Child, Youth, and Family Studies, Department of

 

Date of this Version

2020

Citation

Published in Early Childhood Research Quarterly 53 (2020), pp 343–354 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2020.05.013

Comments

Published by Elsevier Inc. Used by permission.

Abstract

Parental involvement in children’s education is an integral component of young children’s academic achievement. Although there is clear evidence regarding the benefits of parental involvement, little is known regarding its impacts, manifestations, and conceptualizations in non-Western societies. Given that parenting and child rearing are imbued with cultural meaning in many profound ways (Super & Harkness,1986), this study employed a phenomenological approach and used pakikipagkwentuhan, a data collection procedure drawn from indigenous Filipino Psychology to closely examine how low-income Filipino parents conceptualize parental involvement and its role in their children’s education. Thirty-one parents/caregivers were engaged in conversation and qualitative data analysis showed that Filipino parents believe that helping their children with schoolwork, motivating them, and providing structure at home help their children succeed in school, consistent with the extant literature. However, responses regarding academic socialization, communicating with teachers, and volunteering in school reflect cultural beliefs and practices in the Philippines related to traditional parenting and extreme poverty. Results from this study expand our current understanding of parental involvement and highlight the role of the ecocultural context on parenting. Findings have implications for how parents and educators can support the academic success of children in culturally grounded ways. This study can also help inform educators and school programmers on how to help low-income parents support their children’s education.

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