Stuck in the Middle: The Precarious Position of the 1.25 Generation

• In Event: 77.025 - Migrations and Education: Immigrant Educational Narratives in Xenophobic Times

Abstract

The age at which immigrants arrive can have critical effects on educational performance and attitudes and aspirations towards opportunity, thus influencing the potential to attain upward mobility and social integration. Drawing on ethnographic data gathered among 33 newcomers, this paper demonstrates the distinctive challenges and experiences of the 1.25 generation: those arriving in late adolescence. Struggling with the tasks of learning a new language and culture before aging out of high school and managing familial obligations, participants articulated contradictory views of assimilation and opportunity, setting themselves apart from other members of their generational cohort. These findings demonstrate the unique challenges and experiences of the 1.25 generation whose precarious position may hamper access to social mobility and integration.

Author

• Aaron Leo, University at Albany - SUNY