Second-Generation Caribbeans in the Netherlands: Different Migration Histories, Diverging Trajectories

The integration of the native-born children of immigrants is often measured by their advancement in education and the labour market. Classical notions of immigrant integration assume that the second generation performs better than the first, and slowly closes the gap with their native peers. In the case of Caribbean migrants in the Netherlands, this process appears to be more complex. Whereas the children of the ‘early’ migrants hardly differ from their Dutch peers, the children of the ‘late’ migrants have a far less favourable position. This distinction between the ‘early’ and the ‘late’ second generation is also visible in the sphere of socio-cultural integration, in particular inter-ethnic relations, intermarriage and ethnic identifications. These divergent trajectories of integration among the second generation are strongly related to the pre-migration backgrounds and the migration histories of the first generation. Comparison with other major immigrant groups in the Netherlands also shows that the postcolonial condition of the Caribbean migration is a crucial factor in the integration process.

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