Refocusing School-Directed Home–School Connections: Learning From Conversations of "Other/ed" Families Crossing Cultures

• In Event: 26.080 - Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: 26.080-20 - Parent Involvement and Educational Outcomes: Learning From Diverse Families

Abstract

Guided by a networked model of Ecological Systems Theory, four researchers report on a qualitative study that listened to culturally diverse families who had crossed cultures in order to send their children to schools in contexts different from their own upbringing, with a goal to understand these family’s (including children’s) perceptions of: (1) schools and schooling, and (2) adults’ roles, aspirations and expectations in regards to their children’s education. Findings challenge culturally essentialized understandings of home and school relations as primarily directed by schools. Families insisted on keeping home and school contexts separated and revealed nuanced social networks that can inform and motivate alternative conceptions of parental involvement. Implications are discussed.

Authors

• Martha J. Strickland, The Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg

• Elena Lyutykh, Concordia University - Chicago

• Lyn Fasoli, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education

• Beatrice Adera, West Chester University of Pennsylvania