Investigating Preservice Bilingual Generalists’ Perceptions of Working With Parents of ELs

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 10:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Building Bridges: Enhancing Bi-/Multilingual Teacher Preparation and Family Engagement (Table 2)

Abstract

The value of home-school communication and parent involvement in general is well-documented in the research literature. Parents are among the educational partners who are most critical to the success of English Learners (ELs). The value of home-school communication is particularly important when working with English Learners (ELs) where a positive correlation has been established between parent involvement and EL student academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to investigate how a set of experiences that engaged pre-service teachers in working directly with parents facilitated their development of a conceptual understanding about parental involvement and improved their communication skills with parents of ELs.

Author

• Josefina V. Tinajero, University of Texas - El Paso