First-generation Immigrant Students Research Articles

Meta-analysis on the relation between acculturation and academic performance: Testing the immigrant paradox

This meta-analysis is designed to test the immigrant paradox hypothesis, which argues that first-generation immigrant students tend to outperform their more acculturated peers. We aim to unpack the complex relation between acculturation and academic performance among immigrant-origin students with attention to methodological and demographic moderators. The review includes 79 independent samples generated from 54 studies, representing 89,827 students (M = 646.24, SD = 862.93) with a mean age of 13.26 (SD = 5.16). We found an overall main effect of 0.04, (p < .001), suggesting a significant, positive correlation between acculturation and academic performance. However, given the significant variation among studies, focused moderator analyses revealed the importance of critical methodological (e.g., type of acculturation measure used, type of academic indicator used, and type of publication) and demographic (e.g., developmental stage, race/ethnicity, urbanicity) factors that moderate the relation between acculturation and school achievement. These results suggest the opposite of the immigrant paradox, that is second-generation (or more acculturated) students seem to perform better than their first-generation (or less acculturated) peers. Moderation analysis, however, revealed that acculturation seems to have no effect on grades, while having a positive effect on test scores. Finally, we found a positive relation between acculturation and academic performance in studies conducted with children and adolescents, but not for young adults.

Assessing Quality of Life in First- and Second-Generation Immigrant Children and Adolescents; Highlights from the DIATROFI Food Aid and Healthy Nutrition Promotion Program.

To compare first- and second-immigrant pediatric populations with a non-immigrant pediatric population in terms of quality-of-life metrics, a cross-sectional analysis using data from the DIATROFI Program was implemented. In total, n = 2277 students (mean age: 9(4) years) from public schools in Greece participating in the 2020-2021 school year were analyzed. The students' immigration status (first-generation/second-generation) was defined as per the standard definition. The students' health related-quality of life (HRQoL) was assessed using a parental-perceived quality of life questionnaire. The sample included 4.8% first-generation and 21.2% second-generation immigrant students. Compared with non-immigrants, the first-generation immigrant students were more likely to have poor HRQoL (odds ratio (OR) = 2.82; 95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 11.75, 4.53), physical (OR = 1.91; 95%CI = 1.18, 3.10), social (OR = 1.94; 95%CI = 1.16, 3.22) and school function (OR = 2.52; 95%CI = 1.54, 4.13). Similar results were observed for second-generation immigrant students regarding HRQoL (OR = 1.68; 95%CI = 1.28, 2.21), physical (OR = 1.60; 95%CI = 1.23, 2.10) and school function (OR = 2.09; 95%CI = 1.58, 2.77). Children with one parent having a country of origin different that the country of residence had elevated odds of having poor emotional health (OR = 1.19; 95%CI = 0.87, 1.64). The family's affluency level was interrelated with the connection of poor HRQoL and immigration status. The immigrant students have a poorer quality of life depending on their immigration generation and irrespective of their socioeconomic background.

Generational Status and Academic Performance

This paper examines the relationship between students’ generational status (i.e., first-generation immigrant students compared to second and third-generation students) and academic achievement. Specifically, it explores the role of identity variables including self-concept clarity (an individual’s degree of awareness regarding their personal attributes) and academic identity (a student’s choice to adopt and commit to a set of academic values throughout their academic career). Self-concept clarity was investigated for mediation effects between the generational status of Latinx and Asian students and their GPA (both overall and major-specific). Lastly, generational status was examined as a moderator of the relationship between GPA and the four types of academic identity statuses (achieved, foreclosure, moratorium, and diffusion).&nbsp; The participants were 857 undergraduate students from a southern California university. The results indicate that self-concept clarity did not mediate the relationship between generational status and either form GPA; additionally, generational status did not moderate the relationship between either form of GPA and the hypothesized academic identity sub-constructs. However, the results yield an important finding; there were two interaction effects between generation and each of the moratorium and diffusion identity statuses on overall GPA in both the full dataset and the Asian subsample. Additionally, there was an interaction effect between generation and the moratorium identity on major GPA in the full dataset and a second interaction effect between generation and the diffusion identity on major GPA in the Asian subsample. Lastly, there was a main effect of generational status on students’ overall GPA in the Asian subsample, but not in the Latinx subsample, which is indicative of differences between ethnic groups in terms of first-generation experience.&nbsp; Limitations and future directions are also discussed.

