Contributions to variations in academic trajectories amongst recent immigrant youth

Abstract

Immigration presents both challenges and opportunities that affect students’ academic achievement. Over the course of five years, varying academic trajectories were identified for recent immigrant students from Central America, China, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Mexico. Latent class growth curve analysis revealed that although some students performed at high or improving levels over time, others showed diminishing performance. Multinomial logistic regressions identified significant group differences in academic trajectories, particularly between the high-achieving youth and the other groups. Consistent with ecological systems theory, school characteristics (a: school segregation rate; b: school poverty rate; and c: student perceptions of school violence), family characteristics (a-separation from mother and father; b-maternal education; and c-paternal employment), and individual characteristics (a-academic English proficiency; b-academic engagement; c-psychological symptoms; d-gender) were associated with different trajectories of academic performance.