Crossing Cultural Boundaries: Latino Parents’ Involvement in Their Children’s Education Kristen E. Closson, Andrew S. Wilkins, Howard M. Sandler & Kathleen V. Hoover-Dempsey Vanderbilt University

Acknowledgements Special thanks to the Peabody Family-School Partnership Lab, the parents and schools that made this study possible and OERI/IES (grant #R305TO ).

Background Information  Positive correlation between parental involvement and student achievement  Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s (1995, 1997) Model investigates why parents choose to become involved and how their mechanisms of involvement influence child outcomes

Level 1 Decision to get involved, influenced by: Parent’s role construction Parent’s sense of efficacy for helping the child General school invitations for involvement Level 2 Choice of involvement forms, influenced by: Parent’s skills & knowledge Other demands on parent’s time and energy Specific invitations from the child and school Parental Involvement Form Child SpecificSchool General Level 2 Choice of involvement forms, influenced by: Parent’s skills & knowledge Other demands on parent’s time and energy Specific invitations from the child and school Parental Involvement Form Child SpecificSchool General Parental Involvement Form Child SpecificSchool General Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler (1995; 1997)

Background Information  Lower levels of involvement among Latino parents relative to other parent groups (Goldenberg, 1987; Ritter, Mont-Reynaud, & Dornbusch, 1993; U.S. Department of Education, 1996)  Growing Latino population: ~546% growth in local Latino population ~62% are foreign born Largest minority group in U.S. (U.S. Census, 1990; 2000)

Background Information  Cultural differences: Emphasis on moral education, respect, and obedience more strongly than academics (Delgado-Gaitan, 1993; Reese, 2002; Reese, Balzano, Gallimore, & Goldenberg, 1995)  Language barriers, perceived lack of knowledge, and less flexible work schedules (Delgado-Gaitan, 1993; Goldenberg, 1987; Henderson, 1997; Lopez & Cole, 1999)  Understanding differences brings us closer to bridging the ethnic divide in education

Research Questions  Compared to Anglo-American parents, do Latino parents: Have a lower sense of efficacy? Have a more school-focused role construction? Perceive fewer general invitations for involvement? Perceive fewer specific invitations for involvement? Have a lower sense of their knowledge and skills for involvement?  Are any of these differences related to lower levels of involvement for Latino parents?

Methods  Compared the questionnaire results of two groups of parents—Spanish- speaking Latinos (n=105) and Anglo- Americans (n=107)  Participants included parents of 1 st – 4 th grade students in three Metro Nashville Public Schools  Response rate for all parents was 37%

Methods  Questionnaires included scales assessing Levels One and Two of the Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1995, 1997) model of the Parental Involvement process  Questionnaires were available in English and Spanish

Results LatinoAnglo Efficacy X School-Focused RoleX Parent-Focused Role Partnership-Focused Role General Teacher Invitations Specific Child Invitations Specific Teacher Invitations Knowledge & Skills X LatinoAnglo Efficacy X School-Focused RoleX Parent-Focused RoleX Partnership-Focused RoleX General Teacher InvitationsX Specific Child InvitationsX Specific Teacher InvitationsX Knowledge & Skills X

Results (cont’d)

 No significant correlations between study variables and demographics (income, education, etc)  Helps to rule out idea that effects may be due to different economic or social status

Results (cont’d)  We examined two separate hierarchical regressions based on our hypotheses drawn from the literature.  We predicted that Anglo-American parents’ level of involvement would be more highly predicted by personal variables.  We predicted that Latino parents’ level of involvement would be more highly predicted by contextual variables.

Results (cont’d) Anglo-AmericanΔR 2 Specific Child Invitations0.356 Parent-Focused Role--- School-Focused Role0.021 Partnership-Focused Role0.117 Efficacy--- Specific Teacher Invitations0.043 General School Invitations--- Knowledge & Skills--- Total R LatinoΔR 2 Specific Teacher Invitations0.282 Specific Child Invitations0.108 General School Invitations--- Parent-Focused Role--- School-Focused Role--- Partnership-Focused Role0.044 Knowledge & Skills0.033 Efficacy--- Total R

Discussion  Efficacy Consistent with our hypothesis, Latino parents had a lower sense of self- efficacy for helping the child succeed in school. Likely due to lack of experience and less familiarity with the American school system.

Discussion (cont’d)  Parental Role Construction Latino parents had a more school- focused role construction. Higher levels of parent- and partnership- focused role constructions.  Lack of understanding of their role in children’s education.  High sensitivity to the impact of education on the whole family.  Determination to try hard on multiple levels.

Discussion (cont’d)  Invitations Latino Parents perceived more general school, specific teacher and specific child invitations. Likely due to their general cultural inclination to respect the teacher and school, who they view as an authority on the child’s education. Specific Child Invitations:  Latino children may need more help due to language barrier.  Salience of education.  Parent as a co-learner.

Discussion (cont’d)  Levels of Involvement Latino parents reported higher levels of general school involvement. Latino and Anglo-American parents reported similarly high (5.44 and 5.45 out of 6) levels of child-focused involvement. Different factors contributed to parents’ level of involvement.

Limitations  37% overall response rate—likely parents who are most involved filled out surveys.  Possible misinterpretations of questionnaires, stemming from cultural and linguistic differences between groups.  Lack of qualitative data.  No information regarding length of time lived in the United States.

Next Steps  Explore how results change as immigrants assimilate over time.  Increase response rates to gain a more representative sample.  Examine Latino populations across the country to explore differences based on location and various school systems.  Examine how social support networks influence parental involvement and student achievement.

Student outcomes, including: Skills and knowledge Self-efficacy for school success Level 5 Mechanisms of parental involvement’s influence on child’s school outcomes ModelingReinforcementInstruction Level 3 Tempering/mediating variables Parent’s use of developmentally appropriate strategies Fit between parent’s involvement actions & school expectations Level 4 Parents’ basic involvement decision, influenced by: Parent’s role construction Parent’s sense of efficacy for helping the child General school invitations for involvement General child invitations for involvement Level 1 Parents’ choice of involvement forms, influenced by: Parent’s skills & knowledge Other demands on parent’s time and energy Specific invitations from the child and school Level 2

Results (cont’d) Anglo βLatino β Efficacy ns Parent-Focused Role ns School-Focused Role ns Partnership-Focused Role General School Invitations ns Specific Child Invitations Specific Teacher Invitations Knowledge & Skills ns0.207