According to the New Canadian Children and Youth Study (children aged 4 to 6 and 11 to 13 years), immigrant parents’ perceptions of their children’s school is important to the well-being of their children. Children were less likely to be physically aggressive – for example, to get into fights and bully other children – if their parents had positive perceptions of the school environment. This relationship existed in spite of the child’s gender and age; the parents’ education, ethnicity or depressive symptoms; the family’s income and level of dysfunction; and factors related to the family’s acculturation – e.g., the length of time they had been in Canada, their language spoken and their relative living conditions.¹

¹Hamilton HA, Marshall L, Rummens jA, Fenta H and Simich L. Immigrant parents’ perceptions of school environment and children’s mental health and behavior.  Journal of School Health June 2011; 81(6): 313