School Psychology International
Volume 29, Issue 1, 2008, Pages 39-70

The impact of acculturation on the perception of academic achievement by immigrant mothers and their children (Article)

Zadeh Z.Y.* , Geva E. , Rogers M.A.
  • a Canadian Council on Learning, Vancouver, BC, Canada, Canadian Council on Learning, 1805-701 West Georgia, Vancouver, BC V7Y 1C6, Canada
  • b Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, OISE/University of Toronto, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S 1V6, Canada
  • c Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, OISE/University of Toronto, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S 1V6, Canada

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of acculturation on definitions and attributions towards children's school achievement. Iranian and Iranian-canadian immigrant mothers and their upper-elementary school children were interviewed about their definitions and attributions about school success and failure. There were significant effects of acculturation on the definitions and attributions of both mothers and children. Definitions of school success and failure held by Iranian mothers and their children were product-based, whereas the immigrant mothers and their children used definitions that were more process-based. While Iranian mothers attributed their children's school performance primarily to 'effort', 'family' appeared to be the most frequent attribution held by Iranian-canadian immigrant mothers. The Iranian children consistently attributed academic success and failure to 'effort', whereas the immigrant children's responses were variable, demonstrating acculturation to Western belief systems. The findings demonstrate how acculturation influences mothers' and children's beliefs about school achievement through the process of immigration. Implications for theory are discussed. Copyright © 2008 SAGE Publications.

Author Keywords

Attributions immigrants academic achievement Acculturation

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-38949147936&doi=10.1177%2f0143034307088503&partnerID=40&md5=afdd36198abdf222123c05f69fa92367
DOI: 10.1177/0143034307088503
ISSN: 01430343
Cited by: 8
Original Language: English