Early parent-child use of the destination language in immigrant families and children’s educational achievement
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: ABSTRACT This study examines how parental use of the destination language (L2) with children in immigrant families shapes children’s educational outcomes. We distinguish between a skill mechanism — where L2 use builds destination-language competence — and a non-skill mechanism — where L2 use reflects broader domain-general parental orientations. The skill mechanism predicts effects on literacy but not mathematics, with indirect-only effects on later outcomes; the non-skill mechanism predicts effects across both domains and direct effects on later outcomes. Using a novel longitudinal design that links five national immigrant surveys to school and population registers in the Netherlands, we examine literacy and mathematics scores at the end of primary school (age 12), upper-secondary track completion, and the transition to tertiary education. Results are consistent with the skill mechanism: parent-child L2 use is associated with higher literacy scores but shows no comparable association with mathematics scores. This association carries forward into higher chances of general/pre-university secondary school track completion and university enrollment, yet operates largely through earlier test scores and track completion — consistent with a cascading process channeled through an early-tracking system. Overall, the study highlights early parent-child L2 use as one important pathway through which immigrant families shape their children’s educational success.
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,070
OpenAlex ID: W7213618860