Reexamining Definitions of Successful Home-School Relationships in a Context of Rapid Demographic Change

• In Event: Roundtable Session 18.
  In Roundtable Session: Home-School Relations in Traditional and New Immigrant Destinations: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

This paper examines the implications of recent immigration trends for home-school relationships in schools in new immigrant destinations. Specifically, the paper examines how a recent influx of Latin@ students has reshaped parent and staff definitions of positive home-school relationships in one school community.
The importance of positive home-school relations and their impact on student achievement has been well documented (Comer, 1984; Epstein, 1986). Research has clearly demonstrated that factors such as race, class, gender, language, and immigrant status strongly influence the nature of interactions between families and school staff (Lareau, 1989; Delgado-Gaitán, 1991; Valdés, 1996). The ways in which this occurs is of heightened interest at a time when increasing numbers of districts are experiencing significant demographic change. To date, however, little research has explored how such changes have transformed how individual staff and parents themselves make sense of “successful” interactions between school and home.
This paper approaches the issue of home-school relationships from the perspectives of staff and parents in one school context. In so doing, it seeks to demonstrate how an increasing influx of Latin@ students in a historically African-American school has directly influenced definitions of what it means to be an “involved” teacher or parent. The paper applies Portes’ theory of “negative social capital” to highlight how social capital that can benefit members of one group can bar other groups from access to favor. Data for this paper was collected as part of a larger, year-long ethnographic study at one middle school in a Midwestern new immigrant destination. Data sources for the larger ethnography included over 600 hours of participant observation, semi-structured interviews with over 30 teachers, parents, and staff members, and document analysis of correspondence between district, school and home.
The data points to several key findings. First, though staff put forth an inclusive definition of “successful” home-school relationships, in practice a highly prescriptive definition guided institutional attitudes and decision-making. Parent attitudes towards teacher involvement, however, were broad and inclusive of a variety of approaches. Second, staff attributed the adoption of certain types of “parental involvement” to families’ racial/cultural backgrounds. Parents pointed to a range of factors beyond race or “culture” shaping their decision-making around home-school relationships. Third, staff often characterized the types of involvement adopted by some Latin@ parents as being more desirable than those of parents of other racial backgrounds. Some parents, particularly African-American parents, expressed dissatisfaction with this perception and its effects on home-school relationships in the community.
This paper contributes to our understanding of how individuals at the school level make sense of home-school relationships in contexts of rapid demographic change. The voices of parents and teachers are particularly important as educational research and policy continue to champion this educational issue. The paper also raises questions of how the ongoing trend of new immigration patterns shapes dynamics across racial, ethnic, linguistic and cultural lines and influences access to resources in schools.

Author

• May Hara, Framingham State University