The authors examine cross-national variation in the ethnic gradient in aspirations among 14-year-olds in England, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden by using data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries, collected in 2009/2010. Results show that most ethnic minority groups are more likely to have university aspirations than ethnic majority youth. The most consistent minority advantage is found in England and Sweden, consistent with the interpretation that the ample scope for choice in progression through these school systems allows high ambitions of minorities to play out well. However, minority advantage of some groups is also present in the Netherlands and Germany, where transitions are more heavily conditional on previous performance. The pattern for immigrant generational status varies across countries and ethnic origins. There is no consistent empirical evidence indicating that aspiration differences between ethnic minority and majority youth will diminish due to assimilation processes across the generations.

作者使用2009/2010年在四个欧洲国家/地区进行的移民儿童纵向调查得出的数据，研究了英格兰，德国，荷兰和瑞典14岁年轻人的愿望梯度的跨国变化。结果显示，与少数族裔青年相比，大多数少数族裔群体更有可能拥有大学志向。在英格兰和瑞典发现了最一致的少数群体优势，这与以下解释一致：通过这些学校系统进行升学的充足选择范围使少数群体的雄心壮志可以很好地发挥出来。但是，荷兰和德国也存在某些群体的少数群体优势，这些国家/地区的过渡在很大程度上取决于以前的表现。移民世代身份的模式因国家和种族而异。没有一致的经验证据表明，由于几代人的同化过程，少数族裔和多数青年之间的愿望差异将减小。