Exploring Factors Influencing South Asian’s Parental Involvement in Bilingual Children’s Academic Achievement in Southwest Florida

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 8:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Parent-Family Engagement in Bi-/Multilingual Education (Table 1)

Abstract

The South Asian population including first-generation Bangladeshi, Indian, and Pakistani (FGBIP), is one of the fastest growing, financially stable, and highly educated ethnic subgroups in the U.S. In order to investigate the influence of cultural background and household structure on parental involvement, a survey instrument was distributed to FGBIP parents of children studying K–12 in public schools throughout Southwest Florida. The results indicated that family’s cultural background and household structure had no statistically significant relationships with parental involvement in their bilingual children's academic achievement. The results of this study have potential implications for policy makers, educational leaders, educators, and parents to explore various factors and develop policies for bilingual students to promote student academic achievement.

Authors

• Shahid Rasool, Florida Gulf Coast University

• Clarisse Halpern, Florida Gulf Coast University

• Burhan Ozfidan, Florida Gulf Coast University