Who benefits from ethnic capital? Group norms, social-class and education among Armenian-Americans in Los Angeles

Abstract

ABSTRACTSociologists show that the high levels of college-educated adults found in specific immigrant communities become a social resource, called ethnic capital, which is accessed in co-ethnic community organizations and promotes academic achievement for even the working-class descendants of these groups. But how does ethnic capital guide youth mobility? And does it benefit co-ethnic families who do not participate in these organizations? I investigate these questions through original, qualitative fieldwork with forty-two working-class, second-generation Armenian-Americans in Los Angeles. By comparing how social support for college preparation varies with organizational participation, I find that despite categorically converging with participants in graduate degree aspirations, non-participants access weaker mobility resources which distances them from perceived ethnic norms of achievement and a symbolic belonging to the co-ethnic community. I conclude that how ethnic capital benefits families varies but favours those who already possess material resources to enrol their children in co-ethnic organizations.