Optimism for College: Parental Expectations of Language-Minority and Bilingual Students' Educational Attainment

• In Event: 32.083 - Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: 32.083-13 - The Many Faces of Educational Aspiration

Abstract

This study investigates how educational expectations vary among parents of (a) monolingual native English-speaking students, (b) language minority (LM) students, and (c) bilingual students enrolled in high schools in the United States. Using the National Household Education Survey (NHES):2012 data, the analysis finds that parents of both LM and bilingual students hold much more optimistic expectations toward their child’s postsecondary attainment than those of native English-speaking students, net of student, family, and school characteristics. Additional sociodemographic factors, such as race, socioeconomic status, and school-level poverty, are concurrently associated with parental expectations. These findings raise an important question regarding why LM students still demonstrate gaps in educational achievement and attainment, while their parents hold much higher expectations for college graduation.

Author

• Sooyon Youh, Johns Hopkins University