The Correlates of High Parental Academic Expectations

Abstract

Asian American parents espouse higher academic expectations relative to parents from other ethnic groups, yet these high expectations predict greater self-doubt in children who fall short of expectations. In the present study, 69 Asian American and 33 Latino undergraduate students discussed their parents’ expectations, how supportive they felt their parents were with their choice of major and school performance, and their feelings about their own academic performance. Differences between both groups emerged: Asian students perceived more pressure to do well academically than Latino students did. Asian students with more pressuring parents also expected them to be the most upset if they were to earn a C, saw them as less supportive, and ultimately felt less satisfied with their academic performance. In contrast, Latino students with more pressuring parents expected them to be upset (but not to the same degree as Asian parents), yet still felt more supported and satisfied with their academic performance. High parental expectations may impose self-critical evaluation of performance among Asians, while they foster more parental support among Latinos.