Demand and Direct Involvement: Chinese American and European American Preschoolers’ Perceptions of Parental Involvement in Children’s Schooling

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Although studies have demonstrated that Chinese immigrant parents tend to be highly involved in their children’s education, little is known about Chinese American children’s perceptions of parental support and involvement at young ages. Using a mixed method approach, we examined Chinese American and European American preschoolers’ conceptualizations of parental involvement in their schooling. Participants consisted of 180 children aged 4 balanced with gender (60 low-SES children of Chinese immigrant families, 60 middle-SES children of Chinese immigrants, and 60 European Americans). To capture views of school learning constructed by children, we employed two scenarios that depicted children’s school attendance in interviews with individual children. Qualitative analysis of children’s free responses demonstrated four types of key themes that captured their perceptions of parental involvement: (a) recognition and appeal to parental support, (b) parents’ demands and expectations, (c) parents’ reasoning, and (d) parents’ direct involvement. Chinese American children were significantly more likely to mention parents’ direct involvement than European American children. There was no socioeconomic difference in children’s reference to the four types of parental involvement within the Chinese American group. Chinese immigrants’ family processes, academic socialization, and parent–child relationships are discussed.