ABSTRACTMOVING AROUND OR SETTLING DOWN? OCCUPATIONAL CHOICES BY THE CHILDREN OF MEXICAN FARM MIGRANTS IN MICHIGANByTeresa Joan Van OosterhoutOttawa County, Michigan, hosts the largest population of temporary agricultural workers in the state. The migrant stream between West Michigan and the Rio Grande Valley was established during the 1950s and continues to provide a steady flow of workers for Ottawa County agriculture. Upon reaching adulthood, youths who grow up migrating between Michigan and the Rio Grande Valley face the decision of whether to continue in the migration circuit or to pursue other options for their futures, such as higher education.This dissertation focuses on the factors that influence migrant youths’ choices for their futures, and specifically, the choice of whether to pursue a college education. The study's over–arching question is, “Which organizational sources of social capital influence migrant youths to continue migrating or to settle out of the migrant stream?” I break down this “umbrella question” into three primary research questions for this dissertation: 1. Who (parents, siblings, friends, teachers, schools, others) exerts the most influence on migrant youths and young adults in their decisions about education and work? 2. Does bridging social capital affect a migrant youth’s likelihood of college enrollment?3. How does one’s concept of “home” influence the decision to continue to migrate or to leave the migrant stream?Portes and Rumbaut’s (2001) theory of immigrant assimilation, Bourdieu’s (1986) theory of social capital, and Flora and Flora’s (2003) concepts of bonding (in–group) and bridging (inter–group) social capital are used in this analysis. I conducted nineteen in–depth personal interviews with young adults who grew up migrating between Ottawa County (specifically, Holland and Grand Haven) and Texas or Mexico. I also moderated four focus groups (two for men and two for women) with students in the College Assistance for Migrant Scholars Program (CAMP) at Michigan State University. Interviewees were located through the use of a snowball sample. Focus group members were recruited through the assistance of the CAMP office, as well as through a snowball sample. The results of this study show that young adults from migrant families are likely to follow the career and educational path encouraged by their parents. Those with greater amounts of bonding and bridging social capital appear more likely to pursue a college education than those with a concentration of bonding social capital and little bridging social capital. In addition, lower–birth–order children may be less likely to attend college than higher–birth–order children. There does not seem to be a connection between participants’ concept of ‘home’ and their decision of whether to attend college. The impacts of gender and race, as well as obstacles to settling out of the migrant stream and to achieving higher education are also explored. The desire of many of the college student participants to help the migrant community in the future is also discussed.
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