Segmented Optimism - How Origin and Destination Meritocratic Ideologies Interact to Shape Immigrant Students' Educational Expectations

• In Event: 30425 - New Forms of Transnationalism in Action

Abstract

Immigrant-background children often have higher educational expectations than native peers at similar achievement levels, a pattern widely noted in the immigration and education literature. Despite this observation, little attention has been given to the potential contextual factors at origins and destinations that lead to systematic variations in immigrants’ expectations. This study investigates how meritocratic ideologies in origin and destination countries interact to shape immigrant students' educational expectations. Results show a significant positive crossover interaction between origin and destination meritocracy. For immigrants from high-meritocracy origins, higher destination meritocracy is associated with elevated educational expectations. Conversely, students from low-meritocracy origins report lower expectations in high-meritocracy destinations. Furthermore, students from strong-meritocracy origins have higher expectations than peers from low-meritocracy origins in high-meritocracy destinations, but this pattern reverses as destination meritocracy weakens. This cross-over interaction between origin and destination meritocracy is consistent among students across various socioeconomic backgrounds and spans two immigration generations.

Author

• Siyun Gan, University of Wisconsin-Madison