When students come from homes where educational achievement is not a high priority, they often don't do their homework and their parents don't come to school events. This lack of parental support undermines my efforts to teach these students.
Background
When families (not all students live with or are primarily cared for by one or more parents) do not get engaged in supporting their children's learning, the job of the teacher is more difficult. The reasons why families don't get involved are many and varied. They may lack interest, but more often parents cannot get to the school (work, transportation issues, etc.), feel that that they lack the knowledge of resources to help, feel intimidated themselves in academic settings, or are uncertain what their role should be. This is especially true, of course, for families from some cultures, for those who do not feel comfortable with English and for single parents who may work more than one job and have responsibilities for caring for other children. Schools that support teachers in reaching out to families in several ways, and that see family engagement as a schoolwide responsibility, can significantly increase the extent to which families help their children do well in school.
Questions to Consider
- How might teachers' beliefs about students' families influence their expectations for student success?
- How can educators invite and encourage the involvement of all kinds of families?
To explore these and other questions, take a closer look at the resources below. At any time, add your comments to the Discussion by starting a new discussion or viewing an ongoing discussion.
- Jeannie Oakes argues that teachers need to develop the capabilities to engage in cross-race interactions with families, some of whom may feel uneasy about their relations with schools:
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- Jacqueline Jordan Irvine describes how teachers need to enlist parents’ involvement, rather than assuming that they don’t care:
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- Luis Moll reports on his research showing that students bring with them to school "funds of knowledge" from their homes and communities that are valuable resources for teaching and learning:
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- Check out "Assessing Partnerships," a checklist for assessing the comprehensiveness of family partnerships, developed by the National Education Association's C.A.R.E. division.
Teacher Dispositions About the Role of Families in Student Learning
- Nel Noddings discusses the importance of finding ways to include all parents in the school community, rather than judging parents who stay away from the school:
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- Victoria Purcell-Gates explains the ways in which teachers need to go into communities, visit families and respectfully learn the literacy practices of their students and their families:
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Engaging Families in the Education of Their Children
- Joyce Epstein points out that teachers need to think of family engagement as a part of their work and that unless principals are advocates of programs to engage all parents in the education of their children, teachers will not take family involvement seriously:
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- Jacob Wheeler describes a program that builds partnerships with parents in a migrant farming community in Texas.
