Fathers’ and mothers’ language acculturation and parenting practices: Links to Mexican American children’s academic readiness

Abstract

This study used a family-centered ecological lens to examine predictive relations among fathers’ and mothers’ language acculturation, parenting practices, and academic readiness in a large sample of Mexican American children in preschool ( N = 880). In line with prior early childhood research, parent language acculturation was operationalized as fathers’ and mothers’ English proficiency and primary language used in the home. Parenting was operationalized as fathers’ and mothers’ participation in home learning stimulation (e.g. shared book reading). Analyses showed that, after controlling for demographics, fathers’ and mothers’ primary language in the home predicted children’s reading achievement and fathers’ and mothers’ English proficiency predicted children’s math achievement. Furthermore, maternal home learning stimulation made a unique contribution to children’s reading achievement after the influence of parent language acculturation was accounted for, underscoring the importance of home learning stimulation for strengthening Mexican American children’s reading skills prior to school entry.