High school teachers view immigrant parents of color as less involved in their children鈥檚 education than white parents, which could affect these students鈥� grades and academic opportunities, according to new research .
A study by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and New York University analyzed data from about 6,100 10th graders in the U.S., drawn from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, a nationally representative survey conducted by the federal National Center for Education Statistics.
For measures of parent involvement, the study鈥檚 authors used responses from the NCES teacher and parent questionnaires, which were linked to individual students.
On these questionnaires, English and math teachers categorized students鈥� parents as 鈥渘ot involved,鈥� 鈥渟omewhat involved,鈥� or 鈥渧ery involved.鈥� Parents also described their engagement in their children鈥檚 education, reporting how often they participated in three activities: 1) contacting the school with questions about academics or to volunteer for school events, 2) participating in school groups and activities, like parent-teacher organizations, and 3) supporting their children鈥檚 schooling at home by checking homework, discussing report cards, and giving academic advice.
Overall, teachers of both subjects described immigrant parents of color as less engaged in their children鈥檚 education. That held true when the researchers controlled for parents鈥� self-reported involvement.
The results differed slightly by subject: Math teachers gave the parents of first- and third-generation Latino immigrant students a lower assessment of parent involvement than non-immigrant parents of white children. But in English classes, teachers saw the parents of both first-generation Asian and Latino students as less involved than the parents of white students.
鈥淭o us, this sort of mapped onto dominant stereotypes about these groups,鈥� said Phoebe Ho, the paper鈥檚 co-author and a doctoral candidate in the sociology department at the University of Pennsylvania.
There鈥檚 a popular perception, she said, that Latino and Asian immigrants aren鈥檛 proficient English speakers and are resistant to learning the language. At the same time, the stereotype that Asian students are especially proficient in math may lead to teachers thinking that Asian immigrant parents are invested in their children鈥檚 performance in that subject, said Ho.
Students Suffer Academic Consequences
Teachers鈥� perceptions of parents may have consequences for the students as well, the researchers found. Students whose teachers thought their parents were less engaged had lower grade point averages and were less likely to be recommended for honors or Advanced Placement courses.
This finding is 鈥渆vidence that a kid鈥檚 GPA is not just based on a kid鈥檚 performance,鈥� said Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng, an assistant professor of international education at New York University. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just based on what they鈥檙e doing in that classroom. It鈥檚 actually based on the kid鈥檚 teacher.鈥�
Previous research has shown that immigrant parents are less likely to participate in school-based engagement activities鈥攖hings like calling to ask about course options or attending back-to-school nights鈥�, said Ho.
鈥淚n many cultures and contexts, it seems absolutely bizarre that the parents would contact the teacher,鈥� said Cherng. 鈥淚t seems so intrusive.鈥�
See more: Teaching Parents the Right 鈥楺uestions to Ask鈥� in Schools
But research has shown that the academic aspirations immigrant parents have for their children鈥攁nd the home-based supports they give them鈥攁re 鈥渦niformly high,鈥� said Ho.
鈥淭his is sort of a mismatch between what families think is important in terms of their involvement with their children and what schools think is important,鈥� she said.
K-12 schools in the U.S. want to see parents in the building often, she said, which the study demonstrates. Parents鈥� self-reported school-based involvement was a strong predictor of teachers鈥� perceptions.
鈥淯nless the teacher can see with their own eyes the parent in the classroom or on the school grounds, or hear them on the phone, they鈥檙e much less likely to think the parent is involved,鈥� said Ho. But that framework 鈥渋s maybe incongruous with how immigrant parents view their role in their children鈥檚 education,鈥� she said.
Paradigms of Parent Involvement 鈥楧eserve a Little More Scrutiny鈥�
Teacher-preparation programs are partially to blame for these paradigms of 鈥済ood鈥� and 鈥渂ad鈥� parents that fail to take into account cultural differences, said Cherng.
Too often, he says, programs characterize having immigrant parents as a deficit, and professors shy away from critical conversations about race, ethnicity, and culture. He says he once witnessed a program facilitator compare having an immigrant parent to having a learning disability.
See more: How to Solve the Parent-Engagement Problem (Opinion)
At the school level, administrators can work to center the needs and experiences of immigrant parents, said Cherng. This can be as simple as ensuring there are translators present at important school events.
But schools can also work to value the involvement that immigrant parents already demonstrate. 鈥淭here are things that schools expect that maybe deserve a little more scrutiny,鈥� said Ho. 鈥淒oes it matter if a parent shows up to back-to-school night if they do a lot of things at home to encourage their child鈥檚 reading, or help them with their homework?鈥�
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