Immigrant parents’ acculturation strategies and involvement in children’s education: Experiences of Turkish and Maghreb immigrant families in Europe

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation was to examine the diverse ways in which immigrant parents support their children’s development, learning, education in school, and integration into the wider society. We examined the complex interplay of parents’ personal characteristics and preferences such as their acculturation strategies, on the one hand, and factors in the wider social context, such as the integration policies at the local and the national level, on the other hand, to explain the variation in parents’ support to children at home and in collaboration with children’s (pre)schools. Throughout this dissertation, we focused on the perspectives of families with a Turkish or Maghrebian migration background with pre- and primary school aged children across Europe. Most data are collected within the European ISOTIS project (www.isotis.org). The results seem to imply that while immigrant parents are often facing serious adversities, most of them try to do their best in supporting their children, both at home (by offering a stimulating learning environment) and at (pre)schools (by parental participation and establishing trusting parent-teacher relationships). The findings underscore the diversity in the experiences of immigrant families across Europe. Several implications for practices and policies aiming at integration and upward social mobility of immigrants are discussed. This dissertation tentatively points to the benefits of multicultural policies (versus assimilation policies), emphasizes support for immigrant families in providing rich language at home regardless the specific language they prefer to use and acknowledges the need for inclusive climates at (early) education settings that are open to new, co-constructed cultural models.