The Role of Community-based Organizations in Facilitating Latino Family Engagement and System Change in Education

• In Event: 435 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 20. Parental Involvement during Childhood

Abstract

Family engagement in education is crucial for improving children's performance and overall academic success. Research on Latino parents’ engagement primarily focuses on how Latino families can become involved in existing school systems, by learning and adopting culturally dominant values within these systems. Building on Lareau’s (2003) work that examines the ways in which school systems reify existing inequities by privileging particular forms of social and cultural capital, we investigate the potential role of community-based organizations in interrupting these processes of social stratification. Through inductive qualitative analysis of participant observations, site visits, and interviews, we explore how five organizations in a Southwestern state mediate relationships between schools and Latino families. These organizations have diverse conceptualizations of family engagement, but all emphasize civic engagement and social change as critical components of their work. Thus, we found that community organizations can provide a space for marginalized parents to: 1) define their involvement in their children’s education on their own terms, 2) recognize the value of their social and cultural capital, and 3) engage in efforts to address inequities within educational systems. In this article, we highlight the innovative ways these community organizations are defining and facilitating family engagement and the organizations’ importance as avenues through which Latino families can work towards meaningful system change.

Authors

• Cirila Estela Vasquez Guzman, University of New Mexico

• Jessica Rose Goodkind, University of New Mexico

• Mallory Fallin, University of New Mexico