Educational Expectations of Asian-American Youth: Determinants and Ethnic Differences

This paper tests three explanations for the high educational expectations of Asian-American high school students living in the United States: favorable socio-economic and background characteristics, demonstrated academic ability, and cultural values conducive to education. We focus on differences in the relevance of these explanations across Asian-American ethnic groups. With data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS), 1988-1992, we employ five multivariate regression models to explain differences in educational expectations between Asian-American ethnic groups and whites, both for the base year and for changes over time. We find much diversity in the factors that shape educational expectations and effect changes in them across Asian-American ethnic groups. The educational expectations of groups that are well-assimilated into U.S. society are principally influenced by socio-economic and demographic factors, while parental expectations explain much of children's high educational expectations for recent immigrant refugees.