Drinking, Social Abstaining, and Refusing Invitations: Demographic Differences Persist Across College

Alcohol use and misuse are prevalent on many college campuses. The current study examined participation in college environments where alcohol is present and being consumed. We documented students' alcohol consumption, social abstaining (i.e., attending an alcohol-present event, but not drinking), and refusing invitations to drinking events. We tested for differences by parental education, immigrant status, race-ethnicity, and gender. We charted longitudinal change across college. First-year students attending a large public US university (n=681, 18% first-generation college student, 16% first-generation immigrant, 73% racial-ethnic minority group member, 51% women) were recruited and followed longitudinally for 7 semesters. Each semester, students completed up to 14 daily surveys; responses were aggregated to the semester level (n=4,267). Multilevel logistic regression models demonstrated that first-generation college students were less likely to drink and refuse invitations to drinking events than students with a college-educated parent (Adjusted Odds Ratios [AORs]: 0.66, 0.72, respectively). Similarly, first-generation immigrants were less likely to drink, socially abstain, and refuse invitations (AORs: 0.58 to 0.73). Compared with White students, Black and Asian American students were less likely to drink (AORs: 0.55, 0.53) and refuse invitations to drinking events (AORs: 0.68, 0.66). The proportion of days spent drinking increased across college, and refusing invitations was the most common at the start and end of college. First-generation college students, first-generation immigrant students, and Black and Asian students participated less in prodrinking environments during college. These findings indicate that on drinking and nondrinking days, students' participation in alcohol-present situations differed by background. Furthermore, our results indicate that the students who are most likely to refuse invitations to drinking events are the same students who drink most frequently.

Correction to: Cultural divides in acceptance and continuance of learning management system use: a longitudinal study of teenagers

In the abstract, the second “FG” in the sentence below should be “SG”: The sample was classified into three cultural groups: 203 first-generation immigrant students (FG), 354 second-generation immigrant students (FG), and 521 non-immigrant student (Native). Thus, the original sentence should be corrected as follows: The sample was classified into three cultural groups: 203 first-generation immigrant students (FG), 354 second-generation immigrant students (SG), and 521 non-immigrant student (Native).

Cultural divides in acceptance and continuance of learning management system use: a longitudinal study of teenagers

Drawing on the technology acceptance model, the theory of reasoned action, and the expectation-confirmation model, an integrated model was proposed to explore teenagers’ learning management system (LMS) acceptance and continuance. Based on the data collected from a longitudinal survey of 1182 junior secondary students in Hong Kong, the results of structural equation modelling (SEM) supported the hypothesised model. Key findings were peer and teacher influences and perceived ease of use demonstrated significant effects; whereas parental influence and perceived usefulness had no effect, on behavioural intention over time. Multi-group SEM was used to test whether the paths in the hypothesized model varied across teenagers with different immigrant backgrounds. The sample was classified into three cultural groups: 203 first-generation immigrant students (FG), 354 second-generation immigrant students (FG), and 521 non-immigrant student (Native). The results showed that cultural divides existed in the relations of the proposed model across the FG, SG, and Native groups. The FG group, who were Mainland China born immigrants, were significantly different from the Native group in terms of the effects of perceptions, use experience, parental influence, and peer influence on their learning satisfaction and behavioural intention. The SG and Native groups, students who were born in Hong Kong, were the least noticeable in significant path differences. To highlight, peer influence demonstrated significantly stronger relationships with the FG group’s intention at the initial use stage, and peer influence only had a significant relationship with satisfaction for the FG and SG group. Discussion and implications of the findings are presented.

