Early elementary children's school-related talk with parents in Chinese immigrant families

Yiren Guo, Purdue University

Abstract

This study uses data (both quantitative and qualitative) reported by children from Chinese immigrant families to examine differences between boys and girls in their conversations with parents about school. The sample comprised 50 children (32 males, 18 females) in the first three grades of elementary school. A child-report scale was developed to assess: (a) how much children liked to talk with their parents about school (Child Interest, alpha = .72); and (b) how often their parents asked about children's school life (Parent-Child Frequency of Talk, alpha = .71). In addition, children responded to open-ended interview questions intended to provide information on the school-related topics that both parents and children talked about. The analyses supported the conclusion that both the girls' parents and the boys' parents were most concerned with their children's academic performance. Girls were more interested in talking about learning activities, while boys talked more about non-academic activities. Children's emotion-related talk received little attention from either children themselves or their parents.

Degree

M.S.Ed.

Advisors

Mantzicopoulos, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Asian American Studies|Early childhood education|Educational psychology

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