Parental involvement in children's schooling: Different meanings in different cultures

Three types of parent involvement—communicating, volunteering at school, and learning at home—were explored in two cultures within the United States. Immigrant Chinese parents and European American parents of young children reflect their different traditions in the ways they involve themselves in their child's academic life. European American parents volunteered more in schools, while Chinese American parents focused more on systematic teaching of their children at home. Chinese American parents were more critical of typical primary school report cards without ABC grades. Parents’ home teaching methods showed stability over time, demonstrating that parents who used formal, structured methods at Time 1 continued to do two and four years later.