Examination of Middle-Class Korean Immigrant Mothers' Book Selections

• In Event: 18.020 - A Mother Knows: Understanding Mothers as Pedagogical Agents

Abstract

This study examined the book selections of middle-class Korean immigrant mothers for their children’s learning and school participation in the U.S. Once a month for six months, data about their book selections were collected from interviews, observation, and artifacts. The findings showed that they preferred informational books as a way of overcoming a minority status, and their book selections were limited by their middle-class habitus. This study also revealed that some mothers felt an obligation to buy books from the brochures sent by teachers and to donate them to school. Through donating books, they wanted to demonstrate their school participation and benefit for their children’s school lives. The results provide important implications for the school-family partnership.

Author

• Jaehee Kwon, SUNY at Fredonia