PARENTS AT-PROMISE: WORKING AND MIDDLE CLASS LATIN@ PARENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT...
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Transcript of PARENTS AT-PROMISE: WORKING AND MIDDLE CLASS LATIN@ PARENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT...
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Parents At-Promise:
Working and Middle Class Latin@ Parents’ Perceptions of Parental Involvement
in North County, San Diego
Rosa Conrad
California State University, San Marcos
Thesis Committee:
Chair - Dr. Kristin Bates
Second Member - Dr. Richelle Swan
Third Member - Dr. Matthew Atherton
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PARENTS AT-PROMISE:
WORKING AND MIDDLE CLASS LATIN@ PARENTS’ PERCEPTIONS
OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN NORTH COUNTY, SAN DIEGO
This study examined the perceptions of Latin@ parents regarding their involvement in their
children’s academics. Existing literature has consistently spoken to the barriers facing parents of
color as they navigate the U.S. educational system (e.g., language discrimination, cultural
differences). My study examined the funds of knowledge and contributions that parents can and
do provide to their children’s academic learning, allowing for Latin@ parents in particular to
define what it means to be involved in their own words. Using the frameworks of critical race
theory and Latino critical race theory as well as Bourdieu’s multiple capital theory, I analyzed
the social and cultural capital (i.e., funds of knowledge) of Latin@ parents, and how they
practiced this knowledge in their children’s educational journeys.
Keywords: perceptions parental involvement, Latin@ parents, barriers, multi-capital theories
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DEDICATION
Dedico este tesis for my dad, Jose Trinidad Alfaro Rodriguez, mi querido viejo. For loving me
and always teniendo su apoyo and for dedicating yourself a nuestra familia. Family meant todo
para usted. All that you were vive en me and in my sisters. Su sangre runs in me, dando me la
fortaleza to continue on my journey. You are not here to mirar cuando camine pero I know that
camina conmigo siempre in silence holding my hand cuando lo a necesitado. Tambien dedico my
tesis a mi madre, Maria Rodriguez Contreras. Mama la amo with all of mi corazon. You have
been a mi lado y siempre believing in me. Gracias por mantener our family together. Su sangre
tambien runs in me, dando me the motivation para seguir adelante. Estoy alegre de saber que la
tendre present to see me realize my sueño. Estoy orgullosa de ser su hija y soy the person that I
am today because of usted y mi padre.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To my family, for your support and understanding what this journey has meant to me. I love you
all and know that this too was as much your journey as it was mine. Tom, I won’t forget the last
24 years. I will always remember. Mis hermanas Angelica, Martha, Lilia, and Elida, our parents
created a strong bond in our familia. Let the legacy of it continue through nuestros hijos. To my
nieces and nephews, I love all (19) of you and I will always be here for you. Michael, thank you
for emailing, texting, and coming to visit me and for understanding that Nina had a lot of
homework.
Joseph, my charming son. Your affection and smile always light up a room. Continue working
hard to achieve your goals and dreams. You will reach them, I have no doubt. Gracias for all
your hugs and kisses and most of all for giving me mi nieto, Leo Wayne Conrad. Rebecca, my
beautiful daughter, seguiras en este camino. You are a brilliant young woman. Continue to
follow your own camino. You both make me orgullosa de ser your madre. Leo, Nana will always
have time to read you a book. May your love of reading continue to grow, just think of the places
where you will go!
To my friends who understood my absence for the last two years, thank you for keeping our
friendship strong. Our walks and conversations helped me more than you’ll ever know.
To my committee: Dr. Kristin Bates, thank you for being my chair and helping me organize my
thoughts and ideas for my thesis. Dr. Richelle Swan, your editing skills will always have my
deepest appreciation, thank you for your guidance on my citations. The ASA handbook will
forever be sitting on my desk. Dr. Matthew Atherton, thank you for encouraging me before I
began the program and for offering your assistance, thoughts, and suggestions.
To my mentors: Dr. Bruce Hoskins, you planted a seed and here I am. Dr. Carmen Nava, history
will always have a special place in my heart. Your passion and knowledge of history has been an
inspiration.
To the participants, gracias por ser parte of my tesis. Sharing your historias made my tesis
posible.
To our fantabulous cohort, gracias for sharing your brilliant minds con migo. I have nothing but
respect and admiration for ustedes. The MASP lab will have fond memorias of late noches,
comida sharing, brainstorming, collaborating, story sharing, complaining, and most of all
friendships sprouting. One last thing, you all know we loved statistics. Dr. Rolison’s class
rocked!
To Matthew Brent Chase, as this journey comes to al final I am reminded of where we began, I
am thankful for your support, encouragement and late horas of motivacíon cuando I thought I
had nada left. Lastly, for helping me mirar that indeed nothing is imposible. #Acceptance #Liminality #SocRogueScholars #Siempre
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ........................................................................................................................................... 1
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................................................. 2
DEDICATION .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................................................... 4
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................... 6
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM .................................................................................................................. 9
LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................................... 13
Navigating Academic Culture ................................................................................................................................... 13
Barriers to Parental Involvement ............................................................................................................................ 15
Parental Capital and Funds of Knowledge .......................................................................................................... 17
THEORY ................................................................................................................................................................ 21
Critical Race Theory and Latino Critical Race Theory.................................................................................... 21
Multiple Capital Theories .......................................................................................................................................... 23
METHODS ............................................................................................................................................................. 24
Sampling .......................................................................................................................................................................... 24
Data Collection ............................................................................................................................................................. 25
Setting ............................................................................................................................................................................... 27
Data Analysis/Coding Process ................................................................................................................................. 28
FINDINGS .............................................................................................................................................................. 28
Collaborative Parent-Child Development ............................................................................................................ 29
Parental Pedagogies .................................................................................................................................................... 31
The “Place” of Involvement: Hidden Practices at Home vs. Overt Eurocentric Practices ................. 34
Barriers to Involvement .............................................................................................................................................. 44
DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................................................ 51
RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................................... 52
SIGNIFICANCE ................................................................................................................................................... 55
CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................................... 57
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................................... 60
APPENDIX ............................................................................................................................................................ 70
English Interview Questions ...................................................................................................................................... 70
Spanish Questions/Preguntas en Español .......................................................................................................... 71
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I am a first-generation Mexican American, my parents having emigrated from Mexico.
Neither of them spoke English and their education level did not go beyond the sixth grade. Their
involvement in my education was minimal at best. They believed the responsibility of education
was to be left up to the teachers and the school. Their parental involvement was limited to parent
conferences. The only one who ever attended parent conferences was my mom. Parent
conferences for her were not as informative as they should have been though because I ended up
helping with the translating.
I attended elementary school in North County, San Diego during the early 1970s, with
few teachers who spoke Spanish and translators who were not always readily available. I became
the translator for parent conferences when I was eight years old in the second grade. Early on
during those parent conferences I learned to share only a few of the things I was asked to
translate. For example, if the teacher mentioned that I needed help in English, I would not say I
needed help. It was not easy to be put in the predicament of having to relay how I was doing in
school to my mom, which was not always easy. Being a translator and a child was challenging
because I did not want to face the consequences of being reprimanded for not doing well in
school. I also felt that I would be disappointing my parents so I chose to be selective in what I
translated. No one ever questioned me. This would continue throughout my education, and it
became less important for my parents to be at any of the counselor meetings for school
registrations, especially as I entered middle school and then high school.
The teachers hardly ever insisted that a translator be called to help with parent
conferences. I was not mentored, guided, or assisted in the necessary steps to be academically
successful. My journey in education was a challenge. I had to learn to navigate the system on my
own. Neither counselors nor any teachers ever inquired about my parents helping me make the
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decision on the classes I would enroll in for the next school semester. I realized that I did not
know how to navigate my way through exiting high school. I did not know what the course
requirements were, how many credits I needed, or what I needed to graduate from high school.
After my freshmen year in high school, I learned that I needed an educational plan. It was
evident that I needed some guidance and it was important for me to become schooled in the
process of earning a high school diploma. The classes I took were not made based on my
interests or consultation with my parents, but rather the counselor made them.
When registering for school, I was not asked what my interests were or what I wanted to
take, and instead I was assigned the classes without considering my own educational
development. It became my responsibility to find the path to academic achievement that was
considered standard for a teenager on the verge of entering an adult world. In the process, it led
me to wonder why my parents were only called for absences and not for academic purposes. I
began to questions why this was the case and I realized that it stemmed back to the beginning of
my very earliest education experiences. It dawned on me that I did not know how to be
academically successful and my parents did not know how to help me.
As a high school student, I was lost and blamed myself for my lack of knowledge of the
educational system. I struggled in my journey to earn a high school diploma and had to make
sense of how to navigate the educational system. I visited the counselor’s office often and I
asked a lot of questions. It became apparent after several visits that if I did not ask something,
they assumed I already knew the answer. The problem was not that I did not want to ask
questions, but that I did not know what questions needed to be asked. It was frustrating having to
make multiple appointments with the counselors so I could fully understand the steps needed to
take to graduate high school. I was not a great student and had to retake classes because I did not
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earn a passing grade. I struggled through these classes and in the process wondered why I was
taking them in the first place. The exams for these classes were a challenge because my
knowledge of the classes assigned to me were not ones I was comfortable with and had a
difficult time with them as a result. Why did my counselor suggest them? I asked myself this
question and another question continued to plague me then as it does now: How did I end up not
knowing how to navigate through the educational system?
I went to school in a community where the majority of people were white and middle- to
upper-middle class. Most of my fellow classmates’ parents spoke English, volunteered at school,
attended school events, and were involved in their children’s academics. These parents were a
part of the normal scene at school, where they helped with school projects, field trips, sports,
fundraising, school-wide events and the ones who often were seen speaking to teachers. They
were the parents of students who were student body presidents, presidential awarded students,
and high academic achieving students. It was obvious that these parents were involved in the
classroom and were on a first-name basis with the teachers and staff.
The differences between my own parents and those parents became apparent as I
reflected on my own educational path. Parental involvement was key. But what about parental
involvement was key? The answer to this question is clear: Social cultural, and academic capital.
Yet it remains ambiguous how exactly the relationship between parental involvement and social
cultural and academic capital work. On the one hand, parents can gain the knowledge to
successfully navigate the system through parental involvement, learning the academic culture
and thus acquiring social and cultural capital. On the other hand, already having social cultural
and academic capital could facilitate parental involvement. In either case, they become essential
components for parents. Academic success and parental involvement work hand in hand. Not all
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parents have the same social, cultural and academic capital, however, and this can make a
difference for Latin@ parents and their children as they navigate the educational system.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Parent involvement has been measured in the time a parent has put into a classroom,
volunteered and been present at school activities. For Latin@ families this is not always possible
due to different views, language barriers, and a lack of social access to the social and cultural
capital of academia. What Latin@ parents may not recognize is that they too have knowledge to
contribute to their children’s academics that may not be recognized in the traditional sense.
