The journal article I read was: "Parenting and Children's School Achievement: A Multiethnic Perspective" by L. Okagaki and P. Frensch. It was found in the American Educational Research Journal, Spring 1998, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 123-144. The study focused on the relations between parenting and children's school performance in three minority groups: Asian-American, Latino and European-American families. Fourth and fifth grade students and their families from a suburban school district in northern California were included in this study. There were five aspects of parenting that were examined: parental expectations for their children's educational attainment, grade expectations, basic childrearing beliefs, self-reported behaviors, and perceptions of parental efficacy. There were three major findings as a result of this study. The first is that parents' beliefs and behaviors differ across the three ethnic groups that were studied. "In general, Asian-American parents set higher educational expectations for their children." p. 139. The second finding is that parental beliefs and behaviors were related to children's school achievement within each ethnic group. The last finding is that the relations between parental beliefs and school achievement differ across the three ethnic groups. For example, expected educational attainment was positively related to children's school achievement for Asian-American parents but not for Latino parents. A final comment that was brought about by the study is taking into consideration the child's perception of their parents' beliefs, expectations and behaviors and viewing that perception as a variable that can affect the results also. We, as educators, must always remember that what may work for one ethnic group may not always work for or affect another group in the same manner.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 1999