Expectations, Aspirations, and Achievement Among Latino Students of Immigrant Families

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between various measures of parental and student expectations and aspirations and math achievement among Latino 12th graders of immigrant parents in the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS): 2002 database. Findings indicate parental expectations and aspirations were not significant predictors of student achievement after controlling for an index of covariates. Moreover, neither were student expectations, agreement between student and parent expectations, nor student perceptions of parental aspirations. The analyses of the secondary questions likewise indicated only one strong relationship between aspirations, expectations, and parents' time in the United States -parental aspirations and expectations.

Parental Expectations and Children's Academic Performance in Sociocultural Context

“…Analyses conducted with a small sample of 57 found no significant paths from early parental expectations to later school performance (as measured by teacher ratings) or to reading and math test scores. Similar results emerged from a large study of 1,050 Latino immigrant students and families, which found that parental expectations assessed when children were 10th graders were not related to children's math achievement at 12th grade (Carpenter 2008).…”

“…This motivational function of parental expectations is supported by eight articles demonstrating a strong association between parental expectations and students' expectations or aspirations (Benner and Mistry 2007;Beutel and Anderson 2008;Carpenter 2008;Hao and Bonstead-Burns 1998;Rutchick et al 2009;Smith-Maddox 2000;Trusty 2002;Trusty et al 2003). A recent longitudinal study of 884 children aged 6 to 13 years when the study began demonstrated the long-lasting effect of parental expectations on children's expectations.…”

“…In three of these studies, there was evidence that the strength of the linkage between parents' expectations and students' expectations differed across racial/ethnic groups (Beutel and Anderson 2008;Carpenter 2008;Hao and Bonstead-Burns 1998). Carpenter (2008) noted that correlations between parental expectations and expectations of 10th to 12th graders were weaker for Latino students with an immigrant parent compared with nonLatino students with an immigrant parents.…”

“…Carpenter (2008) noted that correlations between parental expectations and expectations of 10th to 12th graders were weaker for Latino students with an immigrant parent compared with nonLatino students with an immigrant parents. Beutel and Anderson (2008) found that South African parents' expectations when their children were in the 8th grade was a significant predictor of students' educational expectations at 11th grade for Asian and mixed race students but not for Blacks after controlling for parents' education, previous literacy/numeracy scores, and whether or not the student was enrolled in school at the time of 11th grade.…”

“…To the extent that parental aspirations reflect the value parents place on education, they are based on parents' personal goals as well as community norms about schooling and its role in promoting professional and personal success (Astone and McLanahan 1991;Carpenter 2008). Researchers tend to measure parental aspirations by asking the year of schooling parents "want" or "hope" their children to achieve (Aldous 2006;Goldenberg et al 2001).…”