Currently parent programs are focusing on informing Latin@ parents on U.S. Eurocentric ideas
of what parent involvement should be for parents. Moll et al. (1992) first conceptualized “funds
of knowledge” with the idea of incorporating strategic knowledge that parents can apply in the
classroom. Funds of knowledge refer to the idea of engaging parents to contribute to their
children’s academics through the use of their own social and cultural capital (Moll et al 1992).
Latin@ families have their own funds of knowledge and can contribute to helping their children
navigate through exiting high school with success.
Not all parents share the same knowledge to help their children navigate the public
education system. Some parents will know how to help with this process while others will be
unfamiliar with what is needed for their children to graduate high school. For many Latin@
parents, they are unfamiliar with the Eurocentric academic culture in the United States.
The Parent program the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) address the very
same concerns of parents needing to be informed to navigate the public education system. PIQE
offers a nine-week course for parents to guide them in academic culture. PIQE (2010) bases its
parent program curriculum on connecting parents and educators, bridging an understanding for
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parents on what is required for their children to be successful in school. Chrispeels, Gonzalez,
and Arellano (2004:2) explain that PIQE offers instruction to parents on three key topics: “the
educational system, how to interact with the school and teachers, and how to help their children
at home to increase the potential for success at school.”
These key topics may not have been introduced to Latin@ parents due to cultural differences.
Schools do not address the specific needs or cultural differences to make Latin@ families feel
empowered (Delgado-Gaitan 1991).
Bridgeland, Dilulio, and Morison (2003:1) stated that, “3.5 million youth ages 16-25
years of age did not have a high school diploma and were not enrolled in high school.” It
addressed the issue of high school dropout rates as a silent epidemic due to the high number of
young adults not earning a high school diploma. This same report concluded that one-third of
students who attend a public high school do not graduate (Bridgeland et al. 2003.)
Among students of color, Latin@s continue to have a higher rate of not graduating high school
than others.
In 1990, the dropout rate for Latin@s between the ages of 16-24 was 32% and in 2012, it
was only 13%. In comparison, white students in 1990 had a high school dropout rate of 9% and
in 2012 had a rate of only 4% (U.S. Department of Education 2014). Latin@s are closing the gap
with whites but they are still way behind. Consider that in 1990 whites had a 9% dropout rate
and in 2012 Latin@s had a 13% rate. Latin@s are still at higher likelihood of dropping out
twenty-two years later than whites back in 1990. These rates are indicative of Latin@s still
trailing behind whites.
California passed the California’s Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA) of 1999. It
was established to measure California public schools for “academic accountability” within the
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public educational system in California (California Department of Education 2011:1). California
schools are measured on a scale from the low 200’s through the high 1000’s. It addresses
achievement gaps between higher and lower scoring students, ranking schools statewide to “100
other schools that have similar opportunities and challenges” (California Department of
Education 2011:4).
In comparing Academic Performing Index (API) scores between North County San
Diego school districts with larger Latin@ populations and those with larger white populations,
the scores illustrate the differences between these schools. Cities with a higher Latin@
population had significantly lower scores than cities with a higher white population. San Marcos
High School scored 859, Carlsbad High School scored 838, Oceanside High School scored 759,
and Escondido High School scored 696 (California Department of Education 2011). Both
Oceanside and Escondido unified school districts have higher Latin@ populations in comparison
to Carlsbad and San Marcos.
These scores demonstrate the differences between Latin@s and whites in how they are
tested among their peers. Since test scores are integrated in academics and doing well in them
can assist students as they move through their academic journey, it is important to make parents
aware of the importance of what these tests signify. Schools are responsible for informing
parents of these tests because they indicate how students are performing in core classes such as
English and mathematics (California Department of Education 2011).
Federal program No Child Left Behind of 2001 (NCLB) was set up to address the issue
of students having difficulty with core classes such as mathematics and English (U.S.
Department of Education 2005). The idea was to ensure that students were receiving the
fundamental subjects to help them be successful in school. NCLB has the “dual goals of both
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increasing academic standards and decreasing inequalities between social and economic groups”
(Schiller and Muller 2003:313). NCLB was supposed to adequately prepare students who were
falling behind. These students should have received assistance from schools and schools were to
offer assistance in helping parents become involved in their children’s academics (U.S.
Department of Education 2005). Schools were given federal funds for the purpose of reaching
out to parents and informing them of their children’s academics (U.S. Department of Education
2005). Yet as the numbers have suggested, the high school dropout rates are still high, especially
among Latin@s. This exemplifies how federal programs with financial backing have proved
unsuccessful and the problem of addressing academic success for Latin@s still needs to be
addressed. More importantly, there is need to examine any changes in how the educational
system is addressing ways to involve Latin@ parents in their children’s academic success.
Where NCLB left off, President Obama introduced a new program for schools to address
the issue of students falling behind. In 2009 he introduced Race to the Top with the passing of
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), to motivate states in four key
elements. These elements include:
o Development of rigorous standards and better assessments
o Adoption of better data systems to provide schools, teachers, and parents with
information about student progress
o Support for teachers and school leaders to become effective
o Increased emphasis and resources for the rigorous interventions needed to turn
around the lowest-performing schools
(The White House, President Barack Obama n.d.)
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These are to prepare students for college and workplace but also help the school system do
assessments on the student’s progress and provide data to help the goals of President Obama.
These key areas are meant to create changes while offering a competition to state for grant
money. The goal of Race to the Top is to raise the achievement of students. With programs like
NCLB and Race to the Top the focus has been on the students’ success. NCLB and Race to the
Top addressed the need for parent involvement and for schools to address this issue and find
ways to involve parents in their children’s academics.
In this study, I will look at the relationship between the high school system and Latin@
parents asking the question: What are parents’ perceptions of their parental involvement in North
County San Diego high schools.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Research on parental involvement in schooling has been extensively conducted and has
included the study of families of color. The existing research includes Latin@ parents and the
many barriers they face as they navigate through the U.S. educational system. For many Latin@
parents, crossing those barriers may be difficult. Parental involvement becomes a struggle
because they have work responsibilities outside the home, scheduling conflicts, personal school
experiences, and cultural and language differences (Finders and Lewis 1994). Because of these
challenges, parents have a difficult time becoming involved in their children’s academics. The
extant literature demonstrates that both educator and parent perceptions differ in the meaning of
what parental involvement is (e.g., Lawson 2003; Olmedo 2003).
Navigating Academic Culture
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As students enter high school, an academic plan becomes essential for them to follow.
Students need to know which classes to take, the option of taking classes such as Advanced
Placement (AP) Courses, and the importance of maintaining a good grade point average (GPA).
In order to graduate, high school students need to pass the California High School Exit Exam
(CHSEE). This exam indicates that the student fulfill the state-required knowledge in core
classes in order for them to earn a high school diploma. High school students may choose to
enroll in advanced placement courses, which can be beneficial to students if they choose to seek
higher education attainment. Solórzano and Ornelas (2004:23) concluded that “AP courses, serve
at least three benefits in the admissions process to those who have access: (1) AP courses are an
indication of a school’s high quality curriculum; (2) students who take AP courses receive an
extra grade point in their GPA; and (3) AP courses lead to students taking exams.” Though these
classes are geared for those who are thinking of seeking higher education, parents need to
understand that taking AP exams can facilitate student achievement (Gamoran 1987). At the
same time, taking courses in higher levels of math can cause at-risk students to drop out (Schiller
and Muller 2000).
The other concern is adequate study skills and class preparation. Students may be
receiving outstanding grades, but many do not get help from the counselors (Segura 2003).
Counselors’ jobs are to help and guide students. They are the ones who will go meet with
students and go over their academic plan. It becomes essential for the school staff, teachers, and
parents to be involved in the process for students to successfully graduate.
Astone and McLanahan (1991:318) found that parent practices are tied to student
achievement in areas such as “grades, attendance, attitudes, expectations, and degree
completion.” Marjoribanks (1998) illustrated how education institutions should explore both
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school and parent interpretations of social and cultural capital. Parents’ own capital can enhance
student achievement when schools recognize their different forms of social and cultural capital.
Social and cultural capital can help the educational system understand how parents can use them
to be more involved in their own unique way. Parents can then become more actively involved in
their children’s academics as a result, with it being demonstrated that parents who are involved
in their children’s school have a positive effect in their children’s academics (Hill and Tyson
2009).
Latin@ parent perceptions of school responsibility are sometimes different from schools’
expectations due to differences between school-academic culture and Latin@ home culture.
Latin@ parents often see the school as being responsible for their children’s success, but the
public education system perceives the parents as needing to be involved with helping their
children achieve academic success (Chrispeels and Rivero 2001; Lawson 2013; Olmedo 2003).
Barriers to Parental Involvement
Lawson (2003) suggests that teachers felt parents were disregarding their responsibilities
toward helping their children. Lawson (2013) found that parents felt that there was no interest for
them to be involved when the issues of addressing school challenges to parental involvement
were being discussed. For many parents, engaging in their children’s school during the hours of a
traditional workday is a challenge because they cannot take time off work (Hara and Burke
1998). Another concern according to Zarate’s (2007) research was that parents were not given
enough notice to attend events and felt that the school was unfriendly.
Language and culture are barriers that many families face, which can cause missed
opportunities for Latin@ families. Many Latin@ parents are Spanish speakers, and do not
understand much of the English-language literature and class materials being sent home.
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Educators and school administrators need to address the importance of sending literature home in
the language of the parents so that they can understand the materials and be able to communicate
with teachers, staff, and administrators (Tierney 2002). Delgado-Gaitan (1991) stressed the need
for schools to have staff that speaks the language of any large population in a school. Cultural
differences among Latin@ parents such as experiences stemming from their own educational
experiences in Mexico can limit the ways in which they involve themselves with their children’s
academics in the United States (Chrispeels and Rivero 2001). Latin@ parents found it important
to learn the “norms and sanctions that govern participation” at the school in order to effectively
communicate with staff and teachers (Bolivar and Chrispeels 2010:18). What may be interpreted
as a lack of interest or disregard might be that Latin@ parents face language and cultural
differences, making it difficult for them to commit to being involved at school. These barriers
felt by Latin@ families demonstrate how problems of race and class are intersecting in parental
involvement.
The literature on intersectionality focus primarily on black parents but it could still
inform Latin@ struggles as people of color. For example, in Zhang et al. (2011), class facilitated
the effects of black parents involvement at school. Another study by Cooper et al. (2010) found
that children of low social economic status (SES) faced more academic difficulties than whites
and other students of color who were at a higher income level. Latin@s and whites families who
were categorized as poor were found to be not as involved in extracurricular activities than those
of parents who were categorized as affluent (Cooper et al 2010).
