Aiming High and Missing the Mark? Educational Choice, Dropout Risk, and Achievement in Upper Secondary Education among Children of Immigrants in Denmark

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Standard

Aiming High and Missing the Mark? Educational Choice, Dropout Risk, and Achievement in Upper Secondary Education among Children of Immigrants in Denmark. / Birkelund, Jesper Fels.

In: European Sociological Review, Vol. 36, No. 3, 2020, p. 395–412.

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Birkelund, JF 2020, 'Aiming High and Missing the Mark? Educational Choice, Dropout Risk, and Achievement in Upper Secondary Education among Children of Immigrants in Denmark', European Sociological Review, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 395–412. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcz064

APA

Birkelund, J. F. (2020). Aiming High and Missing the Mark? Educational Choice, Dropout Risk, and Achievement in Upper Secondary Education among Children of Immigrants in Denmark. European Sociological Review, 36(3), 395–412. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcz064

Vancouver

Birkelund JF. Aiming High and Missing the Mark? Educational Choice, Dropout Risk, and Achievement in Upper Secondary Education among Children of Immigrants in Denmark. European Sociological Review. 2020;36(3):395–412. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcz064

Author

Birkelund, Jesper Fels. / Aiming High and Missing the Mark? Educational Choice, Dropout Risk, and Achievement in Upper Secondary Education among Children of Immigrants in Denmark. In: European Sociological Review. 2020 ; Vol. 36, No. 3. pp. 395–412.

Bibtex

@article{94afd855e89d495ba99ff95809dd6dca,
title = "Aiming High and Missing the Mark?: Educational Choice, Dropout Risk, and Achievement in Upper Secondary Education among Children of Immigrants in Denmark",
abstract = "Although children of immigrant origin in many European countries are observed to choose higher levels of education than native-origin peers at similar levels of academic performance, little is known about the outcomes of these high-aspiring choices. Using administrative register data covering all children born in 1994–1995 in Denmark, I examine whether the high-aspiring educational choices of children of immigrants convert into educational success or, conversely, into low grades and increased dropout rates. I find that, compared with children of Danish origin, children of immigrants are not only more likely to enrol in academic upper secondary education but also make more ambitious track and subject choices at this educational level. These ethnic choice effects are particularly pronounced at low levels of academic performance. Applying a counterfactual re-weighting approach, I show that, although ethnic choice effects reduce the ethnic gap in overall attainment of academic upper secondary education, they also widen ethnic gaps in dropout rates and achievement. My findings indicate that high aspirations among ethnic minorities operate as a double-edged sword as they help close the educational gap between them and their native-origin peers but at the cost of inducing academically weaker students to embark on less feasible educational trajectories.",
author = "Birkelund, {Jesper Fels}",
year = "2020",
doi = "10.1093/esr/jcz064",
language = "English",
volume = "36",
pages = "395–412",
journal = "European Sociological Review",
issn = "0266-7215",
publisher = "Oxford University Press",
number = "3",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Aiming High and Missing the Mark?

T2 - Educational Choice, Dropout Risk, and Achievement in Upper Secondary Education among Children of Immigrants in Denmark

AU - Birkelund, Jesper Fels

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Although children of immigrant origin in many European countries are observed to choose higher levels of education than native-origin peers at similar levels of academic performance, little is known about the outcomes of these high-aspiring choices. Using administrative register data covering all children born in 1994–1995 in Denmark, I examine whether the high-aspiring educational choices of children of immigrants convert into educational success or, conversely, into low grades and increased dropout rates. I find that, compared with children of Danish origin, children of immigrants are not only more likely to enrol in academic upper secondary education but also make more ambitious track and subject choices at this educational level. These ethnic choice effects are particularly pronounced at low levels of academic performance. Applying a counterfactual re-weighting approach, I show that, although ethnic choice effects reduce the ethnic gap in overall attainment of academic upper secondary education, they also widen ethnic gaps in dropout rates and achievement. My findings indicate that high aspirations among ethnic minorities operate as a double-edged sword as they help close the educational gap between them and their native-origin peers but at the cost of inducing academically weaker students to embark on less feasible educational trajectories.

AB - Although children of immigrant origin in many European countries are observed to choose higher levels of education than native-origin peers at similar levels of academic performance, little is known about the outcomes of these high-aspiring choices. Using administrative register data covering all children born in 1994–1995 in Denmark, I examine whether the high-aspiring educational choices of children of immigrants convert into educational success or, conversely, into low grades and increased dropout rates. I find that, compared with children of Danish origin, children of immigrants are not only more likely to enrol in academic upper secondary education but also make more ambitious track and subject choices at this educational level. These ethnic choice effects are particularly pronounced at low levels of academic performance. Applying a counterfactual re-weighting approach, I show that, although ethnic choice effects reduce the ethnic gap in overall attainment of academic upper secondary education, they also widen ethnic gaps in dropout rates and achievement. My findings indicate that high aspirations among ethnic minorities operate as a double-edged sword as they help close the educational gap between them and their native-origin peers but at the cost of inducing academically weaker students to embark on less feasible educational trajectories.

U2 - 10.1093/esr/jcz064

DO - 10.1093/esr/jcz064

M3 - Journal article

VL - 36

SP - 395

EP - 412

JO - European Sociological Review

JF - European Sociological Review

SN - 0266-7215

IS - 3

ER -

ID: 231256275