Community Organizations Raise Dreams, Actual Attainment For Undocumented Youth
August 2, 2012
72% of
undocumented youth involved in community organizations strongly believe
they can make a difference, compared to 41% of youth overall.
LOS ANGELES — August 2, 2012 — For undocumented youth, involvement in civic organizations appears to enhance aspirations and actual educational attainment, according to a report released by the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration at USC.
As part of a larger study and ongoing research on low-income youth, USC sociologist Veronica Terriquez surveyed more than 2,600 young people in California for this report. The results reveal an important correlation between involvement in community groups and future education and economic contributions.
"Civic engagement appears to help address some of the issues that low-income youth encounter," said Terriquez, assistant professor of sociology in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and director of the Chicano and Latino Studies Program at USC. "The future of California — and indeed our country — depends on recognizing young people with high educational and career goals, and who are actively engaged in their communities, and helping make these dreams accessible for them."
Nearly 90 percent of undocumented youth surveyed for this report are low-income, and 74 percent lack health insurance. But Terriquez and co-author Caitlin Patler of UCLA found that undocumented youth who were involved in civic and community organizations had set high expectations for themselves — higher even than youth with legal status:
89% of undocumented youth involved in community organizations said they expected to have a high-skills job requiring a four-year college degree, compared to 60% of other youth.
72% of undocumented youth involved in community organizations said they felt empowered to make a difference in their communities, compared to 41% of youth overall.
In addition to dreaming bigger, undocumented youth who were civically engaged also had significantly higher real educational attainment than other youth:
95% of undocumented youth involved in community organizations had enrolled in some post-secondary education, compared to 79% of other youth.
72% of undocumented youth who were civically engaged received high grades in high school (mostly A's and B's), compared to 47% of other youth.
More than half of undocumented youth who are civically engaged were under the age of 5 when they arrived in the United States, Terriquez found. The majority of the undocumented youth in the survey are originally from Mexico.
"These undocumented students have a strong attachment to this country. They feel like they are Americans, but on paper they are not," Terriquez said.
The research was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Spencer Foundation.
To access the data or a copy of the report in English, Spanish or Korean, visit http://csii.usc.edu/aspiring_americans.html.
About the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration at USC
The Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration at USC brings together three emphases: scholarship that draws on academic theory and rigorous research, data that provides information structured to highlight the process of immigrant integration over time, and engagement that seeks to create new dialogues with government, community organizers, business and civic leaders, immigrants and the voting public. For more information, visit csii.usc.edu.
Contact: Suzanne Wu at (213) 740-0252 or suzanne.wu@usc.edu
LOS ANGELES — August 2, 2012 — For undocumented youth, involvement in civic organizations appears to enhance aspirations and actual educational attainment, according to a report released by the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration at USC.
As part of a larger study and ongoing research on low-income youth, USC sociologist Veronica Terriquez surveyed more than 2,600 young people in California for this report. The results reveal an important correlation between involvement in community groups and future education and economic contributions.
"Civic engagement appears to help address some of the issues that low-income youth encounter," said Terriquez, assistant professor of sociology in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and director of the Chicano and Latino Studies Program at USC. "The future of California — and indeed our country — depends on recognizing young people with high educational and career goals, and who are actively engaged in their communities, and helping make these dreams accessible for them."
Nearly 90 percent of undocumented youth surveyed for this report are low-income, and 74 percent lack health insurance. But Terriquez and co-author Caitlin Patler of UCLA found that undocumented youth who were involved in civic and community organizations had set high expectations for themselves — higher even than youth with legal status:
89% of undocumented youth involved in community organizations said they expected to have a high-skills job requiring a four-year college degree, compared to 60% of other youth.
72% of undocumented youth involved in community organizations said they felt empowered to make a difference in their communities, compared to 41% of youth overall.
In addition to dreaming bigger, undocumented youth who were civically engaged also had significantly higher real educational attainment than other youth:
95% of undocumented youth involved in community organizations had enrolled in some post-secondary education, compared to 79% of other youth.
72% of undocumented youth who were civically engaged received high grades in high school (mostly A's and B's), compared to 47% of other youth.
More than half of undocumented youth who are civically engaged were under the age of 5 when they arrived in the United States, Terriquez found. The majority of the undocumented youth in the survey are originally from Mexico.
"These undocumented students have a strong attachment to this country. They feel like they are Americans, but on paper they are not," Terriquez said.
The research was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Spencer Foundation.
To access the data or a copy of the report in English, Spanish or Korean, visit http://csii.usc.edu/aspiring_americans.html.
About the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration at USC
The Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration at USC brings together three emphases: scholarship that draws on academic theory and rigorous research, data that provides information structured to highlight the process of immigrant integration over time, and engagement that seeks to create new dialogues with government, community organizers, business and civic leaders, immigrants and the voting public. For more information, visit csii.usc.edu.
Contact: Suzanne Wu at (213) 740-0252 or suzanne.wu@usc.edu
USC Information