Does Social Capital Still Matter? Immigrant Minority Disadvantage in School-Specific Social Capital and its Effects on Academic Achievement

Abstract

Using the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, the authors examine the determinants of social capital and its effects on school achievement for minority and immigrant students. The authors use two measures of social capital—intergenerational closure and parent-school involvement—and distinguish minority groups by generational status. Results indicate that compared to third-generation White students, immigrant Asians and Hispanics and third-generation Black students possess less social capital. Minority and immigrant children receive differential returns to intergenerational closure and parent-school involvement.