The Academic Achievement of Adolescents from Immigrant Families: The Role of Family Background, Attitudes, and Behavior

The goal of this study was to determine the relative impact of family background, parental attitudes, peer support, and adolescents' won attitudes and behaviors on the academic achievement of students from immigrant families. Approximately 1,100 adolescents with Latino, East Asian, Filipino, and European backgrounds reported on their own academic attitudes and behaviors as well as those of their parents and peers. In addition, students' course grades were obtained from their official school records. Results indicated that first and second generation students received higher grades in mathematics and English than their peers from native families. Only a small portion of their success could be attributed to their socioeconomic background; a more significant correlate of their achievement was a strong emphasis on education that was shared by the students, their parents, and their peers. These demographic and psychosocial factors were also important in understanding the variation in academic performance among the immigrant students themselves.     

Hope,optimism and loneliness among first-year college students with learning disabilities: a brief longitudinal study

The goals of the study were to examine personal resources and social distress during the first month in college among students with learning disabilities (LD) and to compare their experiences with non-LD peer. The sample consisted of 335 first-year undergraduate students falling into two groups: 85 students with LD and 250 non-LD students. Questionnaires assessed hope, dispositional optimism and loneliness. We hypothesised that, after participation in a single-session hope intervention workshop, the hope and optimism levels of both students with LD and without LD would increase, while their loneliness would decrease. However, after a month of facing the academic and social demands of their new college environment, we expected that the hope and optimism scores of students with LD would be lower than their peers without LD and that their loneliness scores would be higher. As hypothesised, both groups reported enhanced hope and optimism, as well as lower loneliness, immediately after the workshop. However, students with LD – but not their peers – returned to baseline levels of hope and loneliness after a month. Loneliness after a month predicted lower hope, after controlling predictors from the beginning of the year.     

Hope as a Mediator of Loneliness and Academic Self‐efficacy Among Students With and Without Learning Disabilities during the Transition to College

The transition to college often occasions excitement as well as elevated stress for students. The latter may be especially the case for those with learning disabilities (LD), who can encounter problems both socially and academically. This study follows students both with and without LD during the first month of college to explore the relationships between LD status and two outcomes: loneliness/social distress and academic self‐efficacy. In particular, we hypothesized that hope and optimism would mediate the relationship between LD status and these outcomes. The sample consisted of 344 first‐year undergraduates at the beginning of the academic year (Time‐1) and a month later (Time‐2). Results showed that LD status predicted Time‐2 levels of academic self‐efficacy and loneliness only indirectly, demonstrating that relationships between LD and loneliness as well as between LD and academic self‐efficacy are mediated by hope.     

Fostering the academic success of their children: Voices of Mexican immigrant parents

Latinos, particularly Mexican immigrants, are the fastest-growing population in the United States but lag behind others in educational attainment. Parent involvement in their child's education has been linked to positive student academic outcomes, but few studies have focused specifically on Latino/a parents. To identify and promote culturally salient parent involvement approaches for Mexican immigrant parents, this qualitative strength-based study investigated motivations, actions, and culture of 11 Mexican immigrant parents of students who attended a selective college preparatory high school. The study found that a parent's effort to help their children succeed is not dependent on high levels of parent education or income. Rather, the home-based strategies, many of which are rooted in the Latino culture, and specific outreach by educators influenced parent involvement.     

Virtual connections,personal resources,loneliness, and academic self-efficacy among college students with and without LD

The goals of the study were first to compare the social and academic well-being (loneliness and academic self-efficacy (ASE) among college students with and without learning disabilities (LD), as well as three personal strengths (hope, optimism and sense of coherence (SOC). The second goal was to identify the predicting factors to their loneliness and ASE. The sample consisted of 178 female students from the special education programme in a teachers’ college, divided into two subgroups: 59 students with LD and 119 students without LD. The following questionnaires were used: the loneliness scale; ASE; Internet and smartphone activities; hope, optimism and SOC. As expected, students with LD reported higher levels of loneliness and lower levels of ASE. Multiple hierarchical regression analyses showed that the use of the Internet for avoidance coping was a significant predictor for the loneliness and ASE. Results of the mediation analysis further demonstrated that LD was positively associated with online avoidance coping. However, hopeful thinking had a significant mediation effect between LD and online avoidance coping. Students with LD who have hopeful thinking were less engaged in avoidance coping than their peers, focusing attention on the importance of hope as a mediation factor.     

