Pathways to Adaptation: The Influence of Acculturation on Educational Pursuit of Children of Latino Immigrants

Abstract

Children of Latino immigrants represents the fastest-growing group in the U.S. public school system, yet they consistently underperform in education when compared to other racial groups. Educational inequities encountered by children of Latino immigrants can be linked to their experience of acculturation. Using data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS), the current study examined the unique impact of various acculturation-related factors on the attitudes toward educational pursuit held by children of Latino immigrant during their adolescence. The moderating role of potential protective factors (i.e., language, cultural orientation, family dynamics) and key demographic characteristics (i.e., socioeconomic status, length of stay in the U.S.) on acculturation stressors (i.e., perceived discrimination) in predicting attitudes toward educational pursuit was investigated. Variation in patterns of relations between acculturation-related factors and educational outcomes was examined across children of Cuban and Mexican immigrant families to understand subgroup differences in adaptation among the greater Latino community. Results indicated parent-child conflict as the most consistent predictor for educational pursuit across Cuban and Mexican respondents. Fluent bilingualism was found to be a significant predictor only for Cuban respondents. Perceived discrimination was found to be significantly interacting with parent-child conflict and foreign language dominance among Cuban respondents. Despite study limitations on selection of respondents and measurement of key acculturation variables, findings provided some support for further investigation in the heterogenous impact of acculturation process on educational pursuit across different Latino groups and implications for intervention on supporting the educational effort of youths from Latino immigrant families.