New Study Indicates that Language Challenge Can Affect Parental Involvement at School

A new study recently released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) indicates that the primary language spoken in the home and poverty status may hinder communication between parents and their child’s school. Whether it is due to the inability to understand English, unfamiliarity with the school system, or differences in cultural norms regarding appropriate levels of parent-school involvement, parents of children from a language minority household and those from lower income households show lower levels of parent-school interaction.

Data was collected from the Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey of the 2003 National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES). It included English- and Spanish-speaking parents of U.S. school-age students.

Results showed that a greater percentage of parents in English-speaking homes reported receiving notes or emails from the school, newsletters, or memos than parents in Spanish-speaking homes. Parents in English-speaking homes also reported greater opportunities for parental involvement in the school than did their Spanish-speaking counterparts. Parental involvement in the school included whether the school held general meetings for parents, parent-teacher conferences, school or class events, and whether parents were offered a chance to volunteer.

After taking household poverty status into account, the differences in school communications and parental involvement were still apparent between English- and Spanish-speaking households. Additionally, differences were also found in parental reports of both school communications and parental involvement for English-speaking households across poverty levels.

Increased parental involvement in school and school-to-parent communication practices may result in reduced incidence of a variety of health risk behaviors in children and youth. 

For questions regarding this study, please contact:

Edith McArthur, NCES
Phone: 202-502-7393
Email: edith.mcarthur@ed.gov

For additional information on NCHS, please contact:

National Center for Health Statistics
1990 K Street NW
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-502-7300

Sources: School and Parent Interaction by Household Language and Poverty Status: 2002-03, National Center for Health Statistics, September 2006.