Analysis
of U.S. Census data and other surveys show Nigerian immigrants and their
descendants score highest when it comes to earning degrees.
Nigerian
Americans have long been known for their community’s intense cultural emphasis
on education, and now an analysis of Census data coupled with several local
surveys shows that Nigerians don't just value education, but surpass all other
U.S. ethnic groups when it comes to obtaining degrees.
"Being
Black, you are already at a disadvantage," Oluyinka Olutoye, an associate
professor of pediatric surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, told the Houston
Chronicle. "You really need to excel far above if you want to be
considered for anything in this country."
According
to 2006 census data, 37 percent of Nigerians in the U.S. had bachelor's
degrees, 17 percent held master's degrees and 4 percent had doctorates. In
contrast, the same census data showed only 19 percent of white Americans had
bachelor’s degrees, 8 percent held master’s degrees and only 1 percent held
doctorates, the paper reports.
The
census data was bolstered by an independent analysis of 13 annual Houston-area
surveys conducted by Rice University and commissioned by the Chronicle.
"These
are higher levels of educational attainment than were found in any
other...community," Stephen Klineberg, a sociologist at Rice University
who conducts the annual Houston Area Survey, told the paper.
However,
despite the strides in education made by many African immigrants, including
Nigerian-Americans, discrimination still colors their prospects for employment.
A study of 2010 employment data by the Economic Policy Institute showed that,
across nationalities and ethnic groups, Black immigrants carried the highest
unemployment rate of all foreign-born workers.
In
addition to cultural expectations about obtaining higher education, the paper
reports that many African immigrants are more likely to pursue higher education
as a means of maintaining their immigrant status in the U.S.
"In
a way, it's a Catch-22 — because of immigration laws you are forced to remain
in school, but then the funny thing is you end up getting your doctorate at the
age of 29," Amadu Jacky Kaba, an associate professor at Seton Hall
University in South Orange, NJ, told the paper. "If you stay in school,
immigration will leave you alone."