Lower Returns or Poor Composition? The Interaction between Parental Socioeconomic Status and Migration Background in Germany

• In Event: 435 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 16. Schools, Social Class, and Educational Attainment

Abstract

The education and stratification researchers explain the educational difficulties the immigrant students face in Germany with low parental socioeconomic status (SES). This study reevaluates this common finding by testing whether the immigrant students’ educational performance defined as math and reading scores, increases with the increasing parental SES at the same levels as Germans. In addition, it examines the returns from higher track placement at the secondary education on performance, compared to the native students. The findings show that the marginal returns of increasing parental SES, defined as mother’s education, class position and books available at home, are particularly lower for Turkish students, whereas for other immigrant groups the SES effects vary. The Mediterranean students are the only group benefiting from increasing parental SES in similar patterns as Germans. The findings also show that for reading performance, high track placement has higher returns for all immigrant students compared to the German students. However, in terms of math performance only students with Yugoslavian and Soviet background receive higher benefits than Germans.

Author

• Taylan Cemal Acar, University of Wisconsin-Madison