PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

Comparison of parental involvement in Hispanics and African - American on pre-school Achievement

Comparison of parental involvement in Hispanics and African - American on pre-school Achievement

Introduction

Historically, the idea of parental involvement has been defined in many different ways. For some, the label refers specifically to ethnic group differences; for others, it spans such concepts as socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability status, or any demographic data that differentiate one person from another. All of these are valid areas of multicultural study, but two in particular (economics and ethnicity) have the largest impact on educational performance. Thus, this entry addresses culture mostly in terms of ethnic and economic differences. It should also be noted that, when specific examples of ethnic differences are provided, only African, American, and Hispanic people are discussed in any detail because these three ethnicities make up more than 80% of the general population of the United States. This is not to say that other aspects of multiculturalism and other ethnic groups do not have an impact that should be addressed, but the topics discussed here were chosen to be most representative of the experiences in the parental involvement (Lynch, 2001).

Discussion

Just as the term parental involvement has no single, specific definition, the term classroom has become more difficult to generalize into a single concept as well. Classrooms can be housed in traditional brick-and-mortar buildings, or they can be housed as space on a hard drive in a virtual location created with online technology. They can be used to teach preschoolers or postdoctoral students. Classrooms may serve several hundred children at once or only one student at a time. Subjects may range from vocational and artistic pursuits to traditional academic studies. Although all of these are legitimate descriptors for a classroom, for the purposes of this entry, a classroom is defined as a physical room with one teacher and 20-30 children in a primary or secondary school building. These types of classrooms usually involve three parties—teachers, parents, and children—whose individual experiences will be described in greater detail (Spock, 2004).

Children's Ethnic Differences in the United States

What does a typical multicultural classroom look like in terms of ethnic and economic differences? According to data from the 2000 U.S. Census, from the general population approximately 25% of those surveyed described their race as non-White. In addition, those who described themselves as non-White showed a higher probability of living in poverty. For example, the poverty rate in 2005 was approximately 10%- 15% among the general population; however, the numbers look conspicuously different when examined by cultural groups. Approximately 25% of African Americans and 20% of Hispanics live in poverty. The difference in poverty rates is more striking for the 19% of children living in the United States with at least one parent who is foreign-born. Approximately 33% of children who are native to the United States but born of parents who were born outside of the United States live in poverty; compare this number to approximately 40% of children who live in ...