Family Engagement in Schools: Parent, Educator, and Community Perspectives

Abstract

How engaged families are in their children’s lives, whether at home or in school, predicts their success in school and in life. The purpose of this study was to explore parent, educator, and community member perspectives of family engagement, preschool through grade 12, to inform state-level policy from an ecological framework. Ten semi-structured focus groups were conducted throughout one midwestern state, including five urban groups, four rural groups, and one suburban group. All focus groups were held in high-poverty areas serving high-need communities. All school communities received Title I funds and the average free and reduced lunch rate across participating districts was 75%. Several themes emerged through focus groups, including the importance of relationships, inclusive opportunities, communication, parent education, and family activities. Potential outcomes are included for policy and program development, as well as implications to further expand on issues relative to special education, fatherhood, and English language learners.

Fostering School-Home Partnerships: Transforming Learning as a Result of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Studies show that student success in school and in life is related to how engaged families are in their children's lives (Kelty & Wakabayashi, 2020). Parental involvement in the education of students begins with providing a safe and healthy home environment, offering authentic life learning experiences, being a consistent support, and nurturing a positive attitude about school.…”

Leadership for Family and Community Engagement: A Qualitative Policy Analysis of State Principal Evaluation Processes

“…In general, the rubrics that closely hewed to updated national professional standards reached at least the traditional level of Auerbach's (2012) partnerships continuum. Many, but not all, of the rubrics where states went their own ways had more problematic conceptions of FCE with deficit characterizations of families, where parents were to be monitored, and that incentivized the type of school-based involvement that marginalizes single parents, working parents, parents with language minority or lower socioeconomic status, and Black and Latino parents (Epstein, 2018; Grolnick et al, 1997; Kelty & Wakabayashi, 2020; Liu et al, 2014; Peña, 2000; Yull et al, 2018).…”

“…Nominal forms of parent involvement have been associated with some positive academic outcomes (Jeynes, 2016; Niehaus & Adelson, 2014), but a school-centered conceptualization of FCE leaves out many parents. The groups who are marginalized at the nominal level include single parents, working parents, those who live at a distance, parents with language minority or lower socioeconomic status, and Black and Latino parents who “fail to code switch or culture switch to the dominant White, middle-class school culture when interacting with school personnel” (Epstein, 2018; Grolnick et al, 1997; Kelty & Wakabayashi, 2020; Liu et al, 2014; Peña, 2000; Yull et al, 2018, p. 322).…”

Communicating Digitally: Building Preschool Teacher-Parent Partnerships Via Digital Technologies During COVID-19

“…Whether through digital or non-digital media, effective communication is at the very heart of building and sustaining strong teacher-parent partnerships. When teachers make intentional efforts to engage parents in their children’s education by fostering responsive communication, the parents are likely to respond in kind by being more motivated to engage in their children’s education as well as feeling more connected to the teachers and the classroom learning (Chen, 2016 ; Green et al, 2007 ; Hoover-Dempsey et al, 2005 ; Kelty & Wakabayashi, 2020 ). The parents may also feel empowered with a “voice” to participate in their children’s education through various opportunities, a process that is generally known as parent/family involvement or parent/family engagement (Chen, 2016 ; Epstein, 1995 , 2016 ; Epstein et al, 2018 ).…”