positive and significant role in educational trajectories of their children. We have not found any indication of a detrimental impact of immigrant mother preserving their original culture in educational trajectories of their children.

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 Presented in Session 66. Immigrants' Socio-Economic Trajectories