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Students who were from a lower (SES) and in a free or reduced lunch program were
found to be have a negative impact on their achievement in topics such as mathematics (Okpala
et al. 2001). As single income parents where females were the head of households, Painter and
Levine (2004) found their SES contributed to their children having academic challenges.
Similarly Roscigno et al. (2006) found in their study that families who lived in neighborhoods
with a high population of people of color had a deficiency of attaining academic success.
Parental Capital and Funds of Knowledge
Some parents gain social and academic capital by being active parent volunteers and
others possess it from their own academic journey. Gaining social capital can occur by means of
contact and associations with people who are experts (Kim and Schneider 2005; Portes 1998).
This can prove to be advantageous to their children because the parent-teacher relationship can
help build the parent’s knowledge on how to not only navigate the school system but also assist
in achieving student academic success (Chrispeels, Bolivar, and Vaca 2008; Suizzo et al. 2012;
Tran 2014).
Latin@ parents’ social capital may differ from the social capital of parents who have
become familiar with the U.S. educational system. Latin@ parents tried engaging at school to
become familiar with “school expectations so that they can make informed decisions about their
children’s education” (Olmedo 2003:380). Olmedo (2003) found conflicts in the
conceptualization of Latina@ parental practices: teachers saw parental involvement as an interest
in their children’s formal schooling while parents felt they had other roles in educating their
children. Latin@ parents looked to informal ways of using their own cultural capital to help
navigate the system, such as looking to elder family members’ own knowledge and skills for
development (Olmedo 2003). Cooper et al. found that Latin@ children developed a more
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advanced reading level when Latin@ parents practiced “in home-learning activities” (Cooper et
al 2010:878).
Other ways in which parents share their funds of knowledge is through their employment.
For example, working alongside their families in agriculture informs children about the
production of produce and the working of different machinery used in this type of employment
(Clark-Ibáñez 2004). Latin@ parents emphasized the importance of maintaining their use of
Spanish at home to demonstrate respect for their elders, which can teach the children to have
respect for other adults such as their teachers (Olmedo 2003).
As parents become schooled in this academic culture, the child then can benefit from the
parents’ social and cultural capital (Astone and McLanahan 1991:319). Parents who become
familiar with academic culture have an advantage over parents who are unfamiliar with how to
navigate the educational system. Kroger and Lash (2011:270) indicated that, “When the parent is
viewed by the teacher as one with knowledge and power with experience...to offer rather than an
individual to be coached or changed the power dynamic within the institutional relationship is
shifted.” In other words, the teacher recognizes parents who have academic culture, creating
opportunities to help their children in comparison to those who do not share this culture.
The educational system set in place derives from a Eurocentric notion of excellence
(Lopez, Alexander, and Hernandez 2013). Teachers can then use these forms of capital that have
been implemented in the daily lives of students. These resources can be used to enhance the
learning of students, teachers can learn from parents and begin to understand parents and
students when they remove themselves from the role of a teacher and become a learner instead
(Lopez 2006). Delgado-Gaitan (1991) identified school activities that were unconventional, and
acknowledged the social and cultural capital that Latin@ parents shared. When parents are
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engaged in school activities that are inclusive to their own experiences and funds of knowledge,
they become more engaged (Jasis and Ordoñez-Jasis 2012). Schools need to reach out to Latin@
parents and extract the culture capital they can bring (Suizzo et al. 2012; Vélez-Ibáñez and
Greenberg 1992). Through the use of funds of knowledge, parents can come to see their capital
as something that is valued by the schools (Moll et al. 1995). As schools and educators become
aware of the concept of funds of knowledge then both the parents and the teachers can approach
a different method of instruction and parent volunteer ideas that can both assist the students and
the educational system (Monzo and Rueda 2003; Velez-Ibanez and Greenber 1992).
There are some existing programs designed to increase Latin@ parental involvement in
California. Kim and Schneider (2004) found the importance of parent programs and how parents
with lower levels of education will benefit more with help from the education system as well.
Parent programs such as Parents Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) assist Latin@ in
understanding how to comprehend the academic culture. For example, PIQE informs parents
about high school graduation requirements, testing, AP courses, and the importance of earning
good grades (Bolivar and Chrispeel 2010). PIQE had “strong effects of the program increasing
parents’ knowledge, home learning activities, parenting practices, parent role construct, and self-
efficacy” (Chrispeels and Gonzalez 2008; Chrispeels, Gonzalez, and Arrellano 2004:11; Martin
and Espinosa 2008). Student levels of academic performance showed an increase in comparison
to those whose parents did not take the Parent Engagement Education Program (Martin and
Espinosa 2008).
Research has indicated that students whose parents attended the programs showed
success in higher levels of math, scored higher in state testing, and had an overall higher GPA
than students whose parents did not attend the parent program (Cal-Pass 2010). They understood
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how essential it was to set homework sessions, make their children responsible for class
assignments, and how to communicate with their children (Chrispeels and Rivero 2001).
These parents became confident when needing to communicate with their children’s
teachers, growing familiar with the purpose of school conferences and how to interact with the
teachers (Chrispeels and Rivero 2001; Norwood et al. 1997). Parents who have learned how to
effectively communicate with school staff felt they knew the proper steps to approach them
(Bolivar and Chrispeels 2010). Interactions between parents and school personnel have
improved, and parents feel more confident in communicating with the schools (Norwood et al.
1997).
The PIQE program does not acknowledge that Latin@ parents bring with them their own
funds of knowledge that could be useful to both student experiences and assist with their
academics in school. In other words, this parent program poses parents as the problem because
they are not being involved or are not knowledgeable in the academic culture, which maintains a
Eurocentric perspective. While some programs are in existence to assist Latin@ parents to help
increase parent school culture they do not focus on Latin@ parental perceptions of what parent
involvement means to Latin@ families. Latin@ families can bring their own knowledge if
schools reach out and engage them in parental involvement (Suizzo et al. 2012; Vélez-Ibáñez
and Greenberg 1992). Schools focus should turn to what is familiar to students. Risko and
Walkder-Dalhouse (2007) found that other research have reversed the method of instruction with
utilizing students own culture knowledge and literacy that are learned at home and in their
communities. In this research I examine the following question: What are Latin@ parents’
perceptions of their parental involvement in North County San Diego high schools?
Conrad 21
THEORY
Critical Race Theory and Latino Critical Race Theory
CRT derives originally from the works of Derrick Bell, Alan Freeman, and Richard
Delgado between the 1960s and 1970s (Hill 2009). CRT looks at how race has impacted
different social structures, including education, with the function of removing racial oppression
in all its forms (Hill 2009). This includes the recognition of how race interconnects with
ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, and other functions of power (Hill 2009). CRT helps
explain the racial and gender barriers Latin@s face in attaining higher education: “CRT
challenges White privilege and refutes the claims that educational institutions make toward
objectivity, meritocracy, color-blindness, race neutrality, and equal opportunity” (Yosso
2005:73).
CRT began in the field of law but it soon branched away from CLS. CRT acknowledged
the importance of recognizing that CLS did not include race and racism in its theoretical
analytical framework (Yosso 2005; Yosso et al. 2005). Failing to take into consideration the
importance of including race in the study of those who have been oppressed created limitations
to the scholarship of CLS, especially when considering their histories and experiences (Yosso
2005).
As Critical Legal Studies created an extension to CRT, CRT divided further into other
areas of analysis such as Latino Critical Race Theory (LatCrit). LatCrit is a fairly recent theory
stemming from CRT that places race within legal scholarship, but helps put an important
justification of looking at race in education (Anguiano et al. 2012). LatCrit addresses the issues
of ethnicity, culture, and language that people of color experience (Anguiano et al. 2012). LatCrit
alongside CRT helps to create an understanding of how race in education impacts parental
Conrad 22
involvement for Latin@s. LatCrit demonstrates the intersectionality of racism and classism,
which I will link to the barriers of education felt by Latin@ parents (Bernal 2002).
The use of CRT has been exemplified in articles with a focus on education. CRT
demonstrated how education has created inequalities due to race and class, in particular for
people of color. Because it is essential to address CRT in the study of inequalities for Latin@
parents as they help guide their children through high school, I am using it to demonstrate these
disparities.
LatCrit links with CRT to emphasize the inequalities experienced among Latin@s in
education. These theories work to recognize how race, ethnicity, and class have influenced
academic success for Latin@s. CRT and LatCrit place an emphasis on the intersectionality of
race and classism affecting the oppression of Latin@s. Intersectionality is defined as the crossing
of systems of oppression such as racism, classism, and other systems (Bernal 2002).
Intersectionality bridges the effects of race and class on issues of educational inequalities. By
focusing on how racial and classism influence high school graduation rates for Latin@s, CRT
and LatCrit demonstrate the challenges Latin@ parents face as they help their children navigate
the education system.
I used CRT and LatCrit to assist in recognizing class and racial barriers experienced by
Latin@s constructed in the educational systems. High school is not as easily realistic for
Latin@s if the curriculum is not preparing them to graduate high school. Latin@ parents face
institutional barriers that have been created within the educational system as they seek to help
their children earn a high school diploma.
My study focused on Latin@ parents’ perceptions of their parental involvement in high
schools.. Using CRT and LatCrit provided a lens in my work establishing the impact of these
Conrad 23
educational barriers that parents encountered. Race and class analyzed and provided evidence of
the barriers put in place for Latin@ parents in addressing their involvement in school. This study
focused on how inequalities in educational culture illustrated the impact the educational system
had in addressing the different social and cultural capital Latin@ parents have. Both CRT and
LatCrit provided a framework in analyzing the barriers facing Latin@ parents in becoming more
involved.
Multiple Capital Theories
The social and cultural capital of Latin@ parents play important roles in their children’s
educational attainment. Bourdieu’s (1986) concept of social capital is defined as “the aggregate
of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more
or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintances or recognition.” In education, this
theory can be applied to explain the differences in social and cultural capital parents possess,
which can explain the differences in parental involvement and resulting academic success of
their children. Parents can obtain academic capital in the same manner they obtain social and
cultural capital, as “they can increase their cultural capital through contacts with experts or
individuals of refinement” (Portes 1986:4). It is essential to look to Bourdieu in explaining how
differences in both cultural and social capital can put a disadvantage (and/or an advantage) on
Latin@ parents.
