Asian Parenting Styles and Academic Achievement: Views from Eastern and Western Perspectives

The authors were drawn to the media phenomenon created by Amy Chua's book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother about her parenting experiences raising two daughters. Chua's parenting style is quite strict by US standards. The authors classify her style as Ethnic Minority, considered a subset of Authoritarian parenting style as compared to Authoritative style that is related to high academic achievement. This paper examines Asian parenting style and its relationship with students' academic performance through the lens of western parenting style literature and Confucianism. Concerning the parenting style literature, a framework of variables is introduced that defines each style. We found these variables relate to Confucianism that places value on education and family dynamics. In this paper, three conclusions are reached: 1) the Ethnic Minority parenting style needs to be more prominent in the parenting style literature and more research needs to be conducted, particularly with Asian descendants. 2) Asian parenting style needs to be singled out and examined with an in-depth look at its relationship with children's academic performance. 3) Confucianism with an emphasis on education and family dynamics, seems to foster the academic achievements of children. This impact needs to be further explored.