Parent involvement in the academic adjustment of Latino middle and high school youth: Teacher expectations and school belonging as mediators

Abstract

A path model based in a theory of social capital was tested with Latino middle school (n=195, 58% female, average 13.8 years of age) and high school students (n=129, 64% female, average 16.8 years of age). Most participants (77%) were immigrants (predominantly from Mexico). Questionnaires assessed student perceptions of parent involvement, school belonging, and academic competence. Teachers rated their expectations for student academic attainment and grades were obtained from school records. Perceived school belonging and teacher expectations mediated cross‐sectional associations of parent involvement with academic adjustment. Links between parent involvement and academic adjustment were stronger for high school than middle school students. Middle school parent involvement was unrelated to teacher expectations and its indirect effect on school grades was non‐significant. Future research should examine the link between middle school parent involvement and teacher expectations and its potential role in increasing Latino youths’ school success.

Depressive symptoms, anxiety and academic motivation in youth: Do schools and families make a difference?

“…A positive relationship has also been observed between school attachment/sense of belonging to school and academic motivation (Goodenow, 1993;Hagborg, 1998;Neel & Fuligni, 2013;Sánchez, Colón, & Esparza, 2005). As regards the family, Kuperminc et al (2008) demonstrated that parental involvement may contribute to a child's sense of school belonging, suggesting that parents may also influence students' attachment to school. Bean et al (2006) and Henry et al (2011) found that parental monitoring and parental warmth may also serve as independent predictors on youths' academic outcomes.…”

Parental Absence and Academic Achievement in Immigrant Students

“…Lower levels of parental school involvement were linked to decreased educational expectations. For immigrant students, the level of parental school involvement declines as children get older, which is consistent with prior findings (Kuperminc et al, 2007). Difficulties with the English language had a direct effect on the outcome measures.…”

“…These include gender of the student (Crul & Vermeulen, 2003;Portes & Rumbaut, 2001;Suarez-Orozco & Qin-Hilliard, 2004;Suarez-Orozco & Carhill, 2008;Suarez-Orozco et al, 2009;Way, 2004), difficulties with the English language (Genesee & Gandara, 1999;Hernandez, 2004;Suarez-Orozco & Carhill;Suarez-Orozco et al, 2009), a problematic school environment (Gaytan et al, 2007;Han, 2008;Suarez-Orozco & Carhill;Woolley, 2007), economic hardship (Garibaldi, 1997;Roscigno, 2000;Suarez-Orozco & Carhill;Suarez-Orozco et al, 2010), and reduced parental involvement in the educational process (Barnard, 2004;Hernandez;Gaytan et al;Kuperminc, Darnell, & Alvarez-Jimenez, 2007;Martinez, DeGarmo, & Eddy, 2004;Suarez-Orozco et al, 2010), as well as coming from a single-parent home (Amato & Sobolewski, 2001;Coley, 1998;Lamb, 1999;Suarez-Orozco et al, 2009;Suarez-Orozco et al, 2010).…”

“…Previous research has also reported a number of factors that are influential with respect to the academic achievement of Latino immigrant students. These factors include gender of the child, language barriers, an unsupportive school environment, economic deprivation, limited parental school involvement, and residing in a single-parent home (Amato & Sobolewski, 2001;Barnard, 2004;Genesse & Gandara, 1999;Hernandez;Kuperminc et. al, 2007;Lamb, 1999;Martinez et al, 2004;Rivas-Drake & Mooney, 2008).…”

Increasing Latino Parents’ Verbal Interactions with Their Preschool-Aged Children

“…Ultimately they demonstrate lower levels of involvement with their children than native-born parents [2,11,12]. Lower English language proficiency can inhibit parents from performing a number of important activities, such as attending school events and parent-teacher conferences, helping with homework, and reading to their children.…”