These differences in social, cultural and academic capital illustrate how Latin@ parents
face educational barriers. Latin@ parents possess their own cultural and social capital that is not
often acknowledged in the U.S. educational system. In this study, I use Bourdieu’s theory of
multiple capitals to examine the challenges Latin@ parents encounter because Latin@s social
and cultural capital are understood differently by teachers and administrators. This theoretical
Conrad 24
perspective provides a framework to analyze the educational barriers experienced among Latin@
parents. Monkman, Ronald, and Théraméne (2005:29) emphasize the importance of having these
resources and having them be “activated to gain benefit…the value in these resources must be
recognized by others … where value is determined, by an agent in a position of power.” It is
essential for Latin@ parents to be recognized as having their own social and cultural capital. I
used Bourdieu’s multiple capital theory to assess how parent perceptions differed from what is
traditionally recognized in the U.S. educational system as parental involvement. This theory
informed my research on the different ways in which Latin@ parents contributed to their
children’s education. Ultimately, this study can be used to inform North County San Diego
schools on how they can facilitate these parental funds of knowledge.
METHODS
Sampling
This study conducted semi-structured interviews with eleven participants. I scheduled the
interviews ahead of time, and they were guided by questions that gave the interviewees an
opportunity for open-ended-responses (Cohen and Crabtree 2006; Halx and Moisés 2011;
Whiting 2007). This structure of interviewing offered the chance to establish a comfortable
dialogue with the people I interviewed and offered interviewees an opportunity to expand on
their thoughts and responses (Cohen and Crabtree 2006). Semi-structured interviews gave
participants an opportunity to express their thoughts, feelings, and personal trajectories.
My method of recruiting was snowball sampling: I started with acquaintances who would
be interested in participating in my research. The participants for my study were Latin@ parents
in the North County San Diego area with children who were currently in a public high school or
whose children graduated from a public high school within the last five years. My sample drew
Conrad 25
from Latin@ parents because many of them have children who are first generation students in
high school. Parents provided personal perspectives and experiences on the issues they faced as
their child advanced through school.
Participants for this study were comprised of parents who were married, single, and
widowed. I interviewed a total of eleven people. There were three single moms, one who was
widowed, three who were married, and two sets of couples. One parent had a child who did not
graduate from high school. All parents spoke Spanish and nine of them were Spanish-English
bilingual. The set of couples I identified as having a higher income status than the other
participants. Based on their explanation of having the time and financial independence to
volunteer and recognizing that other parents did not have the same opportunity revealed their
income differences. The neighborhood they resided in, sports activities their children participated
in and the mention of being able to take time off identified them as being in a middle class
category.
Data Collection
I came prepared with interview questions that allowed me to engage in an open dialogue
regarding Latin@ parent’s experiences with their children’s academics. The interview began
with easy to answer questions and as the parents responded I would ask more in depth questions.
Some of the questions asked were about their experiences with volunteering, communication
with the school and teachers, language preference, and how they were informed about their
children’s academics. The interviews were conducted at a place of the participants’ choosing.
One parent chose to meet at a local library, which had a private study room and it allowed
enough time for me to conduct an interview without interruption. Another parent chose to meet
at Mission San Luis Rey. We met in front of the Old Mission and sat at one of the many benches
Conrad 26
placed outside. She chose the time and day to meet with me. During our meting we had no
interruptions from passersby. The rest of the parents selected to meet in their homes. It offered a
quiet place to have a private conversation without any interruptions or distractions. This made
parents feel at ease and it offered them a safe place where they could engage in their own
narratives without feeling uncomfortable.
The participants were very welcoming and answered all the questions I asked. If they did
not understand a question they asked for clarification. The interviewees’ responses are in their
own words and with their individual narratives. The questions for the interviews were in English
but were translated to Spanish to give participants the option of selecting the language that they
were most comfortable with during the interview. Parents who were bilingual chose to do the
interviews in English.
I translated Spanish speakers’ interviews and the translation was as exact as the original
narrative allowed during the translating process. Minor changes were made to allow for ease of
expressing their thoughts and dialogue. Any changes did not change the parents’ original
narratives.
I met with them at a time that was convenient for them so that we would have enough
time to adequately engage in a question-and-answer session. The time differed depending on
how much time the parent had and it was dependent on their work schedule. Most of the
interviews I conducted fluctuated between half-hour to an hour. I used a recording device to
record the interviews. Once each interview ended, I went home and made a few notations on
observations made, as well as added any additional notes of any comments made after the
recording had ended. Each interview was then transcribed to a Microsoft Word document.
Conrad 27
One of the parents made an interesting comment, and after reviewing the transcription, I
felt I needed further explanation of it. I contacted her to ask if she would mind elaborating on
answer she gave me during the interview. She readily agreed and due to our time availability, it
was agreed upon to have a follow-up phone interview instead of a one-on-one conversation in
person. I called her and I asked her if she would explain a little further about an answer she gave
during the interview. The conversation lasted less than five minutes and I was able to get a
clearer picture of what she meant about the comment given. Her additional answers gave my
research a more thorough idea of the Latin@ culture.
Setting
I drew my sample from North County San Diego parents from cities that have a
population of Latin@ families. In particular, parents from Oceanside and Carlsbad were
included in this research. Parents were primarily from these two cities due to the method of
snowball sampling. Parents referred lived in these two cities. The City of Oceanside’s Latin@
population is 36% and 48.5 % whites. The city of Carlsbad’s population is 13.6% Latin@s and
75.2% white (City-Data 2015). The city of Oceanside has two high schools as does the city of
Carlsbad. The City of Oceanside has a higher population of Latin@s, where nine of the parents
had children who graduated or were attending one of the high schools in the school district. The
other two parents lived in the city of Oceanside but chose for their children to attend the schools
in the city of Carlsbad.
The sample was centered on these two cities because most of the referrals came from the
parents themselves and they all lived within close proximity to each other. One of the parents
resided in the city of Carlsbad but her son graduated from a high school in Oceanside.
Conrad 28
Data Analysis/Coding Process
After I conducted each of my interviews with the participants, I transcribed the
interviews. I translated the interviews I conducted in to English during the transcribing process.
After each interview, I added my own personal notes of what I observed. During the interview I
took precautions to keep the personal identity of the parents I interviewed anonymous. The
recorded transcribed interviews do not name any of the participants in the study conducted. The
transcriptions were documented in a Microsoft Word document. The interview transcriptions
were kept in a digital folder and kept in a password-protected laptop. I have pseudonyms for all
participants to protect their identity.
In this study I used a two phases of analysis for my coding process. The first phase was
coding and I looked for themes, key words, ideas discussed and recurring thoughts. The second
phase was axial codification to reduce the codes I recorded to a smaller number of codes that
were more important. Through this coding process my themes emerged.
FINDINGS
I examined parents’ perspectives on parental practices at home, and how they
demonstrated support for their children’s academics in navigating through high school to
graduation. In addition, this study gathered data as to how Latin@s perceived what parent
involvement is and how this reflected in interactions with their students and their students’
school.
The following themes about parental perceptions of their involvement in their children’s
schooling emerged: First, collaborative parent/child development was cited as a strategy of
interaction with teachers. Second parental pedagogies were seen as central to Latin@ parent
involvement, Third “place” of involvement: hidden practices at home vs. overt Eurocentric
Conrad 29
practices, which looks at various parental practices at home and school that were used to bolster
their children’s success. Lastly, Latin@ parents highlighted barriers to parental involvement as
language and culture, academics, financial and time restraints.
Collaborative Parent-Child Development
Collaborative parent-child development refers to parent and child communication about
their academics. Latin@ parents relied on their children to be informed about academia.
Participants were informed about school subjects becoming challenging from their children. For
example, Elizabeth mentioned that her son informed her when he was having a difficult time in a
class that he needed to graduate, and made his needs known to his mom. His teacher never made
contact with her in regards to this she shared:
No it was …my son that told me. I have difficulties with this and I need this and that.
As Eva and I discussed her son’s academics, she mentioned that when he was taking AP
(advance placement) classes that he had a difficult time. I asked her if the school notified her and
Eva stated the following:
No it was actually my son. He just came home one day and he’s like, ‘you know it’s
getting a little bit hard.’ So that’s when I said, ‘find someone that can help you.’
Eva later mentioned when she asked about AP classes and the differences in grades because her
son’s grades were lower, her son was the one that explained these differences.
Araceli’s daughter took the initiative in her own academics and she communicated to her
mother where she stood in terms of being able to graduate. She stated:
You know with my last one graduating…she already has enough credits to graduate …
she talks to her counselor to see …if she needs any other classes.
Conrad 30
Raul and Margarita shared how their sons were the ones who took responsibility for the
classes they enrolled in and for addressing any issues regarding classes. Raul shared the
following:
If they have an issue they talk to the counselor.
Pablo and Luz both are active parents and are involved in their daughter’s academics, but they
too mentioned the responsibility put on the daughter. They tell the daughter to check in with her
teacher regarding the parent portal, school loop. Luz shared how her daughter communicated
with the teacher in regards to her grade:
I would usually tell our daughter that same day we found out there was an issue to
check with her teacher. She would tell her teacher. She would say ok my teacher said
that they just haven’t upgraded the test scores.
Pablo and Luz expressed their concern regarding the teacher’s upkeep of the site. They
felt that the teachers should be on top of the assignments and grades. They expected it to reflect
what their daughter was telling them:
Luz: You see the progress daily, weekly when the teachers keep up with it.
Pablo: Yeah, it’s very depended on the teacher if the teacher for some reason doesn’t
have time, doesn’t get to enter their student’s grades, or even updated homework
assignments, or something like that it reflects back on the student.
Pablo: It reflects back on the student. The student’s grade is going to be different then
what the website will show you. So there’s always that’s would get her rowed up like
“what’s going on?” And then she would start calling and then she would start “well why
aren’t your teachers using this?” This is a tool for the teachers and for the parents and the
students. If the teachers don’t do it then why are the parents even going to be looking at
this if it’s not being updated daily? It doesn’t make sense.
Parental collaboration between parent and child allowed for parents to be informed about their
children’s academics. Parents relied on their child to inform them on their progress towards
graduation. Some of the Latin@ parents were familiar with the tools offered for parents but not
all parents used them, they relied more on their children to inform them. Academic monitoring
Conrad 31
for students of Latin@ parents was done through engaging in conversations with their children
and having open communication on their progress toward graduation. This was demonstrated in
how Latin@ parents stressed the importance of asking them about their academics and following
up with their children when an issue arose. Some of the parents took a more active role if they
felt an issue was not resolved; they made contact with the school and followed up on the issue.
For the most part, many of them engaged in conversations with their children about their
academic progress.
Parental Pedagogies
Lourdes engaged her daughter at home by having her help out with the daycare that she
ran. She shared how her daughter helped:
She would help with feeding, get them ready for school, taking them to school, and
picking them up after school.
Lourdes said that having her daughter help with caring for the children taught her
daughter to be patient and to be responsible.
Andrea’s husband showed their son how to work with electronics, technology and
mechanics. She shared how her husband and her son engaged in this type of learning:
My husband did electronics working [with] my son; taking auto [his] dad has
talked to him about that showed him stuff about auto. Computer I mean if there is a
problem, they have built computers together so I think that, it’s something they learn at
school so I think you know they had some knowledge already going into some of these
classes.
