Hmong parent education and involvement and its impact on children: a correlational study

Abstract

The presence of the Hmong population in the United States has brought up many issues and concerns since they began immigrating here shortly after their tragic loss of the Vietnam War. Among these concerns is the area of education. The language barrier has presented many challenges for the Hmong with their education. The researcher believes a thorough understanding of the Hmong background and their life in the United States can be beneficial in assessing their needs in improving their education. Parents were assessed in this study from a survey developed by the researcher supplying insight on Hmong parents and their involvement and influence on their children in education. Children were assessed by using the Standardized Test for Assessment of Reading (STAR). The parent and children data were then correlated to provide the findings for the study. Results from this study show that a positive correlation exists between parent education level, parents providing homework assistance for their kids, the amount of English spoken in the home, and the number of years living in the United States with the students’ grade equivalency scores (GES) on the STAR.