Family structure, household resources, numbers of siblings competing
for those resources, and parents’ own educational attainment are often
important predictors of children’s education outcomes. Overseas
migration of parents from the Philippines has resulted in increasing
numbers of long-term separations of parents from each other and
from their children. Western-based analyses might predict negative
education outcomes for children as a result of parental absence. We
find that separations caused by overseas migration often are either
neutral or can have positive effects on schooling outcomes, at least
among older children. Girls fare better in terms of educational attainment
than do boys overall. Boys are often more affected by background
variables, including parents’ international migration.