Parental involvement and success at school: differences according to the parent’s region of birth
It is well documented that parental involvement in school has an impact on the school adjustment of the student. This study aims to determine to what extent parental involvement is positively associated with the performance and school engagement of students from immigrant backgrounds. The data were collected in five elementary schools located in disadvantaged areas of Montreal. A total of 296 students as well as their parents and their teachers participated in this longitudinal study. As the immigrant population is a heterogeneous group, we examined the differential association between parental involvement and school adjustment of students from three subgroups defined according to the region of birth of the parent (Canada, North Africa and the Caribbean). The results from the multi-group path analysis suggest that parents who are born in the Caribbean are different from the two other groups in that their frequent discussions about the school and homework supervision is associated with their child’s lower academic achievement.