Problems of investigation of immigrants’ students and their relation to psychopathology

IntroductionThe purpose of this research was to investigate the problems of first-generation immigrant students and the linkage of these problems with the psychopathology of students.ObjectivesThe sample of this study included men and women students, that were second-generation immigrants aged from 18 to &gt; 25 years.MethodsThe research tools used were: (a) Psychopathology Scale (Symptom Checklist 90-R - SCL-90) and (b) State - Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), (c) the orientation test life (LOT-R) d) Other As Shamer Scale (OAS), (e) Experience of Shame Scale (ESS). The statistical processing of data showedQ (a) the students immigrants have higher levels of student migrants stairways: inferior (OAS), empty (OAS), (Mistakes (OAS), Total internal shame (ESS), characterological shame (ESS), behavioral shame (ESS), bodily shame (ESS), Trait Anxiety (STAI), Somatization (SCL-90), Inter. Sensitivity (SCL-90) and Depression (SCL-90).ResultsThe results of our study found high levels of psychopathology students immigrants and students migrant and interpretative this finding is explained by the lifestyle of their parents immigrants and different cultures which have to cope and adapt and their marginalization from society and official institutions, a situation that results in their exposure to a variety of risks to their mental health.ConclusionsIn addition to increased levels of psychopathology, second generation immigrants such as students and the students in our sample suffer from violence the authorities and their fellow citizens.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Better migrants, better PISA results: Findings from a natural experiment

AbstractSwitzerland changed its migration policy in the 1990s from a “non-qualified only” policy to one of almost free movement of labor. To analyze the impact of this policy change on the schooling outcomes of children of first-generation migrants, the paper compares the PISA results of first-generation pupils in 2000 with the scores of children tested in 2009, whose parents immigrated after the policy changed. We find that around 75% of the 40-point increase in the PISA score of first-generation immigrant students was due to changes in the individual background characteristics of their parents and to improved school composition.

Negotiating diversity: an empirical investigation into family, school and student factors influencing New Zealand adolescents’ science literacy

The purpose of this study was to examine a factor triad consisting of family, school and student variables contributing to New Zealand adolescents’ science literacy performance on Programme for International Student Assessment 2006. Results indicated that the selected variables in our study explained 25% of total differences in New Zealand students’ science achievement. Family socio-economic status (SES) as well as adolescents’ motivation to learn science and general value of science were influential factors in students’ science achievement. Findings also revealed a statistically significant interaction effect between SES and first-generation immigrant students but not between SES and second-generation immigrant students. Although parents’ perception of general value of science showed a positive effect on adolescents’ scientific performance, its predictive power was relatively weak.

Acculturation and well-being among college students from immigrant families.

The present study was designed to ascertain the associations between acculturation and well-being in first-generation and second-generation immigrant college students. Acculturation was operationalized as a multidimensional construct comprised of heritage and American cultural practices, values (individualism and collectivism), and identifications, and well-being was operationalized in terms of subjective, psychological, and eudaimonic components. Participants were 2,774 first-generation and second-generation immigrant students (70% women), from 6 ethnic groups and from 30 colleges and universities around the United States. Participants completed measures of heritage and American cultural practices, values, and identifications, as well as of subjective, psychological, and eudaimonic well-being. Findings indicated that individualistic values were positively related to psychological and eudaimonic well-being, and positively, although somewhat less strongly, linked with subjective well-being. American and heritage identifications were both modestly related to psychological and eudaimonic well-being. These findings were consistent across gender, immigrant generation (first versus second), and ethnicity. Psychological and eudaimonic well-being appear to be inherently individualistic conceptions of happiness, and endorsement of individualistic values appears linked with these forms of well-being. Attachments to a cultural group-the United States, one's country of origin, or both-appear to promote psychological and eudaimonic well-being as well. The present findings suggest that similar strategies can be used to promote well-being for both male and female students, for students from various ethnic backgrounds, and for both first-generation and second-generation immigrant students.

Problem solving and immigrant student mathematics and science achievement: Multination findings from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

The present study investigates problem-solving skill alongside more widely recognized settlement and sociodemographic factors in first-generation (1G) and second-generation (2G) immigrant students' science and mathematics achievement. A total of 113,767 students (ages 15-16 years) from 17 countries were drawn from the 2003 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data set. Multilevel hierarchical regression findings confirm that along with settlement and sociodemographic factors, problem-solving skill is a factor in immigrant students' achievement in mathematics and science--but that immigrant students scored lower in problem solving than nonimmigrant students. Settlement and sociodemographic factors relevant to achievement and problem-solving skill for immigrant students include socioeconomic status, language background, age of arrival, gender, and age--in addition to significant between-school and between-country effects. The variance explained by settlement and sociodemographic factors suggests it is not immigrant status per se that explains lower achievement and problem-solving skill (thus countering deficit perspectives), but various factors that are embedded in and associated with immigrant status that explain the bulk of such variance. Implications for educational and psychological research, practice, and policy are discussed.

