Home-School Communication and Expectations of Recent Chinese Immigrants

Abstract

In this study, I investigated the nature of communication between home and school in families who recently immigrated to Canada. I used an open-ended questionnaire in interviews of 21 Chinese immigrant families and 19 non-immigrant European-Canadian families. The immigrant parents’ pattern of communication differed from that of non- immigrant parents: immigrant parents communicated less frequently, had more difficulty comprehending the communication, and were less satisfied with the communication. The immigrant parents especially emphasized the academic progress of their children and were concerned with the quality of teaching.

L’étude porte sur la nature des communications entre la famille et l’école dans le cas de nouveaux immigrants chinois. À l’aide de questions ouvertes, l’auteure a interviewé 21 familles d’immigrants chinoises et 19 familles de non-immigrants europo- canadiennes. Le mode de communication des parents chinois diffère de celui des parents non immigrants : les parents chinois communiquent moins fréquemment, ont plus de difficulté à comprendre la communication et en tirent moins de satisfaction. Ils mettent surtout l’accent sur les progrès scolaires de leurs enfants et se préoccupent de la qualité de l’enseignement.