Exploring Mexican Immigrant Parental Involvement in Adolescents' Education: A Mixed Methods Study

A number of studies (Carreón, Drake & Barton, 2005; Ceballo, Maurizi, Suarez & Aretakis, 2014; Lopez, 2001) have demonstrated that conceptualizations of parental involvement in the U.S. tend to be measured through the lens of a school culture that values the physical presence of parents in school, which leads to overlooking parents' efforts and culturally relevant activities outside of school. This is problematic because certain types of parental involvement valued by schools and teachers (e.g., parents' physical presence in school) may not be culturally applicable to Mexican immigrant parents. Using the mixed methods approach, the current study attempted to: 1) examine the degree to which Mexican immigrant parents are involved in their adolescents' education; and 2) further explore the culturally relevant ways that Mexican immigrant parents are involved in their adolescents' education. To achieve these goals in the current study, two phases of studies were conducted: Study 1, using the quantitative method; and Study 2, using the qualitative method. The findings from the current study confirm that the traditional parental involvement scale did not accurately capture Mexican immigrant parents' contributions and efforts in supporting their adolescents' education, and revealed that Mexican immigrant parents engaged in culturally relevant ways of parental involvement. The findings from the current research may provide culturally relevant information for educators and policymakers to adjust their support system to meet the actual needs of Mexican immigrant parents and adolescents.