One Size Does Not Fit All: Understanding Parent Engagement in the Contexts of Work, Family, and Public Schooling

Abstract

We examined how parents and educators in a low-income school conceptualize parental engagement, and how school, work, and family domains together shape these parties’ practices as well as understandings of how and why parents engage. From interviews with the principal, five teachers, and 17 mothers of children at a Title I elementary school, we observed mothers’ varied approaches to juggling employment and caregiving responsibilities with desires to be involved in their children’s education, strategies often unknown and mismatched to the focuses of school staff. The study suggests the value of engagement opportunities tailored to families’ unique circumstances and assets.

Is Daily Parental Help with Homework Helpful? Reanalyzing National Data Using a Propensity Score–Based Approach

“…With seemingly fewer barriers to participation, parental homework help may be a rational means by which low-income minority parents of children with low achievement become involved. Social class, race, and low achievement may thus help shape parental decisions to assist with homework (Lee and Bowen 2006; Posey-Maddox and Haley-Lock 2016).…”

Identifying Meaningful Indicators of Parent Engagement in Early Learning for Low-Income, Urban Families

“…In contrast, evidence linking parent's schoolbased involvement with children's academic success is limited, particularly for low-income populations (Alameda-Lawson & Lawson, 2016;Fantuzzo et al, 2000). These findings underscore the importance of measuring and promoting parent engagement but also ensuring that parent engagement measures include items that are a) linked to children's academic success, b) equitable for all parents, and c) useful to schools serving students from predominantly low-income urban communities, where many parents did not finish high school or may recall few positive memories of their own education (Iruka et al, 2011;Posey-Maddox & Haley-Lock, 2016).…”

Teachers’ Talk About Race and Caregiver Support: “You Can NEVER Be Too Sure About Parents”

“…Within this body of work is research focused specifically on educators and schools connecting with minoritized and low-income families who may face marginalization at the hands of schools and educators (Warren, Hong, Rubin, & Uy, 2009), as well the structural barriers these families face in engaging with schools (Baquedano-López et al, 2013). Further work also points to class- and race-based influences of parents in school settings, contrasting the influence that frequently White, middle- and upper class parents have in shaping their children’s educational experience (Lareau, 1987, 2000, 2011; Lareau & Horvat, 1999) with the barriers and challenges that parents of color, low-income parents, and those for whom English is a second language face in actually being in involved in their children’s schooling (Posey-Maddox & Haley-Lock, 2016; Warren et al, 2009).…”