Parents' Involvement in their Children's Education:

Lessons from Three Immigrant Groups

PART I

OVERVIEW

Cynthia Garcia Coll, Chairperson of the Education Department at Brown University and Director of its Center for Human Development, presented data from an ongoing study, conducted in Rhode Island with the assistance of Brown University graduate students. The aim of the study is to measure parental involvement in children's education, immigration issues, and other socio-demographic variables.

APPLICATION

Study includes 308 family groups living in Rhode Island:

· 125 Cambodian families

· 95 Dominican families

· 88 Portuguese families

RESULTS

All Parents Surveyed:

· feel it is important that students have access to computers

Portuguese and Dominican Parents Surveyed:

· exhibit involvement in children’s education

· participate to varying degrees in school activities

Cambodian Parents Surveyed:

· arrived in US as refugees

· received support from sponsoring groups for approximately one year

· feel reluctant to interfere with school's methods

· subscribe to a culture that leaves education almost exclusively in the hands of teachers and administrators

CONCLUSION

All three parent groups surveyed have aspirations for their children and understand the value of education. To solicit parental involvement in a successful way, teachers and administrators must learn to work one-on-one with families in their homes and communities.

PART II

OVERVIEW

Suzanne Ashby, representing the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) in Austin, Texas, presented findings from research on family and community involvement of diverse populations in school reform.

BACKGROUND
Americans tend to believe that immigrant parents are not concerned about their children’s education, notes Susan Ashby. However, if parental involvement is considered to have a positive effect on a child's education in America, it is not so the world over.

Parental involvement can be conditioned by:

· comfort with English language

· pre-immigration experience and cultural background

Continued parental education

· has a positive influence on children's educational experience

· leaves parents more comfortable with school personnel

MORE INFORMATION

See the two websites listed below.

• http://www.brown.edu/Administration/George_Street_Journal/vol25/25GSJ26e.html

• http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2000-01/00-124.html

The following publications are available from the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL):

• Ashby, S., Garza, C., & Rivas, M. (1998). Public deliberation: A tool for connecting school reform and diversity. Austin, TX: SEDL. Available on the World Wide Web at: http://www.sedl.org/pubs/lc06/
• KSA-Plus Communications. (2000). Family and community involvement: Reaching out to diverse populations. Austin, TX: SEDL. Available on the World Wide Web at: http://www.sedl.org/pubs/family29/family_involvement.pdf
• KSA-Plus Communications. (2000). Building support for better schools: Seven steps to engaging hard-to-reach communities. Austin, TX: SEDL. Available on the World Wide Web at: http://www.sedl.org/pubs/family27/

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