Is Parental Involvement Enough? Educational Challenges and Parent Intervention Tactics in Low-Income Predominantly Latinx Schools (Poster 65)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Eight
  In Poster Session: 2023 AERA Undergraduate Fellows Research Poster Fair

Abstract

The prevailing view on parental involvement is that parents in low-income minoritized communities are less present in school settings and that if schools in these communities did a better job engaging parents, students’ academic achievement would improve. The dominant perspective in the literature also suggests that parental involvement manifests in positive relationships within schools that parents can leverage in order to obtain educational benefits for their children. In this study, we examine these assumptions. Drawing on interviews with 57 parents from 34 families with children attending Title I predominantly Latinx elementary schools, we highlight the myriad ways parents are involved in their children’s schools, driven by their own upbringings, long-term aspirations for their children, and a sense of responsibility for their children’s educational attainment. Though parental involvement often correlated with positive relationships with school faculty, parents were rarely able to leverage these relationships to combat educational challenges or secure educational benefits for their children. Instead, parents who succeeded in ensuring their children’s needs were met in school often required uncommon levels of resources and support. Our findings raise doubts about the effectiveness of interventions seeking to increase involvement to improve children’s educational outcomes without changing the structure of schooling.

Author

• Hannah Severyns, Brown University
  Presenting Author