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1 – 10 of 973Julia Jansen-van Vuuren, Danielle Roberts, Grace L. Francis, Colleen M. Davison, Sharon Gabison and Heather M. Aldersey
COVID-19 has affected families across the globe with far-reaching consequences, particularly in regard to children's education. The pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities…
Abstract
Purpose
COVID-19 has affected families across the globe with far-reaching consequences, particularly in regard to children's education. The pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities for families of students with disabilities in particular. This chapter explores families' perspectives on how COVID-19 affected partnerships between families of students with disabilities and their schools in Ontario, Canada.
Approach
We interviewed 18 parents of students with disabilities in K-12 Ontario schools. Using a reflexive thematic analysis approach, we analyzed interviews to develop themes inductively.
Findings
Participants shared varied experiences of partnerships with their schools both before and during the pandemic. However, all participants described additional challenges as a result of COVID-19. Frequent, open, and personalized communication was emphasized as essential for effective partnerships; however, this was often lacking. Participants shared various ways they were involved in schools, including advocating for their child, and needing to balance multiple roles during COVID-19. Overwhelmingly, participants expressed an inadequacy of support during the pandemic related to online learning and a lack of human resources (e.g., Educational Assistants, therapists), negatively affecting partnerships. However, they also described positive experiences of family-school partnerships, as well as hope for effective future partnerships.
Implication/Value
This research gives voice to families of students with disabilities to deepen our understanding of barriers and facilitators to positive family-school partnerships. Findings help to direct appropriate policies and practices that can improve partnerships during COVID-19 and beyond, and ultimately enhance education and quality of life for students with disabilities and their families.
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Lisa L. Knoche and Amanda L. Witte
Strong home-school partnerships consistently and substantially benefit children’s academic and social development. Home-school partnerships are considerably affected by the…
Abstract
Strong home-school partnerships consistently and substantially benefit children’s academic and social development. Home-school partnerships are considerably affected by the settings in which they take place (e.g., rural, urban, suburban), the characteristics of the partners (e.g., parents and teachers), and their relationships with one another (parent-teacher partnerships). In rural communities, supportive home-school partnerships promote young children’s success but have proven difficult to implement. African American families with young children residing in rural communities experience unique social and institutional challenges and benefits that are particularly salient for fostering home-school partnerships. Thus, the landscape of rural communities is an important and essential consideration for understanding the intersection between race and home-school partnerships. This chapter focuses on the promise of positive home-school partnerships for rural African American children, their families, and their schools. Home-school partnership as an essential component of children’s academic and social development is defined, and sample home-school partnership intervention programs are described. Finally, existing policy investments related to the facilitation of home-school partnerships are explored and policy recommendations that promote such partnerships are discussed.
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Bridgie A. Ford, Shernavaz Vakil and Rachel J. Boit
The essentiality of family involvement in the schooling process is evident from the vast directives embedded within federal mandates, professional standards for teachers and…
Abstract
The essentiality of family involvement in the schooling process is evident from the vast directives embedded within federal mandates, professional standards for teachers and administrators, parent organizations, and advocacy groups. Yet, as explicit as legislative mandates and professional standards are regarding parental rights and involvement, they do not require definitive roles of the family. Several factors influence the lack of a decisive definition regarding the role of the family in the schooling process. Those include the different perspectives on what constitutes a family structurally and functionally, the socio-cultural and political diversity within and among populations, the move to an inclusive education framework, the various terms used to describe parental involvement, the realization that no one family model fits the demographic diversity existing in today’s school districts, and the rights of family members to select their level of involvement. Given the importance of family engagement and student outcomes, three fundamental questions addressed in this chapter are, “How can inclusive schools enhance productive collaborative family engagement networks?” “How can the family be empowered to voluntarily participate within those networks?” and “How can inclusive schools connect with teacher preparation programs to promote the competency of educators for those collaborative family/school engagement networks?” In this chapter we delineate an interactive triad conceptual model with the school as the “connecting agent” to build relationships with families and teacher preparation, setting the stage for productive family engagement as partners in inclusive settings.
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Jaesook L. Gilbert, Helene Arbouet Harte and Lenore J. Kinne
This chapter describes the Bornlearning® Academy (BLA), a school-based family engagement program predicated on the notion that families come to the table with knowledge and skills…
Abstract
This chapter describes the Bornlearning ® Academy (BLA), a school-based family engagement program predicated on the notion that families come to the table with knowledge and skills and can support children’s learning by building on what they are already doing. It takes place in a school building within the families’ school district, and it is a six-workshop series that utilizes materials available for free at bornlearning.org, a United Way Worldwide public engagement campaign. The goal of the BLA is to increase parents’/caregivers’ understanding of their role in the education process of their children and to facilitate familiarization and establishment of positive experiences with the school personnel and the school district for the children and their families. Survey data demonstrated that parents/caregivers from a range of backgrounds enjoyed and learned from various BLA workshops. Gains on content questions indicated the BLA attendees learned, and responses indicated that attendees both intended to use what they learned at the workshops in their own interactions with their children and actually followed through on those intentions.
