Parental Practices, Peers’ Disengagement from School and Achievement among Haitian youth from low socioeconomical backgrounds
Haitian adolescents coming from low socioeconomical backgrounds are particularly at risk for school underachievement. Yet, few Canadian studies looked at the academic experience of students from this community. The present study assessed the moderating effect of four school-related parental practices (monitoring, help with homework, communication with school and, school support) on the relationship between peers’ disengagement from school and Haitian adolescent achievement in literacy. We used a longitudinal sample of 467 seventh graders born in Haiti and coming from economically disadvantaged high schools of the Montreal area. Results showed that peers’ academic disengagement, parental monitoring, school support and, communication with school reliably predicted school achievement. However, none of the four parental practices moderated the link between peers’ disengagement with school and student achievement. Our findings highlight the importance of considering parental and peer factors in explaining the achievement of economically disadvantaged Haitian adolescents. It is worthy that intervention programs and preventive measures aimed at increasing the educational achievement of these students involve their parents and friends.