Comparison of family involvement across Hmong and Caucasion parents

Abstract

The present study examined the family involvement of parents with children in grades one through five to examine potential differences in family involvement between Caucasian parents and Hmong parents. Potential differences in family involvement as children age were also examined. Two hundred and forty seven parents were sampled from three elementary schools located in a small Midwestern town using a 42-item survey. A Caucasian mother and father, as well as a Hmong mother, were interviewed to gather qualitative information. A MANCOVA, which controlled for parent level of education and income, revealed no significant results. There was no significant difference in levels of School-based involvement reported by Hmong and Caucasian parents. The parent interviews indicated that both Caucasian and Hmong parents noted barriers to being involved at school (i.e., economic status and having small children at home). Due to limitations of the current study, directions for future research within this area are suggested.