Latino Acculturation and Perceived Educational Achievement: Evidence for a Bidimensional Model of Acculturation among Mexican-American Children

Yoon Mi Kim, Christina Newhill, Francesca López

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Considerable attention has been paid to the educational fate of Latino children and youths due to mounting evidence that their educational progress has been stagnant. This study investigates the effect of acculturation on perceived educational achievement among Mexican-American children, employing bidimensional acculturation theory to help explain acculturation patterns as related to both ethnic and mainstream identities. Using a sample of 294 Mexican-American children, five acculturation patterns were identified using cluster analysis. We found that the separated group of children had significantly higher educational achievement than the highly assimilated group. The study asserts that the segregated acculturation pattern can be protective for educational achievement of Mexican-American children within ethnically segregated environmental contexts.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)37-52
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment
Volume23
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2013

Keywords

  • Bidimensional acculturation
  • Mexican-American children
  • ethnic identity
  • mainstream identity
  • perceived educational achievement

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Anthropology
  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

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