Acculturation and Well-Being Among College Students From Immigrant Families.

OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to ascertain the associations between acculturation and well-being in first-generation and second-generation immigrant college students. Acculturation was operationalized as a multidimensional construct comprised of heritage and American cultural practices, values (individualism and collectivism), and identifications, and well-being was operationalized in terms of subjective, psychological, and eudaimonic components. METHOD: Participants were 2,774 first-generation and second-generation immigrant students (70% women), from 6 ethnic groups and from 30 colleges and universities around the United States. Participants completed measures of heritage and American cultural practices, values, and identifications, as well as of subjective, psychological, and eudaimonic well-being. RESULTS: Findings indicated that individualistic values were positively related to psychological and eudaimonic well-being, and positively, although somewhat less strongly, linked with subjective well-being. American and heritage identifications were both modestly related to psychological and eudaimonic well-being. These findings were consistent across gender, immigrant generation (first versus second), and ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological and eudaimonic well-being appear to be inherently individualistic conceptions of happiness, and endorsement of individualistic values appears linked with these forms of well-being. Attachments to a cultural group-the United States, one's country of origin, or both-appear to promote psychological and eudaimonic well-being as well. The present findings suggest that similar strategies can be used to promote well-being for both male and female students, for students from various ethnic backgrounds, and for both first-generation and second-generation immigrant students. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Clin. Psychol. 00:1-21, 2012.

Migration Policy Can Boost PISA Results: Findings from a Natural Experiment

Switzerland radically changed its migration policy in the mid-nineties from a non-qualified only policy to one that favors the immigration of highly qualified migrants. To analyze the impact of this change on the schooling outcomes of migrants, this paper compares the PISA (OECD Programme for International Student Assessment) results from 2000, which were not yet affected by the change in the migration policy, with the PISA 2009 test. Using a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis, we find that almost 70% of the 43-point increase (more than one standardized school year) in the PISA scores of first-generation immigrant students in an environment with stagnant Swiss PISA results was due to changes in the individual background characteristics of the new immigrants (direct effect) and improved school composition (lower shares of students who did not speak the testing languages as an indirect effect). The indirect effects also indicate that internationally comparative analyses should more fully consider differences in national migration policies when assessing the success of migrant integration.

Mathematics achievement of Mainland immigrant students in Hong Kong

One of the main features of globalization is the increasing mobility of population. As an immigrant society, Hong Kong has witnessed waves of Mainland Chinese arrivals and assimilation into her mainstream, particularly around the change of sovereignty period. School-aged children constitute a substantial fraction of the new population. Given their potential impact on Hong Kong's present and future, how these immigrant youngsters perform in school has always been a concern to the public as well as the government. This study compared Hong Kong 8th-graders' mathematics performance in the four rounds of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study by their immigrant status. The results showed that the first-generation immigrant students' performance had obvious retrogression compared to native students in the past years. Among the natives, non-local-born students with only their father born in Hong Kong had the most similar performance as the first-generation immigrants. The causes for the differences are explored from both internal and external perspectives.

FIRST- AND SECOND-GENERATION IMMIGRANT ADOLESCENTS’ MULTIDIMENSIONAL MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE SELF-CONCEPTS AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE

This study, drawing on data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2007, examined the predictive effects of multiple dimensions of mathematics and science self-concept—positive affect toward mathematics and science and self-perceived competence in mathematics and science—on mathematics and science achievement among 1,752 first- and second-generation immigrant adolescent students in Canada. First- and second-generation immigrant adolescent students’ self-perceived competence in mathematics had positive predictive effects on their mathematics and science achievement. In contrast, first- and second-generation immigrant adolescent students’ positive affect toward mathematics had negative predictive effects on their mathematics and science achievement. While first- and second-generation immigrant adolescent students’ self-perceived competence in science had no significant predictive effect on their mathematics achievement, it had a positive predictive effect on their science achievement. Positive affect toward science had positive predictive effects on second-generation immigrant adolescent students’ mathematics and science achievement, whereas it had no significant predictive effects on first-generation immigrant adolescent students’ mathematics and science achievement. Implications of the findings for policy and practice are discussed.

