ERIC Number: ED602094
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Jan-8
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Early Patterns of Skill Acquisition and Immigrants' Specialization in STEM Careers
Rangel, Marcos A.; Shi, Ying
Grantee Submission, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences v116 n2 p484-489 Jan 2019
We provide empirical evidence of immigrants' specialization in skill acquisition well before entering the US labor market. Nationally representative datasets enable studying the academic trajectories of immigrant children, with a focus on high-school course-taking patterns and college major choice. Immigrant children accumulate skills in ways that reinforce comparative advantages in nonlanguage intensive skills such as mathematics and science, and this contributes to their growing numbers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. These results are compatible with well-established models of skill formation that emphasize dynamic complementarities of investments in learning.
Descriptors: Immigrants, Specialization, Skill Development, Job Skills, Course Selection (Students), High School Students, College Students, Majors (Students), Children, STEM Education, Longitudinal Studies, Adolescents, Language Skills, Language Proficiency, Barriers, English (Second Language), Native Language, Graduation, College Graduates, Academic Achievement, Achievement Tests, Foreign Countries, Secondary School Students, Mathematics Achievement, Science Achievement, Social Studies, History, Career Choice
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health; Program for International Student Assessment
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305B130017
Author Affiliations: N/A