Developmental Area Brown Bag: 619 Presentations

Lauren Tighe: What do college-educated parents in low-income families provide to their children?

Abstract:
Past research has focused on either parent's education of family's income as the link to children's academic achievement as the two factors are highly related. However, the literature has yet to consider the heterogeneity of parental education within low-income families. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998/99 (ECLS-K), I examined families who are in or near poverty but have at least one college-educated parent ("low-income/high-education", n = 768) and compared their school and home behaviors to other types of families. Results revealed that low-income/high-education parents are more involved in their child's school compared to low-income parents without a college degree ("low-income/low-education"). Many behaviors of low-income/high-education parents were similar to parents with a higher income but who are not college educated ("high-income/low-education). However, low-income/high-education parents were more likely than high-income/low-education parents to take their child to libraries and museums suggesting the distinct influence of college education on family behavior. This work provides evidence for heterogeneity within low-income families while combating biases and stereotypes about low-income parents and families.

Fernanda Cross: Documentation Status Concerns and Latino Parent School Involvement

Abstract:
This study examined the relationship between documentation status and school involvement among Latino parents. The present sample comprised 125 foreign-born parents residing in a Midwestern county whose children were in either elementary or middle school. The results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that, adjusted for levels of parental education and English competence, Latino parents facing documentation status concerns were less likely than those without such concerns to be involved in their children’s schooling. One factor found to moderate this relationship was parental level of education, such that better-educated Latino parents with documentation status concerns tended to participate more in their children’s schooling, as compared to parents with lower educational attainment. Furthermore, parents with documentation status concerns and low levels of education reported the lowest levels of school involvement.