Parent involvement in the academic adjustment of Latino middle and high school youth: Teacher expectations and school belonging as mediators

A path model based in a theory of social capital was tested with Latino middle school (n=195, 58% female, average 13.8 years of age) and high school students (n=129, 64% female, average 16.8 years of age). Most participants (77%) were immigrants (predominantly from Mexico). Questionnaires assessed student perceptions of parent involvement, school belonging, and academic competence. Teachers rated their expectations for student academic attainment and grades were obtained from school records. Perceived school belonging and teacher expectations mediated cross-sectional associations of parent involvement with academic adjustment. Links between parent involvement and academic adjustment were stronger for high school than middle school students. Middle school parent involvement was unrelated to teacher expectations and its indirect effect on school grades was non-significant. Future research should examine the link between middle school parent involvement and teacher expectations and its potential role in increasing Latino youths’ school success.