I am seriously considering the latter because: (1) this question is meant to assess SES and parents education and may be a poor indicator of actual income and assets, especially for ethnic minority populations, (2) if there are large differences in educational status between parents, I would say that perhaps the "benefit" associated with high SES may not be the same for people who have one highly educated parent and one low educated parent; and (3) if we use parents highest level of education, then this perhaps diminishes the challenges and adversity children may experience in trying to achieve similar or better educational status and social mobility.
Yes, i think parent's education will add value and also enable to assess the reasons of a minority lagging behind.... if it is.
It is very relevant to do that. The variable 'level of education completed' has always been very useful in the analysis of individual's or group 's social positioning especially in our modern society in which the notion of education plays salient role in people's economic mobility and so on. But be aware that the so-called 'minority' could be a minority with the highest level of education and who may also be privileged to dominate the economy or political system of a country, a region or locality. For example, In Ireland, the Protestants used to be the dominant group over the Catholic majority population who were less educated and very poor compared to the very few well-educated and very wealthy Protestants due to their privileged background with the Protestant Britain that colonised Ireland.
Using the highest level of education should be more instructive and enlightening. If the family/individual does show benefits from the higher level of education, it can illustrate the importance of obtaining an education in helping to improve SES status/outcomes. If there is no benefit from the higher educational level, it might be an indicator of institutional, structural, and/or societal impediments faced by those who earn an education, but are stymied by hostile, external forces.
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