Class and Coethnicity: How the Benefits of Coethnic Concentration on Asian and Hispanic College Destinations Depend on Community and Family Socioeconomic Status

• In Event: Educational Trajectories: Effects of Social Class and “Significant Others”

Abstract

Segmented assimilation theory (SAT) argues that social capital fostered by co-ethnic communities facilitates the upward mobility of children of working-class immigrants. On the other hand, some argue SAT exaggerates how easily co-ethnic social capital traverses class boundaries, and propose its benefits are limited to children of middle-class immigrants . We address this debate by examining the benefits of co-ethnic concentration for the four-year college enrollments of Asian and Hispanic children of immigrants, and how they are moderated by family and community SES. For Asians, a concentration of highly-educated co-ethnics has positive effects for children of less-educated parents, consistent with SAT. For Hispanics, a concentration of highly-educated co-ethnics has positive effects, but they do not extend to disadvantaged students.

Authors

• Jennifer Catherine Lee, Indiana University - Bloomington

• Joshua Theodore Klugman, Consortium on Chicago School Research At The University of Chicago