Does selective acculturation work? Cultural orientations, educational aspirations and school effort among children of immigrants in Norway

This article examines educational aspirations, expectations and school effort among adolescents, using the first wave of the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study in Norway. In comparative terms, youth in Norway have exceptionally high aspirations. Nevertheless, we find an immigrant advantage in terms of both educational aspirations, expectations and school effort, despite considerable disadvantage in terms of low parental socio-economic status and early educational attainment. A significant part of the immigrant advantage in aspirations and effort is associated with selective acculturation, defined as cultural distinctiveness in terms of religion, collective family orientation and regular use of parental language. This is however not the case for expectations. The findings support a central component of segmented assimilation theory, which states that in their efforts to overcome the challenges of integration, children of disadvantaged minorities may benefit from maintaining some aspects of their parents’ cultural orientations.