New Immigrant Children and Achievement: The Roles of Parents, Aspiration, Gender, and Race/Ethnicity

• In Event: Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Studies of Ethnic Diversity in Education

Abstract

This study answers the question of whether parents’ English proficiency, control/monitoring, and involvement in school education make a difference in children’s achievement when taking into account the mediating role of children’s educational aspirations. We take advantage of data on immigrant parents and school-age children (N=1,255) from the New Immigrant Survey to examine immigrant families from diverse backgrounds. Structural equation modeling analyses demonstrate that parents’ English proficiency and school involvement generally are related to children’s academic achievement, cognitive development, and English ability, directly as well as indirectly, through their educational aspirations. Parents’ control/monitoring is negatively related to children’s cognitive development. We also see intriguing findings regarding diversity according to gender and race/ethnicity.

Authors

• Eunjoo Jung, Syracuse University

• Yue Zhang, Syracuse University