Politics of Belonging: Families and Communities Building Power to Transform Schools

• In Event: Public Power and Opinion in Education Reform

Abstract

Parent involvement in schools is associated with positive educational outcomes for students. However, the influence of families engaging in district-wide planning and decision making remains unclear. This case study is a micro-level analysis of the parents who participate in a district-wide advisory committee, investigating how they frame what it means to build power to influence change. Based on participant observation and semi-structured interviews in a diverse urban district in California, this study shows how families engage in local-level decision making and influence the policies and institutions that structure their lives. The findings speak to the limitations and affordances of state-mandated stakeholder engagement.

Author

• Diana Casanova, University of California - Berkeley
  Presenting Author