Effects of Cultural and Social Structural Factors on the Achievement of White and Chinese American Students at School Transition Points

Abstract

Chinese Americans' high levels of educational achievement have earned them attention as a “model minority” to be emulated by underachieving and underrepresented minority groups. However, the model minority analogy does not adequately explain how this achievement is realized, nor how such information can be used to help other groups close the achievement gap. The ability of both White and Chinese American students to weather school transitions and to remain on track for high achievement and attainment can be explained by both social structural and cultural factors. When the effects of social structural factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, family composition, and parent education level are controlled, the relative importance of cultural factors such as parental expectations and involvement becomes clear.

Parental Expectations and Children's Academic Performance in Sociocultural Context

“…In eight of these articles, researchers tested and found strong and consistent evidence of a positive association or significant pathways between parental expectations and achievement for European American families (Davis-Kean 2005;Entwisle and Alexander 1990;Neuenschwander et al 2007;Okagaki and Frensch 1998;Pearce 2006;Peng and Wright 1994;Phillipson and Phillipson 2007;. None of the studies that examined the association between parental expectations of European American families and children's achievement failed to find an association.…”

“…In general, parental expectations have been found to play a critical role in children's academic success. Students whose parents hold high expectations receive higher grades, achieve higher scores on standardized tests, and persist longer in school than do those whose parents hold relatively low expectations (Davis-Kean 2005;Pearce 2006;Vartanian et al 2007). High parental expectations are also linked to student motivation to achieve in school, scholastic and social resilience, and aspirations to attend college (Hossler and Stage 1992; …”

Don’t aim too high for your kids: Parental overaspiration undermines students’ learning in mathematics.

“…First, many of the previous studies tested the relation between parental aspiration and student's academic achievement using cross-sectional or prospective designs (e.g., Bandura et al, 1996;Davis-Kean, 2005;De Civita et al, 2004;Frome & Eccles, 1998;Okagaki & Sternberg, 1993;Pearce, 2006). Such designs leave the temporal order of aspiration and achievement unclear.…”

The relationship between school-entry age and academic achievement in Lebanon. (c2011)

“…SES also impacts academic achievement (Pearce, 2006;Sirin, 2005). The SES impact was found to be contingent on the location of the school; weak in urban schools and strong in rural areas (Sirin, 2005).…”

“…Also, the curriculum i.e., content, pace, instructional strategies, and learning expectations differ across geographical regions (Lin, Lawrence,& Gorrell, 2003). Family support, parental involvement, and socioeconomic conditions also vary and therefore may exert country-specific influences on achievement (Fryer & Levitt, 2004;Pearce, 2006;Sirin, 2005;St. Clair & Jackson, 2006 (Mikk, 2005).…”