Navigating educational transitions: The role of parents and digital resources

• In Event: Benefits and challenges of inclusive education in underserved communities: Applying cultural responsiveness to mitigate educational barriers

Proposal

In an increasingly diverse and multicultural society, inclusive education plays a crucial role in ensuring that all students, regardless of their background, have equal opportunities to succeed. Canada, a prominent immigrant and refugee-receiving country, has welcomed many Pakistani migrants. The school-aged children among these newcomers have invested time and effort building their foundational science and math knowledge. However, the shift in pedagogical approaches when moving from one education system to another can complicate this transition and hinder students from expressing their full competency. In these circumstances, parental support becomes a key factor in helping students succeed academically (González-Falcón et al., 2022); Parents can help translate academic learning into lived experience, meaning kids stay engaged in and motivated by learning (Chen et al., 2024). The impact of this involvement can lengthen children's academic careers beyond compulsory to post-secondary education (de Oliviera Lima, 2019). Regrettably, these new migrant parents are often faced with an “acculturation gap” (Birman, 2006, p. 1) leading to them being alienated from their children’s schools, hindering their ability to engage with their child’s education at this crucial transitional period.
There has been much research done on the topic of immigrant students transitioning into host country classrooms. Guo-Brennan & Guo-Brennan (2020), for example, discuss how the challenges migrant school children face in Western democracies can be alleviated if educational stakeholders are guided by the "critical global citizenship education" (p. 2204) framework. Within Canada, Lara & Volante (2019) argue for the development of an educational policy dedicated to the unique needs of immigrant children, aiming to ease their integration into Ontario's classrooms. Even more pertinent is the work done by Zaidi et al. (2021), on the hurdles barring refugee parents in Calgary from engaging with their child’s learning. This presentation will contribute to this field of inquiry by examining whether the introduction of digital tools pertaining to their child’s curriculum to Pakistani migrants has a positive impact on parental engagement and on bridging the ‘acculturation gap’.
To answer this question, I will present and analyze feedback given by parents after a workshop aiming to enhance Pakistani migrant parents' engagement in their child's learning, in the context of Ontario. 20 parents were introduced to digital resources and tools aimed at aiding migrant students' science and math learning between grades 6 and 9, and migrant parents’ understanding of these curricula. The tools introduced have been developed as part of the ESCAPE Projects (2024), under the frameworks of funds of knowledge (Moll et al.,1992) and reciprocal knowledge. Their purpose is to engage children's entire linguistic and academic repertoire in the STEM classroom and make this space open to multiculturalism and multilingualism. Over the course of the workshop, the researcher introduced tools, developed by the project team. These include curriculum maps, bilingual virtual games, translated ministry resources and concept lists, among others. This work addresses the challenges faced by Pakistani migrants in transitioning to the Canadian education system, emphasizing the crucial role of parental support and digital tools in enhancing their academic success.

Author

• Ana Kanza Tariq