The Educational Expectations of Children of Immigrants in Italy

Abstract

In this article, the authors investigate the short-run educational expectations and long-term educational aspirations of the children of immigrants living in Italy and attending eighth grade. The authors look at educational ambition, both as a predictor of educational choice and as a measure of social integration. They consider both secondary-school track and university goals. Data come from the ITAGEN2 survey (2005–2006). First, the authors analyze the relationship of short-run expectations and long-term aspirations to structural (e.g., migration status and country of origin) and social (e.g., family socioeconomic status and friendship ties) conditions. The latter seem to be determinants of both expectations and aspirations, but long-term educational aspirations are not associated with migration status. Second, the authors investigate the relevance of context in delineating educational attitudes. The authors performed a multilevel analysis including both individual- and school-level variables. Their results show that attending a school where most of the Italian pupils have high educational expectations may lead children of immigrants to enhance their own aspirations.