Cultural influences on educational achievement were explored in this study of Chinese university students. Academic choices, goals, and performance in relation to family background, ethnic identity, and cultural socialization were ascertained through semi-structure interviews and questionnaires. The sample of thirty-two McGill University students represented a cross section of majors, and were selected into groups based on length of residency in Canada. Data from university records, which showed the evolution of Chinese enrollment and achievement patterns over the last three decades, provided the historical context for the interviews. Major themes regarding family and ethnic identity emerged which suggest that educational ambitions may be socioeconomically motivated, and rooted in an ethnic minority's aspiration for upward mobility. However, the key facilitator of educational success is a strong home background and family system, which was able to promote and enforce a single-minded pursuit of education.

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Recent years have witnessed the large number of Chinese immigrants in Canada. With the coming of those immigrants is the large number of school age children. Hence, immigrant families' educational expectations and parental participation in their children's schools become major educational concerns. This study focuses on recent Chinese immigrants' expectations of and concerns about their children's schooling. / Drawing from Bourdieu's cultural capital theory and Ogbu's social mobility theory, in this study, I used a qualitative interview methodology to explore the educational expectations and school involvement of five Chinese parents who had recently immigrated to Canada. The educational expectations for their children and school participation of these Chinese immigrants are deeply rooted in Chinese tradition and heritage and are also greatly shaped by their personal experiences in Canada. Their cultural values and beliefs and immigration experiences as visible minorities have had a great impact on their educational expectations. Language barriers and different cultural values between dominant mainstream and Chinese traditions are the two main factors that hinder immigrant parents' participation in school activities and hence in their children's schooling.

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