Chinese Immigrant Families Living in the US Practice Parental Involvement Differently

A qualitative case study methodology was used to research and understand how five Chinese immigrant families support their children’s academic achievement through parental involvement at home and school. The study is derived from two research questions: (1) what are the parents’ educational beliefs in supporting their children’s school learning? and (2) what parental involvement steps do parents adopt to aid their children in achieving academic success? As the data indicated, these Chinese immigrant parents had high academic expectations for their children’s educational outcomes; they especially believe their children must master the English language (verbal and literacy) and have a sound mathematical knowledge base. Second, the study shows that these parents are highly engaged in home-based parent involvement (e.g., study areas, books and learning materials, teaching and assisting with math and language, especially, and all subject learning generally). It is also shows that these parents responded to “invitations” from the school for involvement. The findings of this study calls attention to the challenges and strategies of the Chinese immigrant families for school involvement and the need for a home‒school connection and parent‒teacher cooperation for the Chinese immigrant family