Connecting With Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families During COVID-19 and Beyond: Behind the Virtual Classroom

• In Event: Engaging Families and Communities in Learning Across Concepts and Contexts

Abstract

School-family engagement is widely recognized as beneficial to student success, but educators and culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) families often face multiple barriers when trying to build partnerships. Remote learning due to COVID-19 school closures hindered communication and added yet another hurdle to already challenging circumstances. The present study aimed to develop a substantive theory on CLD family engagement, grounded in how educators experienced and adapted to school closures. Utilizing Straussian coding procedures, interviews with nine educators and coursework from 50 other educators revealed four core areas of negotiating expectations, adapting to new challenges, addressing social-emotional needs, and planning for the future, and also evidenced teachers’ intentions to build upon these experiences and create stronger school-family partnerships.

Authors

• Janet Penner-Williams, University of Arkansas

• Trish A Lopez, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville