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L106 Goldenberg, C.N, Gallimore, R., Reese, L. J., & Garnier, H. (2001). Cause or effect? A longitudinal study of immigrant Latinos' parents aspirations and expectations and their children's school performance. American Educational Research Journal, 38:3, 547-582. Abstract
What levels of formal schooling do immigrant Latino parents hope and expect for their children? Do parents' expectations influence children's school achievement, or are parents' expectations a reflection of children's school performance? Do aspirations or expectations diminish the longer parents are in the U.S. or if they experience discrimination? We address these questions in a longitudinal study (kindergarten to sixth grade) of 81 Latino children and their immigrant parents. We employ a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods based on teacher ratings of children; scores on tests of academic achievement; and parent interviews where parents reported expectations and aspirations for their children's future educational attainment, perceptions of children's school interest and achievement, number of years living in the U.S., and perceptions of discrimination. Our primary findings are that (1) parents' educational aspirations are high and invariant throughout the elementary years, regardless of children's academic performance; expectations, however, fluctuate; (2) children's school performance influences parents' expectations, but expectations do not influence performance; and (3) immigrant Latino parents attribute high instrumental value to formal schooling, and neither years in the U.S. nor perceived discrimination diminish this belief. Our findings suggest educators should rethink their beliefs that Latino children's achievement is compromised by parents' low educational aspirations and expectations.
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