Rosario’s daughters assisted her with her home daycare. This was done mostly in the summer as
she stated in the following:
During the summer I would have a few children to babysit and they were responsible for
their care. They would earn their own money and learned to purchase things they needed
and opened their own savings account.
Conrad 32
After the recording stopped we talked about other things parents teach their children. She
mentioned that her daughters had been taught to cook, but she did not see this as teaching. She
did not connect how it involved or impacted her daughter’s education; it was just something she
taught them. Rosario also assigned daily chores around the house, her children have
responsibilities but she never thought of them as teaching. For her it was more about what she
knew she had to teach them to help make them responsible and it also helped her.
Andrea and her husband shared their own knowledge with their daughter. When Andrea’s
daughter was doing homework Andrea and her husband discussed the topic with her and
contributed their own experiences, thoughts and ideas. Andrea shared the following:
She would talk about some the classes and would elaborate on what information
we had and what she learned or what my husband you know knew about that so and we
might have given her a little bit more so she could think about whatever she was studying
and may bring it you know to her group or you know or what she learned from us what,
we know.
Araceli involved her daughter with assisting her during the summer with the daycare she
offered to parents. She shared how her daughter helped her:
When I used to do childcare my daughter used to help me out a lot with the kids…they
used to play little games while they were learning the colors certain activities that we did
here she would help me out a lot…and she says even when she was little…she is
interested in teaching.
Araceli didn’t involve her sons with the daycare, but they did help around their dad.
She stated:
They did the gardening…they helped him out they took mechanics auto classes just
like my daughter she’s taking auto right now.
Andrea’s husband showed their son how to work with electronics, technology and
mechanics. She shared how her husband and her son engaged in this type of learning:
My husband did electronics working [with] my son; taking auto [his] dad has talked to
him about that showed him stuff about auto. Computer I mean if there is a problem, they
Conrad 33
have built computers together so I think that, it’s something they learn at school so I think
you know they had some knowledge already going into some of these classes.
Pablo and Luz engaged their children in a variety of ways. They described how they
involved their children at home in helping run the household. They also introduced their children
to manage their own money received from allowances given to them because they helped out.
Luz stated the following about raising her daughter:
I think that we since she was little we taught her how to handle her finance, to
manage her money. They basically all have chores around the house. I think daughter
being grown up in a house full of a lot of kids so it’s knowing how to take care of kids,
being responsible, and she’s really kid friendly.
With their older son helping his grandma with the cooking influenced his chosen career, Luz
shared his story:
We didn’t know it was something he wanted to do. He went into that very easy.
Probably because his grandma growing up in the kitchen with her you know
cooking and so he must have just gotten it from her… [in choosing] his profession
[chef].
Raul and Margarita felt it was important to engage their children in cooking. Margarita
later recognized how this would help her youngest son with his reading. She stated:
I’ve tried to teach them how to cook…I don’t know I never really thought of it as reading
until younger son that is one thing that I do. His reading is not good…I do things like
reading a recipe because it’s not really reading to him…we go online and he looks it up
and then he tells me what the ingredients are and he reads all that.
Raul added: He also learned measurements.
Raul and Margarita also introduced money management to their children. They shared the
following:
Raul: They’ve had their own accounts for about four or five years.
Margarita: Yeah, I think it’s important for them to take care of their own money.
Raul also mentioned how they help him with car maintenance. He stated:
Conrad 34
We do a little bit of mechanical work.
These everyday interactions at home demonstrate how Latin@ parents shared their own
knowledge with their children that directly influences their learning. Yet, parents did not see this
as a method of teaching, which helped their children with schoolwork and learning in the
classroom.
The “Place” of Involvement: Hidden Practices at Home vs. Overt Eurocentric Practices
Hidden Latin@ Parental Practices at Home
All of my participants talked about being actively involved in their students’ life and in
their academic success at home. Participants involved themselves in their children’s academics
by engaging in conversations about their daily school activities at home. They each felt it was
important to inquire about how their children were doing with homework, encouraged and
assisted them in their homework, and monitored grades and requirements for high school
graduation.
For example, Elizabeth engaged with her child about academics daily. She made the
effort to ask him about his school day on a daily basis. She shared why she felt it was important
for her. She stated:
I wanted to know every day what is going on in class. I ask him, “was everything ok?”
Every single day, and I pick him up every single day from school although I worked, I
always schedule with him that I need to pick him up.
She felt it was important to be involved at home and she practiced this by engaging with him
about school on a daily basis.
Eva encouraged her children to focus on school and made certain the homework was
done. She explained:
Making sure their homework was done, making sure they went to school every day,
making sure they were just ready to go.
Conrad 35
She later added that she looked at report cards and questioned her son when his grades dropped.
Andrea, when asked to share her experience with her daughter’s academics, shared the
following:
I did kind of monitor her schoolwork not as much as I should have, I asked her if she had
any issues with teachers or if there was something going on to please let me know.
Andrea stayed informed about her daughter’s academics by looking at report cards. She stated:
I think it is really helpful when you talk to your student child and ask them what’s going
on? And always every single day just hey how was school? What did you learn? What
happened? And just ask them so that way you are familiar what they see whether it be
something silly or the teacher you know said something and you also get to know the
teacher through your student’s eyes.
According to Andrea, this approach was important, but as she also mentioned, she felt she could
have been more active in monitoring her daughter’s schoolwork.
Rosario talked to her daughter about her grades and knew she needed to earn enough
credits to graduate:
I would talk to her about her grades I knew she needed to have a certain amount of points
[credits] in order to graduate…I would talk to them and encouraged them to make an
effort so they could push on to finish high school.
She explained that homework help was not as easy, but when she could she tried to help. She
recalls that on one of her daughter’s assignment she shared her Mexican culture with her.
Araceli spoke about the frustrations her children felt with teachers. She shared the
following:
My own kids tell me oh like you know schools not like that there’s only one teacher out
of the whole school that is really interested in us and like the rest of the teachers don’t
care and they just throw you, they pile up all of this homework and just do it and turn it in
and that’s it and like they don’t teach much in class that’s what I hear a lot like you know
and that to me I mean is kind of like sad cuz I always looked up to teachers because they
teach our kids, you know our kids grow up and learn.
Conrad 36
She demonstrated the importance of listening to her children and acknowledged the struggles
they experience at school. The communication she shared with them exemplifies her
involvement at home with her children’s daily academics. Through the narratives shared in
regards to how the participants practiced parent involvement, they created an open dialogue with
their children. They began to form relationships with them so that their children felt comfortable
with later coming to their parents to talk to them about their academics.
Overt Eurocentric Parental Involvement
There was a sub set of parents who identified as middle class. These Latin@ parents
were involved on school grounds with formal school activities, sports, and volunteering. These
Latin@ parents volunteered and engaged with their children at home in their children’s
academics. Latin@ parents took time off work to play an active role in their children’s
academics. Those who engaged in what the school might consider more traditional parental
involvement (i.e., involvement in the school arena) were more informed and created more capital
for their kids and themselves.
Parent involvement at school was demonstrated in a variety of ways such as:
volunteering, communicating with the teacher, meeting with student’s counselor, attending
conferences, using any forms of online communication and navigation of their children’s school
website. Some of the parents were very involved with volunteering at school. They felt it was
important for them to volunteer and that it would help in engaging with their children about their
academics and build relationships with them.
Pablo and Luz both made time for their daughter but Luz was the one who was able to be
more involved. She shared the following with volunteering in Elementary:
Luz: School functions, school projects, and school field trips.
Conrad 37
Raul: Pretty much everything.
Luz: Yeah, pretty much a little bit of everything from their elementary.
They both saw differences in their involvement at school when their daughter transitioned from
elementary to middle school to high school:
Luz: They wanted to do things on their own so now as they go middle school high school
it’s more communicating email, phone calls with the teachers, counselors, if I needed a
meeting you know at the school. If your kids not doing advocate then the parents need to
be which I’m a big advocate for my kids at school. So if they don’t think they can do it
I’m in there doing it. Calling the school, whether it’s their grades or homework
something that’s going on and doesn’t look right first one I call is the teacher. If I don’t
get answer from them I will follow up with the counselor. If I don’t get them I will hold a
meeting or say I need a meeting. And it’s within so many days and figure out what’s
going on.
Raul: It was usually her talking with the counselors talking to the teachers. I only got
involved with that if I needed to.
Luz: Usually any type of meeting that we had with any of the teachers it was more of an
issue but any time I had to meet with any of the teachers they were all pretty nice. Yeah I
kinda just went in there saying what were here for let’s get it done…with me yeah I think
because…I’m firm about … if there’s any problems in class, make sure they understand
and getting it. You know I’m always on top of that. Like if there’s an issue ill make sure I
address it to the teacher or to staff or somebody.
Both parents felt it important to be in communication with their child about her
academics. This was demonstrated by Luz’s dedication to asking her daughter about her
academics and actively participating in them by contacting the school when she saw there was an
issue with her daughter’s schoolwork. Their involvement continued but it was more centered on
the child and not on helping in the classroom. The difference in parent involvement from
elementary differed in the sense that the communication only arose if there were issues.
Conrad 38
Raul and Margarita were also very actively engaged in volunteering. They both were
active volunteers and made time to attend school events, fieldtrips and help in the classroom.
They shared the following:
Luz: Well we volunteered in school I don’t know I think we really tried to be involved as
academically just keeping track of their grades.
Raul: With our two oldest sons we did the…college bound which I think helped us
prepare them for college.
Raul: Elementary mom was involved a lot, I did field trips I did some you know helping
with…Teacher’s Aid and stuff like that. Middle school a little less but in high school it
was either a football game or college bound that was pretty much it.
Luz: I kind of think it’s the same thing like in elementary it’s so much easier because
they have one teacher and that’s the person that you, you know like I always take my kids
to school so you see the teacher you know you just have more interactions with that
teacher than middle school they have…six teachers and you really don’t have the
conferences anymore … you see them at open house and that’s pretty much it.
I volunteered from Kindergarten and I just think you see your kid like I don’t know I
always thought our kids were a certain way but then when I saw them in the classroom it
was totally different and I think it helps when you volunteering because you understand
what they’re doing so when they come home you understand what they are talking… I
think that’s the foundation it’s important to start there and just be a part of all of that you
know…
Raul: but I think that starting from the beginning I think really, really bonds you and your
child.
Both parents engaged in volunteering throughout their children’s academics, beginning in
elementary and ending with them graduating from high school. By volunteering, parents felt they
continuously worked at building relationships with their kids and having an open communication
when they discussed school academics.
Another form of parent involvement was engaging in online communication. This option
for parents is made through contacting teachers via email and using a parent/student online
portal. The online portal is a system that both parents and students can access once they create an
Conrad 39
account. Both the student and the parents create an account of their own. The student and the
parent have access to the same information online. What this did was allow both student and
parent to check the status of their child’s daily homework assignments, projects, and grades.
Pablo and Luz shared their experience in using these tools to stay engaged with their child’s
academics:
Luz: School loop or Aries they always give parents information about that…school
loop is a program that teachers are supposed to be using that puts the student’s homework
assignments whether its monthly, weekly and…
Pablo: Daily.
Luz: Yeah daily….and so it’s basically just an online information of what the school your
student’s curriculum is and what they need to be doing. You know if we ever saw my
daughter’s grades just a little bit off you know…then we would call on it and “oh yeah
she’s fine, you know we just haven’t updated these last homework assignments or her
test, we just haven’t done that.” Ok well we’re trying, trying to make her stay on track.
Raul: This is a tool that you are supposed to be using and you’re not using it then that’s
not really helping us, usually it was an email first.
Luz: If email didn’t [get] response. I sent her an email told her you know my
daughter was having some difficulties in this class with her and I as her teacher,
teaching the class [I asked] what was she going to do. So my daughter can understand.
Raul and Margarita also used this tool, but felt that this tool did not address the status of the
graduating requirements as they shared the following:
Margarita: He had trouble in class and prior to that I mean other than you did like the
school loop …there’s nothing on there that tells you the requirements for graduating I
think in high school they pretty much tell the kids that they are responsible for their own
you know making sure that they are gonna graduate.
These tools were used only by a few of the eleven parent participants. The other parents did not
mention using these forms of technology. Andrea knew there was a system that allowed her to
see her child’s grades:
There is the new system I can’t remember what it’s called that you can go on there and
log in and they tell you what the students is missing [like] homework.
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Parents also had an option to use email to communicate with the counselors and teachers. The
ease of accessing teachers via email is convenient for parents if they have access to a computer
and if they know how to navigate the online portal. Both sets of parents suggested the system
was not one to count on to be accurate, nor did it inform if one’s student was failing unless the
teacher actively updated the grades for each of the students. Parents such Pablo, Luz, Raul, and
Margarita were engaged in their school academics, but also with sports activities. All felt it was
important to be there because it offered an opportunity to show their kids that they were being
supportive.
Pablo: I did know that it’s important, school is important and you know I wanna be there
for my kids. I want them to see that I care about their school. And so that’s why I think
that it’s important for parents to attend any function that whether it be sports, whether it
be theater whatever that there involved in let them see that you want to be part of it too.
Pablo and Luz later mentioned that they both attended their daughter’s sports events. It was the
last type of event they recall being involved and attending, when I asked them what the last event
they attended during high school. Raul and Margarita engaged in their children’s sports
activities.
Raul: Football (both sons) played football only oldest son he played through his junior
year.
Luz: He didn’t play his senior year but then…went into track and field and so we
would go to their football games, their track meets, the football team stuff.
Raul and Margarita’s children all have played sports and with all three of they have been a part
of the practices and attended their games. Elizabeth stated the importance of parents getting
involved with their kids:
Pay attention to details…believe in them so they’re confident to tell you what’s going
on...The most important thing is that parents know what is going on at school they
have enough information that the schools help the parents get involved in the school
because some parents want to do that and they do not know how to do that.
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One of the Latin@ parent in this study recognized her academic capital. Bourdieu’s
concept of social capital theory helps explains the differences in a person’s capital gained by
resources and networking (Bourdieau 1986). One of the parents interviewed expressed this when
she stated the following:
Luz: I’ve seen and I’ve felt that if the parent is more involved at the very beginning it
stays with their child throughout the school year to be more involved and let the
administration know you are involving yourself and they’re going to help that student
more. Because I’ve seen it. If you’re on it and your constantly there you know once twice
a month your calling you checking you know hey you know and just meeting it and make
yourself known to that teacher it seems like they direct more attention to that student.
They help them better along… You know but if you’re involved oh these parents are
involved that’s what they want. They want more parents involved with their kids so they
know they have an interest because then they are going to focus more on those students.
Another parent expressed the ease of having access to her son’s teachers because she worked at
the school. Though this was applicable only to his elementary years, it gave her the opportunity
to begin a dialogue with teachers and gain academic capital in the process. Eva shared the
following:
Especially working in the school they kinda came up to me you know I think they said
they needed to be in this gifted class--they go beyond the standards.
These Latin@ parents demonstrate how parents gain capital through the traditional
Eurocentric parent involvement. These two parents were the exception. The rest of the parents
brought their own social and cultural capital that enabled them to support their children in their
academics. Their children successfully graduated from high school. Latin@ parent involvement
was based on their own funds of knowledge. These funds of knowledge were a reflection of their
culture and social capital. Parents utilized their culture practices of engaging their children in
everydayness home activities. Latin@ parents demonstrated this by sharing their culture. They
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also taught their children skills by having them assist them in domestic skills such as cooking,
cleaning, mechanics, gardening, and by having them help with their home based daycares.
Latin@ Parents’ Viewpoints on Parental Involvement
I asked parents what parent involvement meant to them. The parents had similar answers
and the majority was in agreement about having an open dialogue with their child/ren about their
daily school happenings. Eva felt that she did not do as much as she could have had with her two
sons so she reflected on how it would have been different if she had the opportunity to do it
again:
I think if I had another child I would do it much different… I would be more
involved…I feel that it’s always important to know what your kids are doing. Because
not all the time they come to you with everything and if you’re kinda on the same page as
they are you can know a little bit more.
I asked her if this would apply to elementary, middle school, or high school.
You know a little bit of everything so you can get how elementary works, how junior
high, high school the teachers because they change teachers too it would be nice to be aware of
every level they go through.
She added that she would also ask her child what they wanted to do and would inquire about
programs. Eva was not alone in expressing this perspective.
Lourdes: More than anything I think it’s an obligation we have with our children, I think
that as her mother it is my obligation to be aware of how school is going and if she has
the will to learn or wants to learn or not.
Andrea: Making sure that they are doing what they are supposed to and if they’re having
an issue with the teacher because the teacher is not working with them on making sure
that they are understanding the curriculum and that’s one concern that I have and I
always told them if there is an issue to please let me know. In that aspect I do try and
make sure that the kids are okay and that they’re in the classes that they should be and
that they’re not too hard or not too easy. I just want the teachers to make sure that they
push them enough so that they can understand and learn.
Rosario: For me it is important it is a motivation for them to show our support…to
always be with them, even the smallest detail they value it, this is needed for them
to make an effort…if I can’t help them then I search for help in other places…so they
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could get the help they needed. As parents we can’t leave them for a moment, always
be there, this helps them a lot because later they appreciated it from me, however I
could be there for them, and this motivated them to make an effort. It’s important for the
parents not to leave them for a minute or a half-hour, always give them attention. If we
do leave alone then they do whatever they want and then we rely that they will that they
will move forward alone but the truth is the parents being there it’s the foundation for all
parents.
Araceli: Parent involvement to me is trying to help our kids to progress in life, do better
than what we did, stay out of trouble, make sure that you know they are doing what they
are supposed to do ‘cuz now life is so hard and they might…go to college and get a life
[better].
Pablo and Luz shared the following:
Luz: Being involved making sure …they get the right academics that they need.
Pablo: Just being available for them being, there to support them for whatever they need,
school supplies, you know make things a little bit easier for them and so that they don’t
have to worry … just being a provider.
Luz: Supporter.
Pablo: Yeah, supporter.
Raul and Margarita stated that being involved was:
Margarita: Just knowing what your kids are doing you know knowing who their friends
are.
Raul: I guess trying to be there, being there for them to help them along.
Margarita: I wanted a different kind of relationship with my kids, I wanted to be able to
be involved in everything that they did, everything from school to their friends to football
or whatever it was I wanted, to be involved in it.
Parent involvement meant different things to the parents who participated in this study,
but the overall idea was to try and be involved with their children. Parents did this by building a
foundation of open communication with their children. They supported their children by
encouraging and motivating them. Parents inquired about their children’s academics and tried to
assist when possible. Latin@ parents shared their own experiences and knowledge. For example,
some of the mothers shared how they engaged their children with domestic chores such as
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cooking and babysitting. Other mothers shared that through their daycare services. They engaged
their children in helping with the care of the children they babysat.
Latin@ parents were involved with their children’s academics in ways that differed from
the traditional American idea of parent involvement. The extant literature demonstrates that both
educator and parent perceptions differ in the meaning of what parental involvement is (e.g.,
Lawson 2003; Olmedo 2003). Latin@ parents interviewed showed the various ways they engage
with their children and shared their funds of knowledge. Moll et al. (1992) first conceptualized
funds of knowledge with the idea of incorporating strategic knowledge that parents can apply in
the classroom. Funds of knowledge refers to the idea of engaging parents to contribute to their
children’s academics through the use of their own social and cultural capital (Moll et al 1992).
By working with the parents in everyday chores, cooking, and babysitting the children were
taught different skills. By babysitting, they learned how to care for another person, time
management, organizing, and cooking they utilized their funds of knowledge. Their children
learned how to budget the money they earned. This was similar to the findings of past research in
which agriculture workers shared knowledge with their kids about the production of produce and
machinery (Clark-Ibáñez 2004). Parents did not identify these skills as funds of knowledge. They
did not relate these skills as ones that would be helpful for their children.
Barriers to Involvement
Parent participants experienced some barriers when engaging in their children’s
academics. The barriers that emerged were related to the following: language/culture, academics,
and resources such as finances and time. Language barriers refer to the challenges that parents
had in navigating the school in their native language. Culture refers to the differences between
parents’ culture and academic culture, and how these differences had an impact in their roles
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with their children’s academics. Academic barriers refer to the unfamiliarity with school subjects
that prevented parents from being able to assist with homework. Financial and time barriers are
what interfered with parents’ ability to engage in school activities.
Language and Culture
Parents faced barriers due to language and culture differences. Two parents who
participated in this research spoke only Spanish. The rest of the participants were bilingual. The
culture barriers felt by a few of the participants derived from their own experiences with their
own academic experiences.
Elizabeth found it difficult to communicate with her son’s teachers in high school. She
shared her experience, which illustrated the language and culture barrier:
It was not a really nice experience…I say that again my accent language is [a]
problem. I felt it was like telling him about the situation, [when she addressed the
challenges her son was having in the class] it was a threat to him, he reversed this threat
against my own person... it was about the threat…And it was not only with him it was…
with administrations the principal it was also not easy for me first because they always
think…that you do not have education enough…always try to reverse the concerns in a
different direction. That maybe the problem is you, that you do not understand that
maybe you don’t know how it work[s] and…that you are not prepared to understand
what’s going on and they are never neutral they always try to find the direction that you
are the problem or the kid is the problem. That you are not right…you need to be very
clear what’s going…and discuss the situation. And if you are not strong enough and
you don’t have enough knowledge it’s not easy to be successful. I found this constantly
all the time. I have my education I have um doctorate in my country and I’m
educated. And at the same time I have and at this time I was taking classes at Mira
Costa. So I was pursuing my AA...How important that grade is for my kid.
