A Critical Lens for Community-Based Family Engagement

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 51
  In Roundtable Session: Implementation of Family Engagement Programs

Abstract

This paper analyses the case of a community-based organization (CBO)-led Parent Council pursuing local educational reform. Through this case, I explore the experience of non-dominant families as they redefine traditional parent involvement, navigate tensions between school and family goals, and coalesce around a common purpose. This case interweaves two strands of literature: relational approaches to CBO-led family engagement (Warren et al., 2009), and critical race theories that deconstruct dominant parent involvement ideologies (Doucet, 2011; Fennimore, 2017). As this case confirms, CBO leadership does not guarantee acknowledgement of institutional inequities or neutralization of damaging school-based involvement paradigms. However, through authentic engagement, CBOs can learn alongside families, strengthen community cultural wealth, and fight for educational equity (Yosso, 2005).

Author

• Erica Messner, Stanford University