School involvement of parents of linguistic and racial minorities and their children's mathematics performance

Abstract

The goal of the study was to provide empirical findings on the effects of different types of parents’ school involvement (PSI) on their children's mathematics performance. For PSI, we explored parent participation in parent–teacher conferences, voluntary parental involvement in school activities, parent informal contact with school or teachers, and parental phone contact with school or teachers. In addition, we paid focused attention to families of linguistic and racial minority groups who may have different dynamics of PSI for children's schooling and academic achievement. We conducted comprehensive descriptive statistics and multilevel longitudinal modelling using a nationally representative database, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K), to establish study conclusions with high validity and generalizability. The results showed that four different types of PSI had differential effects for different linguistic and racial groups. The study findings have practical suggestions and implications for educational researchers and practitioners.

Keywords:

• parental involvement
• academic achievement
• longitudinal analysis
• linguistic minority
• racial minority

Notes on contributors

Mido Chang, PhD, is an associate professor of educational research methodology, College of Education, Florida International University. She teaches Structural Equation Modeling, Multivariate Statistics, Applied Regression Analysis, Research Methods in Education, Advanced Analysis in Educational Research, and Hierarchical Linear Modeling. Her research deals with improvements of school policies, teacher instructional practices, and parent involvement. Her research findings support efforts to improve educational practice and policies in the areas of school programs, teacher instructional practices, and parent involvement.

Namok Choi, PhD, is a professor of educational research in the Evaluation program, College of Education and Human Development, University of Louisville. Her research topics include gender roles, self-efficacy, validity studies, and parent involvement.

Sunha Kim, PhD, is an assistant professor of Educational Psychology and Quantitative Research Methods at State University of New York at Buffalo. Her research interests include the analysis of large datasets to identify the factors such as parental involvement associated with student academic achievement.