ERIC Number: ED604458
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Nov
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Effects of Foreign-Born Peers in US High Schools and Middle Schools. NBER Working Paper No. 26491
Fletcher, Jason; Kim, Jinho; Nobles, Jenna; Ross, Stephen; Shaorshadze, Irina
National Bureau of Economic Research
The multi-decade growth and spatial dispersion of immigrant families in the United States has shifted the composition of US schools, reshaping the group of peers with whom students age through adolescence. US-born students are more likely to have foreign-born peers and foreign-born students are more likely to be educated outside of enclaves. This study examines the short-term and long-term impact of being educated with immigrant peers, for both US-born and foreign-born students. We leverage a quasi-experimental research design that uses across-grade, within-school variation in cohort composition for students in the Add Health study. We describe effects on a broad set of education, social, and health outcomes. For US-born students, we find little evidence that having immigrant peers affects a wide array of outcomes, either in adolescence or in adulthood. For foreign-born students, attending school with other immigrant students is protective against risky health behaviors and social isolation, relative to native born students. However, foreign-born students' language skills measured with Picture-Vocabulary Test scores are negatively affected by attending school with a larger share of other immigrant students. The negative effect on vocabulary scores persists through young adulthood but does not translate into reductions in most longer-run socioeconomic outcomes, including earnings or the economic status of their residential neighborhoods.
Descriptors: Middle School Students, High School Students, Peer Influence, Immigrants, Language Skills, Adolescents, Vocabulary, Educational Environment, Health, Social Influences, Adults, Elementary Secondary Education
National Bureau of Economic Research. 1050 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-5398. Tel: 617-588-0343; Web site: http://www.nber.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; High Schools; Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (NIH)
Authoring Institution: National Bureau of Economic Research
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health; Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: P01HD31921
Author Affiliations: N/A