The Female Educational Advantage Among Adolescent Children of Immigrants

The female advantage in educational achievement is especially puzzling in the case of children of immigrants because it departs from the pattern in most immigrants' home countries. Using data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS), this study explores the female advantage in grades and expectations among adolescents and finds that the advantage is limited to youth from lower socioeconomic status immigrant families. In addition, gender disparities stem from educational trajectories in place earlier than eighth grade and are shaped by factors both at home and at school. Compared with girls, boys spend less time on homework and more time watching television, have more negative perceptions of school personnel and more negative peer experiences at school, and are more focused on family relationships, perhaps to the detriment of school relationships. These gendered experiences in families and schools early in life contribute to later educational disparities among children of immigrants.