Immigrant Youth Involvement in School-Based Extracurricular Activities

ABSTRACT

Extracurricular activity involvement is generally beneficial toward student progress and success. Little is known, however, about immigrant youth involvement in school-based extracurricular activities. The author examined the patterns of Latino and Asian American youth extracurricular involvement by focusing on the pertinent role of immigrant generational status. Analyses, which draw from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 and logistic regression analyses, indeed reveal imperative findings. Most notably, Latino 3rd-plus generation immigrant students are more likely to participate in sports, whereas Asian American first-generation immigrant students are more likely to be involved with academic extracurricular activities. Immigrant generational status matters when examining extracurricular participation of the children of immigrants. The implications of such extracurricular involvement in the U.S. educational system are discussed more generally.     

Latino immigrant parents’ financial stress,depression, and academic involvement predicting child academic success

The current study examines Mexican‐ heritage immigrant parents’ financial stress, English language fluency, and depressive symptoms as risk factors for parental academic involvement and child academic outcomes. Participants were 68 Latino immigrant (from Mexico) third and fourth graders and their parents. Results from a structural equation model analysis indicated that Latino parents who reported greater financial stress also reported higher levels of depressive symptoms; this, in turn, was related to lower parent‐reported levels of engagement in the monitoring and transmission of implicit and explicit valuing of academics. Parental monitoring of academics was positively associated with children's success in mathematics and transmission of implicit and explicit valuing of academics was positively associated with children's success in language arts. The current study extends support for the Family Economic Stress Model by demonstrating connections between parental stress, emotional well‐being, and child academic outcomes, through parental involvement in children's academics in a Latino‐heritage sample.     

Meta-analysis on the relation between acculturation and academic performance: Testing the immigrant paradox

This meta-analysis is designed to test the immigrant paradox hypothesis, which argues that first-generation immigrant students tend to outperform their more acculturated peers. We aim to unpack the complex relation between acculturation and academic performance among immigrant-origin students with attention to methodological and demographic moderators. The review includes 79 independent samples generated from 54 studies, representing 89,827 students (M = 646.24, SD = 862.93) with a mean age of 13.26 (SD = 5.16). We found an overall main effect of 0.04, (p < .001), suggesting a significant, positive correlation between acculturation and academic performance. However, given the significant variation among studies, focused moderator analyses revealed the importance of critical methodological (e.g., type of acculturation measure used, type of academic indicator used, and type of publication) and demographic (e.g., developmental stage, race/ethnicity, urbanicity) factors that moderate the relation between acculturation and school achievement. These results suggest the opposite of the immigrant paradox, that is second-generation (or more acculturated) students seem to perform better than their first-generation (or less acculturated) peers. Moderation analysis, however, revealed that acculturation seems to have no effect on grades, while having a positive effect on test scores. Finally, we found a positive relation between acculturation and academic performance in studies conducted with children and adolescents, but not for young adults.     

Unintended effects of the language policy on the transition of immigrant students to upper secondary education in Catalonia

This article analyses the effects of the language policy in Catalonia on the transition of immigrant students to upper secondary education in Barcelona by focusing on the language learning experiences and academic trajectories of two case-studies of Pakistani students whose communicative resources remain invisible despite the official celebration of linguistic diversity and which are not properly fostered to ensure their successful incorporation into post-compulsory education, despite their initial success and high aspirations. Although indicators of educational inequality show how young people born outside the EU experience an alarming disadvantage in comparison to their Spanish-born peers, little attention has been paid to factors related to the complex bilingual context of Catalonia. This article aims to shed light on the factors involved in the early school leaving of students from immigrant backgrounds, especially critical in the periods of transition, and the role played by the language policies, beliefs and ideology that they are exposed to.     

