| This study explored the homework and home work involvement process of Korean mothers in the United States. Abundant finds about parent involvement indicate positive effects on children's school, but studies usually focus on typical forms of parent involvement around home and school or academic outcomes of parental intervention. This dissertation focused on the processes and contexts in which Korean mothers interpret meanings of children's homework and home work and perform their roles. In this qualitative study, ten Korean women whose families came to the United States for educational purpose and whose child(ren) currently attended secondary schools were interviewed. Feminism influenced on depicting women's involvement experiences within the contexts of "family," the high priorities of children's formal education and obtaining prestigious professions strongly mediated women's daily lives. The findings indicate that Korean women's involvement is tied to nurturing family connections, particularly between children and fathers. The women maintain close relationships with their children and perform practical services, and their actions are framed by family conditions such as children's growth and development, fathers' educational beliefs and values, and the family's material resources. Their abilities to understand school subject matters, English proficiency, and educational backgrounds play a role in supporting their children's academic achievement. Korean women's involvement is centered on children's advanced learning toward higher education and choices of professions rather than direct intervention in their children's current homework processes. Korean women perform substantial involvement activities in a context where men are largely absent. However, they are aware of expectations that a mother must educate children appropriately based upon the family agenda and that the women's performances strongly reflect their husbands' beliefs and values upon their children. This study demonstrates concepts of caring, humility, and sacrifice grounded by Korean traditional womanhood and presents a reality about Korean parents' educational aspirations to educational policy makers and practitioners. |
