Definitions of Parent Involvement Given by Korean Immigrants Parents

Lack of comprehensive definitions and measurements of parental involvement concerns many researchers. Depending on ways that parental involvement is defined and measured, a certain group of parents can be depicted as either uninvolved or actively involved parents. Purpose of the study is to discover ways that Korean-American parents define the concept of parental involvement in their own terms, and whether there are notable differences in their definitions when these are compared to roles that other ethnic parents reported in previous studies. This study was done as a part of a large study investigating Korean immigrant parents’ involvement at home and in school. 78 Korean immigrant parents responded to an essay question that asked them to define the meaning of parental involvement. Using qualitative research methods, we analyzed 148 definitions given by the 78 parents. Four different ways of participation merged from the analysis: “School Involvement,” Home-School Connection,” “Home Involvement,” and “Duty.” As with other studies done with minority parents, most Korean immigrant parents defined parental involvement as home involvement. However, a major difference of this group from other ethnic minority parents was the way they pay attention to their child’s life. Implication of the study will be shared