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Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen and Eija Pakarinen
The role of parental involvement in their child’s education and academic success has been widely acknowledged in recent educational theories, policies, and practices. Parental…
Abstract
The role of parental involvement in their child’s education and academic success has been widely acknowledged in recent educational theories, policies, and practices. Parental beliefs and expectations concerning their child’s learning and success have been shown to be reflected in the parents’ involvement in their child’s education and their practices with their offspring, thereby shaping the child’s motivational development in school. In addition, parental trust in their child’s teacher is a key factor in enhancing the home–school partnership and in supporting a child’s academic motivation and successful schooling. However, political, economical, and technological changes in society and uncertainty about the future may present several challenges for raising children in the twenty-first century. The aim of this chapter is to present recent theories and empirical research focusing on the role of parental beliefs, expectations, and trust in their child’s teacher in supporting children’s interest in learning, self-concept of ability, and achievement behaviors in the challenging and unpredictable future. We will also reflect on how the changing world and uncertainty in society may influence parental beliefs and expectations in their child’s success.
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Erika L. Bocknek, Marva L. Lewis and Hasti Ashtiani Raveau
Black fathers, and specifically fathers who identify as African American, represent a group of parents who are at once not well understood and pervasively stereotyped in negative…
Abstract
Black fathers, and specifically fathers who identify as African American, represent a group of parents who are at once not well understood and pervasively stereotyped in negative ways. In this chapter, we describe the risks and resilience of Black fathers and their children, with a special focus on mental health and coping with stress. We emphasize a cultural practices approach that takes into account both the risks specific to Black fathers’ capacity to parent their children and a theoretical foundation for understanding the inherent strengths of Black men and their families. Finally, we address the need for early childhood educators to partner with Black fathers as a means to best support children and their families.
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To review the literature on delinquency and victimization among Caribbean youth, utilizing an ecological perspective.
Abstract
Purpose
To review the literature on delinquency and victimization among Caribbean youth, utilizing an ecological perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The review was initiated by a search of peer-reviewed journal articles published between 1993 and 2013, which investigated any or all aspects of juvenile delinquency and/or youth victimization in the Caribbean. Studies were critically reviewed to determine whether they addressed relationships between victimization and delinquency, and the role of the social environment on youth.
Findings
The search yielded 23 relevant studies: 64 percent of the studies were conducted exclusively in Jamaica, and more than 75 percent were school based. Half of the articles addressed the links between victimization and delinquency among Caribbean youth but the majority was primarily descriptive.
Research limitations/implications
Only peer-reviewed journals were included, so unpublished country and organizational reports were not covered in the review.
Practical implications
More current and longitudinal studies are needed, which examine the connections between delinquency and victimization, and the experiences in the smaller or less developed Caribbean countries.
Social implications
The review provides directions for the enhancement of positive youth development policy and practice.
Originality/value
This paper fills the gap in the understanding of the research on delinquency and victimization among Caribbean youth. The ecological framework also adds value to the understanding of the topic by highlighting the importance of various social contexts, such as the family, school, and neighborhood, on youth development in the Caribbean.
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Amid widespread social and cultural shifts and advocacy toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights remain a hidden population of homeless adolescents who are…
Abstract
Purpose
Amid widespread social and cultural shifts and advocacy toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights remain a hidden population of homeless adolescents who are cast out from families and communities because of their sexual and gender orientation. The result is an over-representation of LGBT adolescents among the homeless in the United States. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of literature and research which explores the status and needs of LGBT homeless adolescents in the United States.
Methodology/approach
To understand the experiences of LGBT adolescents leading up to and during homelessness, I provide a thematic and critical review of four decades of research to connect our understanding of the LGBT homeless experience with institutional and collective efforts that work to promote their well-being.
Findings
Bringing together this body of literature, I explore four interrelated questions. First, has the rate of homelessness increased for LGBT adolescents in recent decades? Second, what is the experience of LGBT adolescents who become homeless? Third, what role does advocacy and support play in ameliorating the difficulties these young people face? Finally, what role can future research and policy play in shaping the well-being of LGBT adolescents who become homeless?
Research limitations/implications
Understanding the experience of homeless LGBT adolescents and the collective advocacy efforts designed to promote their well-being offers insight into the intersection of symbolic, inter-personal, and institutional forces which shape their trajectories.
Brenda Brand, Mary Alice Barksdale, Tamara Wallace and Yolanda Latrice Avent
Literature indicates African American parents can feel real or perceived discrimination that strains their interactions with teachers, resulting in them feeling alienated from…
Abstract
Purpose
Literature indicates African American parents can feel real or perceived discrimination that strains their interactions with teachers, resulting in them feeling alienated from their children’s school.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an exploratory case study of two African American parents, who although guarded in their relationships with teachers, exposed their vulnerabilities to Project ESTEEM faculty as they requested support in resolving behavioral and academic challenges with their children. It is an exploratory case study in that the field notes were taken prior to defining the research question, positioning it as research that sets the stage for a future more comprehensive study. The researchers, as participant observers recorded field notes of events and interactions that occurred. The research question was, “What were the factors that influenced the relationships between the Project ESTEEM faculty and African American Parents? The subquestions were “What were the distinctions of alienation that challenged the parents’ relationships in the schools? and "How were the factors that challenged the parents’ relationships with teachers mitigated in Project ESTEEM faculty’s relationships with the parents?” A constant comparative method was used beginning with open coding, followed by identifying patterns, themes and subthemes reflecting the specific needs of the parents in relationship to the overall theme.
Findings
The stories highlight sociocultural contexts influencing the alienation of some African American parents in their children’s education through an analysis of the relationships fostered with Project ESTEEM faculty.
Research limitations/implications
This case study reports the experiences of two parents from one community and school, participating in a specialized program.
Originality/value
The significance resides in the representation of alternate viewpoints in understanding the alienation experiences of African American parents from schools.