Immigrant and non-immigrant adolescents’ academic success: predictors from parents’ perspectives

This study investigated whether immigrant and non-immigrant parents differ regarding their perceptions of the levels of their child’s school engagement, parental academic involvement and school performance expectations and whether these resources are associated with their child’s academic success and help to explain the immigrant achievement gap. In total, 798 parents (75% mothers, 18% immigrants) of adolescents attending grades 5 to 8 Austrian secondary schools (50% girls, Mage = 12.49) participated. Immigrant adolescents had lower levels of academic achievement compared to non-immigrants (d = 0.53). Immigrant parents reported higher performance expectations compared to non-immigrants (d = −1.48). The immigrant achievement gap disappeared when taking father’s education into account. When adolescents were younger, when fathers attained higher levels of education, when parents perceived more time investment for school and school liking but reported less parental academic involvement and performance pressure in school, adolescents had higher academic achievement. None of these resources were mediators for the immigrant achievement gap.