Involving Immigrants in Offspring's Schooling.

• Position: Brief Article

Should immigrant parents' lack of participation in their children's education be interpreted as a lack of interest? Parents' discomfort with speaking English, lack of familiarity with the educational system, and cultural conceptions of the roles of teachers and parents are often barriers to their involvement, explains Cynthia Garcia Coil, professor of education, psychology, and pediatrics, Brown University, Providence, R.I., and the Mittleman Family Director of the Center for the Study of Human Development. "It's not that parents don't care. It is not a matter of having the right values; it is a matter of having the right tools and understanding that you have an important role in your children's education."

Her study included 308 Dominican, Cambodian, and Portuguese parents from Providence and East Providence, whose children were between the ages of six and 12. The findings confirmed anecdotal complaints about parents' lack of interest in their children's education typically heard in urban school districts. Cambodian parents reported less involvement in their offspring's education than Dominicans and Portuguese, who reported similar levels of overall involvement. Cambodians also reported the fewest educational resources in the home among the three immigrant groups, including computers and a designated area for homework.

Pre-immigration experiences with literacy and formal schooling, as well as aspects of the receiving communities, influenced the differences among ethnic groups, Garcia Coil says. The Portuguese have been part of the immigration wave to Rhode Island since the 1800s and have a well-established community. The Dominicans, although a more...