IMMIGRATION, SCHOOLS, AND VIOLENCE: ASSIMILATION AND STUDENT MISBEHAVIOR

Although the “myth” about the immigration and crime link is one of immigrant propensity for criminality in the United States, contradictory evidence suggests that immigrants, including youth, are less likely to be deviant. Little is known, however, about the multilevel relationships between immigration, schools, and student misbehavior. Analyses, which draw from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 and Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analysis, indeed reveal imperative findings. Most notably, first-generation immigrant students are less likely to misbehave while at school; however, increased exposure to school social disorder is associated with student misbehavior for first-generation immigrants. This article also discusses the importance of understanding the role of immigration in the multilevel relationship of student misbehavior for one of the fastest growing segments of American society: the children of immigrants.

Revising Integrative Motivation: L2 Motivation Research and Learner Context

“Why am I learning this language? How is my language learning affected by my attitudes and my context?” For the average second language (L2) learner, these questions are probably not often considered in such an explicit fashion. For L2 educators and L2 motivation researchers, however, these student-centered questions are urgent and ever-present. From my own experience, teaching English to speakers of other languages across different contexts has presented vastly differing pictures of L2 learner motivation. What is it that makes teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to first-generation Hispanic immigrant students so different from teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to sub-Saharan African students? From an anecdotal standpoint, the answer appears to lie in the understanding of motivation within context: which students have it, why they have it, and how to inspire the same, if possible, in other learners. Thus, as “numerous studies have provided statistical evidence that indicates motivation is a predictor of language-learning success,” L2 motivation research seems well worth examining in greater detail for both language researchers and language teachers alike (Gass & Selinker, 2009, p. 426).

Immigrant Youth Involvement in School-Based Extracurricular Activities

ABSTRACT Extracurricular activity involvement is generally beneficial toward student progress and success. Little is known, however, about immigrant youth involvement in school-based extracurricular activities. The author examined the patterns of Latino and Asian American youth extracurricular involvement by focusing on the pertinent role of immigrant generational status. Analyses, which draw from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 and logistic regression analyses, indeed reveal imperative findings. Most notably, Latino 3rd-plus generation immigrant students are more likely to participate in sports, whereas Asian American first-generation immigrant students are more likely to be involved with academic extracurricular activities. Immigrant generational status matters when examining extracurricular participation of the children of immigrants. The implications of such extracurricular involvement in the U.S. educational system are discussed more generally.

Immigration and Students’ Relationship With Teachers

Students’ relationship with teachers is a building block toward student progress and success. Little is known, however, about the relationships the children of immigrants have with their teachers, which is particularly relevant today in the midst of the current social, political, and economic debate over the influence of immigration in U.S. schools. Analyses, which draw from the public-use Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 and multiple regression analyses, indeed reveal imperative findings. Most notably, first-generation immigrant students report having strong relationships with teachers, but that relationship steadily deteriorates across immigrant generations. This article also discusses the importance of understanding the schooling of the children of immigrants in this nation’s educational system.

The differential effect of the teacher–student interpersonal relationship on student outcomes for students with different ethnic backgrounds

The differential effectiveness of schools and teachers receives a growing interest, but few studies focused on the relevance of student ethnicity for this effectiveness and only a small number of these studies investigated teaching in terms of the teacher-student interpersonal relationship. Furthermore, the methodology employed often restricted researchers to investigating direct effects between variables across large samples of students. This study uses causal modelling to investigate associations between student background characteristics, students' perceptions of the teacher-student interpersonal relationship, and student outcomes, across and within several population subgroups in Dutch secondary multi-ethnic classes. Multi-group structural equation modelling was used to investigate causal paths between variables in four ethnic groups: Dutch (N=387), Turkish first- and second-generation immigrant students (N=267), Moroccan first and second generation (N=364), and Surinamese second-generation students (N=101). Different structural paths were necessary to explain associations between variables in the different (sub) groups. Different amounts of variance in student attitudes could be explained by these variables. The teacher-student interpersonal relationship is more important for students with a non-Dutch background than for students with a Dutch background. Results suggest that the teacher-student relationship is more important for second generation than for first-generation immigrant students. Multi-group causal model analyses can provide a better, more differentiated picture of the associations between student background variables, teacher behaviour, and student outcomes than do more traditional types of analyses.