Elizabeth experienced a language barrier and in the process felt that the teacher and
administration staff saw her concern as a threat to them and the focus was placed on her and her
child as the problem. She felt that her accent impacted how the staff interacted with her and how
they treated her. While she may have identified this as a language and cultural barrier this is also
an example of institutional racism as identified by both CRT and LatCrit theory. The feeling of
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being excluded and made to feel slighted is referred to as a micro-aggression. Elizabeth had an
advanced degree but school staff only heard her accent. She had parental concerns but couldn’t
get assistance because of her accent. This illustrates an issue that is underlying institutional
racism.
Elizabeth also had a different cultural upbringing, her parents did not volunteer and due
to this when she came to the United States was not aware of the difference in academic culture.
She became involved with her son’s academics through her own parental practices at home and
by inquiring daily about her son’s day.
Lourdes spoke only Spanish when asked if the information given to her from the school
was in Spanish she doesn’t recall she shared her experience with engaging in school conferences.
She stated:
I think they were…I don’t recall…but sometimes when they would send it in
English my daughter would translate.
I inquired about the times when the school made contact or when she attended school meetings
she responded:
[They] would translate for me and when my daughter knew [English] well she would
translate what the teacher was saying to me.
I asked, “There was someone to translate and sometimes your daughter translated?” She replied:
Yes but for the most part it was my daughter, because she already knew English.
Lourdes’ experience with school academics and parent involvement relied on assistance from the
school and with her daughter becoming responsible in communicating with her on how she was
doing in school. Her daughter also became responsible for informing her mother with any
English information mailed to her and was the primary translator for her.
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Araceli did not have language barriers, but because of her cultural background she
became the parent who was solely responsible for her children’s academics. She shared the
absence of her husband in their children’s academics:
My husband, being Mexican, he’s not really involved with them when it comes to that.
Araceli referred to the Latin@ culture when she mentioned that her husband doesn’t speak
English well and he felt uncomfortable attending school events. Her husband was born in
Mexico and Araceli shared that his own dad was never involved in his schooling. Araceli’s
husband never felt inclined to attend school conferences or to volunteer. The only school events
he attended were concerts where his children were performing. She also mentioned that she
asked him to attend Parent Teacher Organization meetings with her but he never was interested
in going with her. He felt uncomfortable with not being able to speak English and though Araceli
pointed out that there were other parents who attended that did not speak English, he never
joined her. She made a point of mentioning that those parents like him were from Mexico and
would also need translating, and because of the language barrier Araceli would offer to translate
for him. He chose not to attend and Araceli believed was due largely because of his upbringing
and the language barrier.
These language and culture barriers made parents feel excluded. Though there are and
have been government policies that are meant to address these barriers they do not seem to be
systematically implemented. Programs like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top are meant
for schools were given federal funds for the purpose of reaching out to parents and informing
them of their children’s academics (U.S. Department of Education 2005). These barriers are
another example of institutional racism and they put both the parent and student at a
disadvantage over those who do not face these forms of barriers and institutional racism.
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Government policies are supposed to make things equitable and the same for everyone but only
if they are being applied.
Academics
Parents felt the challenges of academics when they could not help their children with
their homework and felt that the opportunities at school for assistance were sometimes not easily
accessible.
Eva felt disconnected with her son when she tried to help him with his advanced
placement homework. She attempted to assist him with it but it was a challenge. She shared her
experience:
By then I felt they were kinda pretty good at what they were doing…taking AP
(advance placement) classes …for me it was a little more difficult the way they were
teaching them than [how] I was taught so we kinda couldn’t balance it out. I would try to
show them my way but his was different so we couldn’t connect.
Her son had to seek help at school and later shared with her that he was doing much better with
the class.
Pablo and Luz both felt the struggle of not being able to help their daughter with some of
the homework. Pablo shared how difficult it became once she began taking advanced placement
classes:
As far as the academics it’s been so long that you know we’ve been in school that a lot of
the stuff they get now math, English I mean it’s a lot more advanced...my daughter
would take more advanced classes. It was hard to help her with homework …we would
try to be involved… with helping her out with whatever we could …she was
struggling in math so I told her you know we couldn’t help her because it was too
advanced for us and I was like hey, I’m sorry, this is way over me.
Parents who spoke only Spanish found similar struggles; they helped with homework when they
could, but the barriers they faced were both academic and language barriers. Their children were
not enrolled in AP classes. The parents shared the following:
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Lourdes: She would ask me questions; if I could answer her I would, with what little I
knew.
Andrea: If I could help I would help, with homework having to do with my culture I
helped.
Martina’s daughter did not graduate from high school but her story shares similarities in barriers
in academics. She stated the following when I asked her if the teacher realized that her daughter
was not in the right class:
No I contacted because I was seeing her progress reports that they were not so good.
So I started asking to see if they can help her… she would need to go at lunch time
get tutoring after school they offer tutoring for her too. And then they started switching
her to appropriate classes. Yeah and I had to let them know that she needed different kind
of classes because it was too hard for her.
When asked if this was an issue in certain schools or grade levels, she said:
Both high schools…it was a constant problem ever since she was in middle school.
Though her daughter did not end up graduating from high school, the parent put a great effort to
assist her child both at home and by constantly being in communication with the school, going to
school, and attending programs offered at school to inform her about academics.
These barriers faced by the parents addressed their difficulty in helping their children. For
both English and Spanish speaking parents helping their child was a challenge because they were
not familiar with the subjects. The difference between the two was the language barrier and the
challenge of Latin@ parents being unfamiliar with how to help their children in regular classes.
Lourdes felt comfortable in helping her daughter with an assignment that addressed her culture.
Lourdes shared with her daughter her knowledge of where she grew up:
Like our own country, the origins of our culture from our own country.
In this area, she felt she could assist her with her schoolwork, because she was familiar with the
subject. Latin@ parents come with their own knowledge and are willing to assist them with their
Conrad 50
academics. English speaking parents share the same struggles with helping their children with
subjects in school, but Latin@ parents face culture and language barriers.
Financial and Time Restraints
Parents’ jobs prevented them from becoming involved with their children’s academics.
They could not always attend events because it would interfere with their employment.
Eva expressed that her job didn’t allow her to attend events she states:
So like me I work I really didn’t have the time.
Martina wanted to do more but as she stated:
No, no [I couldn’t]. Because I was constantly working.
She attended school meetings because her child had an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
those were the meetings that she attended. Rosario shared a similar experience:
They would send home flyers and letters so we could attend events and meetings …I
would attend some but because of work [didn’t].
The other parents in the research shared similar concerns. Pablo, Luz, Raul and Margarita
had the financial means to take time off work and be active parents. They did, however, express
that in conversation with other parents. They informed them of their struggle to attend events and
school activities. Raul and Margarita demonstrated this in the following ways:
Margarita: I know a lot of parents I mean we are both working parents and there are a lot
of parents that can’t do that with their kids because sometimes you can’t take the time off
it’s not that the parents don’t want to.
Raul: It is difficult.
The barriers parents faced prevented them from engaging in school interactions.
Considering that many Latin@ families face the challenges of taking time off work, many of
them cannot attend school functions. Martina involved herself as much as she could, though she
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was a single mom and had to take time off work to attend meetings she made every effort to be a
part of her daughter’s schooling. She shared the following:
…I was constantly working, [did] only what I [could] in the school.
The type of employment many Latin@s have does not offer them benefits such as vacation time
to take time off work. But the two couples that were identified as middle class were able to
transcend these barriers because of the opportunities given from the type of employment they
had.
DISCUSSION
This research addressed how Latin@ parents’ perceptions of parent involvement differ
from the traditional Eurocentric American idea of what constitutes parent involvement. Parents
shared their thoughts on what parent involvement is to them. What they shared in regards to what
parent involvement meant to them is similar to how they put into practice these ideas. They all
expressed the idea of being supportive and being there for their children not only in academics
but also at home. It was important for them to motivate them in doing well in school as well as
assist when possible with their schoolwork. Latin@ parents often shared their own knowledge of
culture, employment and everydayness with their children but this was not always seen by the
parents as a way of being involved in their children’s academics. Parents who are engaged in
their own experiences are bringing their own funds of knowledge and are bringing their own
culture capital (Jasis and Ordoñez-Jasis 2012).
Through this research parents informed me of the barriers they confronted through their
children’s academic journey. For example language was an example of how this negatively
affected one parent and how school staff made her feel she was the problem instead of
addressing the parent’s concern. The fact that language is still an issue for many parents
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demonstrates the need for this to be addressed. Even though there are programs such as No Child
Left Behind and Race to the Top, there are North County parents who were not offered the
resource at their children’s school of attendance.
Parents expressed their concern regarding how attending school functions impacted them.
These narratives are indicative that the school system needs to re-evaluate the time that events
and conferences are held. These times are geared more for students who have a parent at home
and can attend the events during normal school hours. For parents who are employed and cannot
attend due to losing out on pay makes it a challenge for them to decide what is more essential,
the need to work to support their family or to attend a school conference. Latin@ parents are
employed during traditional work hours making it difficult for them to take time of work and
volunteer (Hara and Burke 1998). These barriers are a form of institutional racism. Institutional
racism, in this case, comes in the form of having policies on the books that are not formally
followed by the institution, thus leaving those in unprivileged positions without the same benefits
as those in privileged positions. Federal polices such as No Child Left Behind and Race to the
Top were implemented to assist with some of these barriers. However if they are not being
practiced then Latin@ parents lose out on engaging in their children’s academics. They inhibit
working class Latin@ parents from engaging in their children’s academics putting both the
parents and students at a disadvantage.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the findings of this study, I have a number of recommendations for North
County, San Diego schools districts. The recommendations focus on the educational system of
viewing parent involvement from a Eurocentric perspective. They also focus on implementation
of parent programs specifically geared on the idea of Latin@ parents own funds of knowledge.
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The Latino parents interviewed demonstrated the different forms they practiced parent
involvement. The educational system needs to recognize the barriers Latin@ face that has
impeded them from demonstrating a more active role. Schools and teachers need to be attentive
to the time when Latin@ parents can meet with them for conferences and attend school
activities. Currently most parent-teacher conferences are during school hours.
School administrators need to be aware of the language barriers and should offer
professional translators who are familiar with academic standards of that district. The presence of
a translator during conferences will help parents understand the academic cultures as well as
academic standards that their children are expected to learn. Translators should be present at all
parent meetings and school events. By providing translators parents have the opportunity to ask
questions, inquire about their children’s academics and be aware of their children’s academic
progress. More importantly the need to have Latin@ parent’s children be present for translating
will no longer be imposed on their children.
