Postsecondary Enrollment of Immigrant Boys and Girls: The Effect of Family Contexts in the Transition to Adulthood

Haruna M. Fukui, Arizona State University
Jennifer E. Glick, Arizona State University

Using three waves of the Educational Longitudinal Study 2002, this study explores the routes to postsecondary educational attainment among immigrant and US born youth. First, generation status differences in the participation in postsecondary education is examined. Second, we examine whether parental educational expectations and family formation intervene in the educational pathways from high school to postsecondary education. Third, we explore how these family contexts are associated with generational differences in their postsecondary experience and that also varies by gender. Multinomial regression results show that both first and second generation boys and girls have a relative advantage and that two-year institution is equally critical as four-year institution for this group. We also find that girls, who are more likely to leave education for family reasons, and resource limited first generation girls in particular, are less able to matriculate to four-year institution despite a high parental expectation.