Recent research identifies increased parent involvement in education as a promising method to bolster student achievement. Statistics show that while many traditional white, middle class families have found ways to be involved with their children's schooling, our nation now needs to find ways to include more minority parents in their children's education. Most educators and parents would agree that minority parent involvement in education is essential; the mechanics of developing sensitive, realistic, and workable home-school relationships are more elusive. It requires a concerted effort by all involved to understand more about the complex parent-school relationship and to develop specific plans to help families.This comprehensive volume features substantial material from the nation's most renowned research projects on parent involvement-Stanford University's Center for the Study of Families, Children and Youth, the Johns Hopkins University's Center for Research on Elementary and Middle Schools, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, and the National Catholic Education Association. In addition to a section on research, the book includes a section on practice that presents research-tested strategies on working with minority parents (Asian, American Indian, Hispanic, African American, and other minority groups). The book concludes with a section on future challenges that educators must confront and appendices on promising national programs and helpful resource materials.
Nancy Feyl Chavkin is Co-Director, Coalition for PRIDE, a multi-ethnic family-school-community partnership program funded by a Fund for the Improvement of Schools and Teaching (FIRST) Grant from the U.S. Department of Education, and Assistant Professor, Walter H. Richter Institute of Social Work, Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos.
Tables and Figures Acknowledgments Introduction: Families and the SchoolsNancy Feyl Chavkin Part I: An Overview 1. Collaboration between Schools and Disadvantaged Parents: Obstacles and OpeningsOliver C. Moles Part II: Current Research 2. Parents' Attitudes and Practices of Involvement in Inner-City Elementary and Middle SchoolsSusan L. Dauber and Joyce L. Epstein 3. Minority Parents and the Elementary School: Attitudes and PracticesNancy Feyl Chavkin and David L. Williams Jr. 4. Homework-Focused Parenting Practices That Positively Affect Student AchievementReginald M. Clark 5. Minority Parents and Their Youth: Concern, Encouragement, and Support for School AchievementPhilip L. Ritter, Randy Mont-Reynaud, and Sanford M. Dornbusch 6. Improving Education for Minority Adolescents: Toward an Ecological Perspective on School Choice and Parent InvolvementPatricia A. Bauch Part III: Practice Perspectives 7. Strategies for Working Effectively with Asian Immigrant ParentsEsther Lee Yao 8. Cultural Values and American-Indian FamiliesDolores Subia BigFoot Sipes 9.Teaming with Parents to Promote Educational Equality for Language Minority StudentsAndrea B. Bermudez 10. Increasing Student Achievement through Teacher Knowledge about Parent InvolvementCarmen Simich-Dudgeon 11. Benefits and Barriers to Parent Involvement: From Portugal to Boston to LiverpoolDon Davies 12. School Social Workers Helping Multiethnic Families, Schools, and Communities Join ForcesNancy Feyl Chavkin Part IV: Opportunities Ahead 13. A New Paradigm for Parent InvolvementDavid S. Seeley 14. Building the Bridge to Reach Minority Parents: Education Infrastructure Supporting Success for All ChildrenDorothy Rich 15. Families as Educators in a Pluralistic SocietyDiane Scott-Jones Appendix Contributors Index