Teachers and staff should be offered training on different cultural practices of their
students. By bringing understanding of the difference in culture between Latin@ and white
parents, teachers and staff can begin to recognize the different ways Latin@ parents are
practicing parent involvement at home. Teachers should try and implement school assignments
and activities that can engage Latin@ parents. School administrators should recognize that many
Latin@ parents do not have access to technology to use some of the tools being used to
communicate with teachers. It is also important for them to recognize that they also may not
know how to navigate the new systems of communication being used such as email and parent
portals. Latin@ parents should be offered a different method of communicating with teachers,
school administrators and staff that they are comfortable with.
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The most important recommendation is for both school administrators and teachers to
recognize that Latin@ parents parental involvement differs from white parents. Latin@ parents
come with their own funds of knowledge and thus should be encouraged to utilize these skills to
help with their children’s academics. Parent-teacher conferences are central to helping with this
process. Teachers and administrators need to be aware of these differences. Training should be
offered to all school staff. It is important to conduct parent teacher conferences during a time
when Latin@ parents can attend the conferences. Second, it is necessary to have a professional
translator attendance to properly address any questions teachers and parents may have. Third, it
is crucial that teachers should inquire how Latin@ parents engage with their children in their
academics. Fourth, I recommend that teachers recognize these different practices and incorporate
their style of parent involvement in homework assignment and school events. Last, teacher and
administrators should engage in community conversations and invite Latin@ parents to express
their concerns, address questions Latin@ parents may have and for them to express their needs
that may differ from other parents.
Through research conducted on the type of parent programs available for Latin@ parents
in North County, San Diego I propose that more parent involvement programs be offered for
parents in the North County area. These programs however should inform parents on the
academic standards of the district they reside in. The program should build on Latin@s’ own
funds of knowledge and culture practices. Latin@ parents’ own parenting practices should be
built upon and not changed to adapt to the Eurocentric ideas followed in the U.S. These
programs should offer daycare for Latin@ parents and should be offered at a time where they
can attend. Through these parent programs Latin@ parents should have an opportunity to be
informed of the different tools that schools used to communicate with parents. An explanation of
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these tools is important but they should also be encouraged in sharing their preference in how
they would like to communicate with teachers and school administrators.
SIGNIFICANCE
My study has informed on the different perceptions of Latin@ parental involvement. The
literature indicated the positive influence parental involvement has on students whose parents are
actively engaged in their children’s academics. It also indicated how class differences offered an
opportunity for English-speaking parents to learn how to navigate through their children’s high
school graduation. Gaining social capital can occur by means of contact and associations with
people who are experts (Kim and Schneider 2005; Portes 1998). The educational system set in
place derives from a Eurocentric notion of excellence (Lopez, Alexander, and Hernandez 2013).
As parents become schooled in this academic culture, the child then can benefit from the parents’
social and cultural capital (Astone and McLanahan 1991:319). However if these forms of capital
are not being offered to all families policies and practices of federally mandated programs will
not create change but, instead, continue to create barriers for Latin@ parents. CRT looks at how
race has impacted different social structures, including education, with the function of removing
racial oppression in all its forms (Hill 2009). This includes the recognition of how race
interconnects with ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, and other functions of power (Hill
2009).
My study informed how Latin@ parents involve themselves with their children’s
academics, but that their ideas of it differed from this Eurocentric lens. The concept of
collaborative parent/child development was demonstrated in how Latin@ families were informed
through their children. Latin@ parents kept an active dialogue with their children in their
academics by frequently inquiring about their school homework and daily activities. Latin@
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parents asked their children about any academic problems encountered and followed up with
them to make sure it was resolved. Latin@ parents’ narratives inform those who are unfamiliar
with the practices of Latin@ parents so that teachers can offer different methods that Latin@
parents can become involved in their children’s academics. Latin@ parental perceptions can
provide informative ideas to educators as to how Latin@ parents see the educational system, as
Latin@ parents see the responsibility of their children’s education in a different manner than
teachers.
My study has brought awareness that parents have their own cultural and social capital
that helps them navigate their everydayness, including how Latin@ parents help their children
through high school. Teachers, staff, and school administrators should consider how Latin@
bring their own cultural and social capital when addressing the needs of Latin@ parents.
Through these parental pedagogies, Latin@ parents contributed to their children’s academics.
They differ from the traditional parental involvement practices as they focus on Latin@s’ own
culture capital practices that translate to their own funds of knowledge. When parents are
engaged in school activities that are inclusive to their own experiences and funds of knowledge,
they become more engaged (Jasis and Ordoñez-Jasis 2012).
My study focused on answering the following question: What are Latin@ parents’
perceptions of their parental involvement in North County San Diego high schools? The findings
have found that Latin@ parents’ perceptions differed from the Eurocentric parental involvement
practices. This study provides insight on how Latin@ parents have coped with navigating with
barriers they encountered. Latin@ parents faced language, race, class, social, academic, and
culture capital barriers. Turning to their own funds of knowledge and cultural practices, Latin@
parents assisted in supporting their children in achieving high school graduation.
Conrad 57
CONCLUSION
As others researchers have brought attention to parental involvement, my research
addressed how Latin@ parents’ social and cultural capital differ from the normative Eurocentric
view embedded in public education. This builds on the literature already available, but I have
contributed to the element of Latin@ parents’ unique social and cultural capital overlooked by
the educational system. My research examined the cultural and social capital of Latin@ parents,
and how the educational system is failing to recognize their importance in student academic
achievement. For these reasons, I used the theoretical frameworks of CRT, LatCrit, and multiple
capital theories to analyze the findings of my research.
Latin@ parents’ practices and ideas of parent involvement are not aligned with the
Eurocentric practices of the U.S. educational system. Latin@ parents demonstrate their practices
in accordance to their own social and cultural practices. CRT and LatCrit race theory support
these differences as they address equal opportunity, class, race, culture and language between
Latin@ parents and white parents. (Anguiano et al. 2012; Bernal et al. 2002; Yosso 2005 et al.).
The findings indicated that Latin@ parents face barriers due to employment. Several of the
parents due to their employment were affected directly because they were not able to take time
off work to attend school events and volunteer. Other Latin@ parents shared their awareness of
other Latin@ parents not being able to volunteer or attend school events because they could not
afford to take time off work. Latin@ parents’ social economic status prevented them from taking
time off work to be more actively involved at school. For many parents, engaging in their
children’s school during the hours of a traditional workday was a challenge because they could
not take time off work (Hara and Burke 1998).
Conrad 58
Both CRT and LatCrit emphasize the inequalities of education by intersecting race and
class. In my research Latin@ parents also experienced inequalities due to their race. For example
some of the parents faced a language barrier, which impeded them to be more involved in their
children’s academics. The difficulties in communicating with the school for one of the parents
were demonstrated with her daughter being the primary translator for her when she attended
meetings with her daughter teachers. Delgado-Gaitan (1991) stressed the need for schools to
have staff that speaks the language of any large population in a school.
In my study the class status of parents contributed to the academic opportunities Latin@
parents experienced. This difference in class offered an opportunity for middle class Latin@
parents to transcend the barriers faced. Middle class Latin@ parents were able to volunteer at
their children school, go on field trips, and attend extracurricular events. These parents build
relationships with teachers and other parents building on their social and academic culture. In
comparison the other parents engaged with their children at home. Parents who were not
physically present at school and who could not volunteer did not share the same experience.
Instead these set of Latin@ parents utilized their own social and cultural capital to help their
children in their academics, utilizing their funds of knowledge.
These funds of knowledge exemplify how these every day skills can transfer to their
children’s academics. Through this learning their children learned how to manage their time,
organize, research online, read, mathematics, and science. These different forms of cultural and
social capital are unlike the ones gained by the U.S. traditional form of parent involvement. The
non-traditional form of involvement however created knowledge for their children and this
knowledge crossed over to their children finding academic success.
Conrad 59
As a Latina, my experience as a student whose parents were unfamiliar with the ideas of
parent involvement, I was able to identify that Latin@ parents continue to face the same type of
barriers I experienced as a child. Through the narratives of the participants I identified a different
parental involvement practice that has assisted Latin@ parents in helping their children graduate
from high school.
Conrad 60
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Conrad 70
APPENDIX
English Interview Questions
1. Did your son/daughter graduate from high school?
2. What were your experiences with being involved in your child’s academics (e.g.,
participating in the classroom, homework assignments, activities, school functions, etc.)?
3. How did you feel about engaging with your child’s teachers in a conversation about your
child’s academics?
4. How did teachers and counselors inform you about your child’s academic progress?
5. How did the counselor at your child’s school involve/inform you in regards to graduation
6. If Spanish is your preferred method of speaking or writing was there someone available
to help with translating? Was the information given to you in Spanish?
7. What kind of discussions did you and your child engage in in regards to academic
requirements for graduating?
8. How did your parents engage in your schools academics when you were in high school?
9. What does parent involvement mean to you?
10. How does the school expect you to be involved?
11. How were your parents involved when you were in school?
12. What has been the role of the schools in your involvement?
13. Is there something you feel the school can do to make it easier for parents to become
involved?
14. Is there anything else you would like to share about your experience with your child and
his/her education?
Conrad 71
Spanish Questions/Preguntas en Español
1. ¿Su hijo / hija se graduo de la escuela secundaria?
2. ¿Cuáles fueron sus experiencias con la participación en los académicos de su hijo (por
ejemplo, la participación en el salón de clases, tareas , actividades, funciones escolares, etc. ) ?
3. ¿Cómo se siento acerca de la participación con los maestros de su hijo en una conversación
acerca de los académicos de su hijo?
4. ¿Cómo fue que los maestros o consejeros le informo sobre el progreso académico de su hijo?
6. Si el español es su método preferido de hablar o escribir estaba allí alguien disponible para
ayudar con la traducción ? Fue la información dada a usted en español ?
7. ¿Qué tipo de discusiones hicieron usted y su hijo con respecto a los requisitos académicos para
graduarse ?
8. ¿Cómo sus padres se involucran en sus escuelas académicos cuando estaba en la escuela
secundaria?
9. ¿Qué significa la participación de padres a usted?
10. ¿ Qué espera usted participe la escuela?
11. ¿Cómo fueron sus padres involucrados cuando usted estaba en la escuela?
12. ¿Cuál piensa que hacido el rol de la escuelas en su participación como padre?
13. ¿Hay algo que se siente que la escuela puedo hacer para que fuera más fácil para los padres
que fueran involucrados ?
14. ¿Hay algo más que le gustaría compartir de su experiencia con su hijo/a en su educacion?
