Cross-Cultural Comparison of Family Environments of Anglo-Australians, Italian-Australians, and Southern Italians

Differences in academic achievement have been noted in children from various ethnic backgrounds. In Australia, differences in educational attainment between Anglo-Australian and Italian students have been documented, Italian students performing more poorly. Since the influence of environmental factors on students' achievement is well supported in the literature, the present study compared the family environments of Anglo-Australians ( n = 25), Italian-Australians ( n = 29), and Southern Italians ( n = 29) via administration of the Family Environment Scale to mothers. Significant differences were found, the Anglo-Australian sample scoring higher on the Active-Recreational subscale and lower on the Organisation subscale than both Italian groups. Differences between the Anglo-Australian and Southern Italian groups showed the Anglo-Australians scoring significantly lower on the Achievement Orientation subscale and higher on the Intellectual-Cultural Orientation subscale. There were no significant differences between the Italian groups. These findings suggest preservation of Italian cultural values within Australian society, which may contribute to a restriction of learning opportunities for Italian children and possibly affect their educational achievements in later years.