Voices of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Parents: The Case of Korean-American Parents

• Published in: Multicultural Learning and Teaching Vol. 10; no. 1; pp. 7 - 30
• Main Authors: Koh, Myung-Sook, Shin, Sunwoo, Reeves, Kay C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin De Gruyter 01.03.2015; Walter de Gruyter GmbH
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Child Rearing; Content Analysis; Cultural Differences; Data Analysis; Educational Policy; Elementary School Students; English (Second Language); Family Environment; immigrant parents; immigrant parents’ school perceptions; Immigrants; Korean; Korean Americans; Korean Culture; Korean parents; Language Proficiency; Language Usage; Likert Scales; multicultural education in the USA; Native Language; Parent Attitudes; Parent Child Relationship; Parent Participation; Parent Surveys; Qualitative Research; Questionnaires; Second Language Learning; Secondary School Students; Self Concept; Statistical Analysis; Tennessee (Memphis); Indiana; New York
• ISSN: 2194-654X; 2161-2412
• DOI: 10.1515/mlt-2012-0007

The purpose of this study is to investigate attitudes and perspectives of Korean immigrant parents in rearing and educating their children in the United States. One hundred nineteen Korean parents from three cities in the United States were surveyed using the Korean Parent Questionnaire. The responses of the questionnaire were analyzed using Chi-square test, one-way ANOVA, and content analysis. Major findings of this study were (1) Korean parents’ limited English skills prevented them from communicating effectively with their children’s school personnel or getting actively involved in their children’s schooling, (2) the parents believe that rearing a child in America had its benefits, and (3) the parents spoke only Korean in the home and did not become immersed in the American culture.