The Influence of Perceived Family and Personal Factors on Self-Reported School Performance of Chinese and Western High School Students

This study investigated factors contributing to the school performance of first- and second-generation Chinese immigrant students and their Western peers in Australia and the United States. Chinese high schoolers of both generations reported that they put more effort into school than did the Euro-Americans and the Anglo-Australians and reported higher grades than did their American but not their Australian peers. Patterns of relationships between self-reports of educational outcomes and reported family and personal factors were similar across cultures and across generations of Chinese students. Moreover, these patterns were replicated in our Australian and American samples. The family factor most associated with both high achievement and greater effort was a demanding but nonconflictual family environment whereas a negative reaction by parents to school grades was associated with poor performance. The personal qualities of restraint and industry were both associated with positive educational outcomes. It ...