Optimizing Refugee Parental Engagement in Schools

• In Event: Highlighting the Voices of Immigrant and Refugees: Examples of Community-Based Research

Abstract

This 2-year study examined the challenges and barriers that refugee families and their children’s teachers face in establishing the relationships necessary for student academic success. The research aimed to determine how to optimize parent-teacher collaboration for newcomer refugee families. Contextualized within a Literacy, English and Academic Development program in an urban centre in western Canada, the study gleaned triangulated data from focus groups comprising Syrian and Iraqi Arabic-speaking families, teachers, and settlement workers. The data was qualitatively analyzed using Epstein’s six types of involvement, a model for parental engagement within the context of home-school-community collaboration (Epstein & Sheldon, 2006).
This research study was conducted in a specialized school program part of a large urban school board in Western Canada. The LEAD program is a transitional program offered by the CBE designed to support the needs of refugee English Language Learners with limited formal schooling and who have experienced traumatic life events. This program provides supports in a congregated, trauma-sensitive setting. Instructional programming focuses on English language development, literacy, numeracy, and cultural and social adjustment. LEAD is available to students who are age appropriate for Grades 4 to 12.
The research design centered around the use of focus groups to gather data. Participants included 11 Arabic-speaking parents of LEAD students as well as 19 LEAD teachers and three in-school support workers. All parent participants were originally from Syria or Iraq and had experienced displacement for three to seven years. The K-12 teachers represented all 11 LEAD program schools in the school district.
Through a cooperative inquiry approach based on a shared agenda and interests (Heron & Reason, 1997), we engaged in cycles of action and reflection to elicit and analyze the experiences of parents, teachers, and in-school support workers. University and school district partners collaborated in the design and implementation of this research.
Focus groups in person and online as well as interviews, which were held over the span of two years, were audio recorded, transcribed, and translated into English as necessary. We analyzed the transcript data in two stages. The first stage involved in-depth analysis of each transcript, slowly and meticulously extracting emerging themes. In the second stage, we collectively analyzed the themes, weaving a thread through all of the data and extracting shared themes and findings that address the research questions. The reflections of the parents, teachers, and in-school support workers were triangulated to develop an understanding of Arabic-speaking newcomer refugee parent involvement.
Research results uncovered needs for: (1) communication channels with educators to be adapted to be more accessible to families, (2) increased informal opportunities for parent participation at school, and (3) increased engagement between refugee families and educational administrators.

Authors

• Rahat Zaidi, University of Calgary

• Christine Oliver, Calgary Board of Education

• Tom Strong, University of Calgary

• Hanan Alwarraq, University of Calgary