Improving mathematics results: does teachers’ academic optimism matter? A study of lower secondary schools

Educational effectiveness research has provided evidence about the importance of teacher beliefs and attitudes for teaching and learning. This study builds on the concept of academic optimism, which combines 3 aspects of a teacher’s professional creed: self-efficacy, trust, and academic emphasis. The study explores the functioning of the collective and individual measures of academic optimism in the Czech environment and studies its impact on students’ outcomes. The analyses are based on pilot data from 39 schools, 325 teachers, and 1,316 Grade 9 students and on the data from the Czech Longitudinal Study in Education (CLoSE), covering 163 schools, 1,469 teachers, and 4,798 students. The individual measure was selected for further studies based on 2-level confirmatory factor analysis. Two-level structural equation modelling showed a significant impact of a school’s academic optimism on students’ achievement even after controlling for prior achievement and socioeconomic status at both the student and the school level.     

The challenge of Improving Teaching in a Globalizing World

The USA has served as a beacon of hope for thousands of foreign students and academics with its diverse and superior opportunities created by a system of meritocracy unparalleled in the world. In keeping with other industries, academia is increasingly becoming a global village and foreign‐born professors constitute a large proportion of university faculties. As higher education is increasingly accessible to students with varying levels of academic preparedness, faculties have become more aware of the importance of the opinions of students – the system’s consumers – on teaching. Bearing in mind the ‘similarity‐attraction paradigm’, this study sought to examine whether teaching evaluations are affected by cultural similarity or difference between students and instructors. Our data are based on teaching ratings from the largest Israeli public college. The analysis relates to 42,874 teaching ratings of 768 instructors, of whom 602 are Israeli‐born and 166 are immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU). The findings indicate that FSU immigrant students awarded higher evaluations to FSU immigrant faculty members than their native‐born peers. Similarly, Israeli‐born students awarded higher evaluations to Israeli‐born faculty than the FSU immigrant students. We conclude by discussing the educational and managerial implications of these findings for higher education institutions with ethnically diverse faculty and students.     

Exploring Latino/a college students’ transition experiences: An ethnography of social preparedness and familial support

This ethnographic case study examined first-year, first-generation, low-income Latino/a college students’ social experiences and familial support during their transition from a charter high school to four-year universities. Through interviews and observations, we found that maintaining communication and building relationships among high school and college peers, high school faculty and staff, and college professors were essential to navigating the educational system; also, having a family that supported their academic work to allow students to only focus on their coursework was important.     

AN INVESTIGATION OF CRITICAL MASS: The Role of Latino Representation in the Success of Urban Community College Students

The community college has historically functioned as a primary access point to postsecondary education for Latino students. This study, an investigation conducted through an analysis of the Transfer and Retention of Urban Community College Students (TRUCCS) project, focuses on Latino students enrolled in urban “minority-majority” community colleges, where Latino students have a high representation. The specific interest of this research is the role and effect of the level of representation of Latino community college students on their academic outcomes. The relationship between the level of representation of Latinos, and the levels of academic success are analyzed in concert with other variables, such as, the level of representation of Latino faculty on campus, student age, attitude, academic integration, English ability and aspiration. Findings indicate a relationship between academic success of Latino community college students and the proportion of Latino students and faculty on campus. The findings thus suggest that a critical mass of Latinos may be a positive influence encouraging “minority” students to higher academic performance.     

Pathways to Achievement: Career and Educational Aspirations and Expectations of Latina/o Immigrant Parents and Early Adolescents

Drawing on sociocultural and related theories, 4 questions examined career and educational aspirations and expectations among 24 immigrant Latina/o early adolescents and their parents as predictors of students’ grades. First, adolescents’ career aspirations and expectations were correlated, and both parents and adolescents held educational aspirations that exceeded their expectations. Second, most adolescents and parents held congruent educational aspirations. Third, congruence between students’ career and educational aspirations was uncommon. Fourth, parents’ educational aspirations and adolescents’ career–education congruence predicted students’ grades. Discussion highlights students’ ongoing reconciliation between aspirations and academic skills and multiple ways immigrant Latino parents contribute to their adolescents’ future.     

The Achievement Gap Among Newcomer Immigrant Adolescents: Life Stressors Hinder Latina/o Academic Success

This study compares life stressors and school outcomes among newcomer immigrant adolescents from Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean. Participants attended a predominantly low-income, urban international public high school in the northeast. The Latina/o students were exposed to more life stressors and had lower attendance and achievement than non-Latina/o students. Life stressors mediated the relationship between ethnicity and academic outcomes. Results deepen experts’ understanding of the achievement gap, suggesting that newcomer immigrant adolescents from Latin America face unique risks and deserve intervention efforts focused on sociocontextual stressors that may prevent these students from achieving their full academic potential.     

