From Mao to Memphis: Chinese Immigrant Fathers' Involvement with Their Children's Education.

How do adults adapt when they have been inculcated into a particular philosophy of parenting and education and are then expected to adjust to a cultural framework possibly at odds with their worldview? Mainland Chinese fathers represent one immigrant group that has had to successfully learn to navigate various challenges while interacting with their children and the American K-12 educational system. This case study explores the issue of fathers and their children through interviews with five men from Mainland China. The article first highlights the most common concerns expressed by Chinese families toward American schools and details how the fathers in this study developed specific strategies to address similar worries. The findings then focus on the concept of parental involvement in children's education through the fathers' perspective and how it might diverge from a more traditional view of involvement held by some educators. Implications for strengthening cross-cultural awareness between families and schools are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]