New Horizons for Urban Educators Engaging Families in the Post-Civil Rights South

• In Event: Risks and Opportunities for Advancing Educational Equity

Abstract

A formidable barrier to strengthening and enhancing parent and family involvement in U.S. schools is the failure to prioritize investments in pre- and in-service teacher professional development (Weiss & Stephen, 2010). Although pre- and in-service teachers view working with parents as one of their greatest or anticipated challenges, many do not feel they have the necessary education and training to meet this challenge (Weiss & Stephen, 2010). When lacking well-conceived and implemented education and training, pre-service teachers are especially prone to rely on their personal biases about parents and families to guide their interactions with them and their students (Baum & McMurray-Schwarz, 2004; Milner, 2006). In response, education researchers are calling for university teacher education programs (TEPs) to place more emphasis on parent and family involvement, beginning well before the final stage of student teaching (Baum & McMurray-Schwarz, 2004).
Our local response to this charge, in partnership with local school districts and organizations, has been to investigate home-school relations and prepare educators to work with urban parents and families through a school-community collaborative at a Center for Urban Education (CUE). In addition, CUE’s cornerstone initiative has been preparing a new generation of teachers who are responsive to the needs and aspirations of urban students and families. This program has graduated over 100 teachers since its inception. CUE faculty leaders are currently reflecting on and evaluating our track record for continuous improvement.
This paper documents our reflections on and experiences with preparing pre-service teachers in a Southern city to engage meaningfully with parents and families in urban schools by employing autoethnographic and qualitative research and evaluation. By engagement we mean helping pre-service educators close the cultural and power gap between themselves and urban parents and families (M. R. Warren, Hong, Rubin & Uy, 2009). We define urban schools using several characteristics compiled by Joe Kincheloe and his contributors’ (2006) volume on urban education. These characteristics include schools and districts that: have significantly large student populations; are racially, ethnically, and religiously diverse; operate in areas with high population density and are marked by profound socioeconomic disparity; confront ongoing factionalized infighting on school boards; experience higher student, teacher, and administrator mobility; and are impacted by macro-level municipal issues (e.g., transportation problems, housing decline, unemployment, etc.) (Kincheloe, Hayes, Rose & Anderson, 2006).
Two autoethnographic vignettes, derived from the first author’s experiences with parent and family involvement in two major cities, are featured to introduce the main ideas, empirical questions, and data sources. We present our perspectives from the standpoints of current and former university faculty members and administrators as well as community leaders charged with preparing pre- and in-service educators.

Authors

• Tondra L. Loder-Jackson, The University of Alabama - Birmingham

• Deborah L. Voltz, The University of Alabama - Birmingham