Educational experiences of immigrant students from the former Soviet Union: a case study of an ethnic school in Toronto

This paper explores the academic and psychosocial outcomes of immigrant students from the former Soviet Union (FSU) in an ethnic school in Toronto. Based on interviews with the principal, teachers, students and parents, together with questionnaire responses, the paper describes school programmes and practices that contribute to FSU immigrant students' high academic achievement, within the categories of curriculum, pedagogy, discipline policy and teacher–student relationships. The creation of this ethnic school suggests that Canada's educational system has not met the needs of the immigrant group. The paper seeks to further understanding of educating FSU immigrant students, and discusses the implications of ethnic schools for educating children in a multicultural society.     

Immigrant and nonimmigrant children's social interactions and peer responses in mainstream preschool classrooms

The authors examined the social practices and outcomes of 23 immigrant and 16 nonimmigrant preschoolers in English only preschool classrooms. In both classrooms, the majority of the children (nearly two thirds) were immigrant, English language learners. The children's social attempts, social strategies, speech functions, and degree of social success were observed and comparisons were made between nonimmigrant and immigrant peers. There were similarities between groups in their social engagement and social construction strategies; there were differences in social roles, social language functions, and types of social construction strategies. There also were significant differences in the social success of the two groups. Immigrant children experienced rejection of their social bids more than their preschool peers did. Immigrant children also were less likely to be leaders and seemed positioned in a lower social status among their peers did. These results are discussed along with implications for educational practices.     

Exploring Resilience in Latina/o Academic Outcomes: A Latent Class Approach

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between various protective factors with academic outcomes of Latina/o high school students. We use two groups of protective influences, individual and family, and their relationship to 12th grade mathematics achievement, dropout rates, and enrollment in post-secondary education. Latent class analysis was used to identify academic protective profiles, or latent groups/classes, among high school Latina/o students (N?=?1610) and assess group differences with respect to gender, SES, immigrant status, student’s native language, preschool attendance, and 10th grade mathematics. Results indicated the presence of four academic protective groups, which differed with respect to academic discussions with parents, and attitudes about mathematics. The four classes are compared with respect to academic outcomes and differences are discussed as well as implications for practice.     

Comparisons of Self‐Efficacy,Mood, Effort,and Hope Between Students with Learning Disabilities and Their Non‐LD‐Matched Peers

The goals of this study were to compare self‐perceptions of self‐efficacy, mood, effort, and hope between 123 adolescents with learning disabilities (LD) and a group of 123 Non‐LD peers, who were matched for their level of academic performance and gender, and to explore the relations between measures of self‐perception and achievement. The results showed that students with LD reported lower academic self‐efficacy and lower social self‐efficacy. They also rated their mood as more negative and reported lower levels of hope and less investment of effort in their academic work. At the same time, no significant differences were found for emotional self‐efficacy in comparison to the Non‐LD peer group. In addition, among students with LD who were successful in their studies, a subgroup continued to report low levels of hope. The results demonstrated that even when the academic performance of students with LD is similar to their Non‐LD peers, their specific and global self‐perceptions continue to reflect their distress. It is not clear if these results represent past difficulties, day‐to‐day struggles, and/or future worries. Resilience models are proposed and research limitations are specified.     

Academic socialization,parental educational expectations,and academic self‐efficacy among Latino adolescents

This study examined the direct association between parental educational expectations and adolescents’ academic self‐efficacy, as well as the moderating influence of parental academic socialization messages. Participants were 148 Latino parent–adolescent dyads with the majority of Mexican origin (80.4%). Most of the parent participants were mothers (85.8%). Adolescents were 13 (46%) or 14 (54%) years of age, and 53% identified as female. Adolescents reported their academic self‐efficacy and perceptions of their parents’ educational expectations; parents reported on their academic socialization messages of shame/pressure and effort regarding academics. The results suggest that, after accounting for parents’ level of education and immigrant status, parental educational expectations were positively associated with adolescent academic self‐efficacy. This association was stronger among adolescents whose parents reported transmitting fewer messages of shame/pressure and academic effort. These results point to the importance of nuances in the content and type of academic socialization messages within Latino families.