Parental involvement in children's education often prescribes strategies to align with educational authority. Prevailing perspectives view compliance with educational authority as subjection and its rejection as a form of autonomy. However, there is autonomous parental involvement that accepts educational authority but results in opposite practices. This study, based on interviews with first-generation immigrant Chinese middle-class parents in Canada, provides a nuanced understanding of educational authority and parental agency in a new educational context. These parents strive to acquire and acknowledge the principles of an inclusive educational system, yet paradoxically intensify competition in practice. Findings reveal that the central mismatch between the educational authority to which parents are subordinate and their actual involvement lies in their interpretation of the host society. First-generation Chinese immigrants struggle with mechanisms for selecting social talents and integrating into public life. In this context, these parents leverage class advantages to mitigate ethnic minority disadvantages. Their strategic use of educational knowledge to counteract the pressures of social integration challenges prevailing narratives about normalization. This study demonstrates that parents' acceptance and subjection to educational authority are intertwined with their agency in ensuring their families' well-being and securing their children's futures.