Título
Interact & aspire high: Contextual conditions of acculturation and educational aspirations
Autor
Pozueta, Mario Amigot
Resumo
en
Although education is central for minorities’ integration, there are large achievement gaps
between minority and majority students as a result of pervasive educational inequalities. Efforts
to advance the educational outcomes of minority children have identified that parental beliefs
about the education of their children are significantly influential on the children’s attainment.
Given that these beliefs are dependent on the acculturation of the parents; improvements in
intergroup contact, described as an antecedent of acculturation, could potentially produce
beneficial educational outcomes for the children. This study aims to understand the educational
aspirations Roma parents have for their children, drawing on intergroup contact and acculturation
theories. The Roma is the largest minority in Europe and subject to many educational
inequalities, so this approach could potentially help to improve their situation. Specifically, we
examined how Roma parents’ frequency and quality of interaction with non-Roma individuals
are related to their educational aspirations, and to what extent can this relationship be explained
by their psychological process of acculturation. 242 Roma parents in Portugal participated in a
survey study. Overall results revealed that an increase in intergroup contact frequency of the
parents is related to higher educational aspirations for their children, and this positive effect is
mediated by a decrease in their preference for culture maintenance. Moreover, the gender of the
child and the socioeconomic status of parents were important predictors of parental educational
aspirations. Implications for research and policy are discussed.