CPRC SEMINAR: Intergenerational Educational Mobility Among Mexican Americans

OPEN TO THE COLUMBIA COMMUNITY | ONLINE (VIA ZOOM) | REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Featuring
JENNIFER VAN HOOK
Roy C. Buck Professor of Sociology and Demography
Penn State University

Hosted by
COLUMBIA POPULATION RESEARCH CENTER (CPRC)

ABOUT THE EVENT

Concerns about the integration of Mexican Americans have been amplified by the phenomenon of third generation delay, whereby the 3rd-or-higher generation has similar or lower educational attainment than the 2nd generation in analyses of cross-sectional data. Using unique longitudinal data, however, demographer and immigration expert Jennifer Van Hook (bio) has found no evidence of third-generation delay. Although Mexican Americans still experience disadvantages, the educational attainment of third-generation Mexican Americans increased dramatically and consistently across generations. Her study suggests that the third-generation delay pattern seen in cross-sectional analyses stems in large part from historical disadvantages in starting points and educational mobility. Finally, her results reveal dramatic improvements in Mexican American educational opportunities among the children of immigrants since the 1970s. Overall, her results indicate that cross-sectional assessments of Mexican American integration are misleading and underestimate this group’s prospects going forward. More details about her presentation here.