Enhancing Latino Parent Involvement in an Urban Charter School:

A Collaborative Action Research Project

Marcela Meave School Counseling Program

University of San Diego May 2013

Purpose Behind My Project

Concerned with the level of parental involvement.

Sought to enhance collaboration between parents and school.

Title I Alternative Charter high school in urban San

Diego.

Low-SES, ethnic minority population. 96.1% Hispanic or Latino 42.9% English Language Learners

Certified school personnel that speak Spanish: 27% Fluent

Context

High school founded in 2009.

High school has two campuses. Lower School and Upper School.

Students use public transportation to get to school. Average time it takes for students to get to school is about 45

minutes.

Context

Research studies have shown the impact parent involvement has on

student success (Inger, 1992; Hill & Taylor, 2004; Panferov, 2010).

Some challenges faced by parents of English language learners (ELL) students are magnified as the parents themselves may have minimal proficiency in English and vastly different formal schooling histories (Panferov, 2010).

Understanding each community’s unique barriers is important for establishing effective collaborations between families and schools (Hill & Taylor, 2004).

Literature Parent Involvement

Effective efforts to increase ELL parent involvement

include: Provide bilingual information and materials

Provide child care

Times and locations that are convenient for the parents

Personal efforts to reach out to parents (Inger, 1992)

LiteratureInterventions

Assess the needs of the school and community we

serve.

Personalize parental outreach.

Focus on changing things that were within our control.

What did this mean for me?

Language of assessment:

84% Spanish 16% English

I would be able to participate more in parent events if my work would allow it. 85% agreed

I would attend parent events if there was child care available. 68% agreed

I would attend school meetings if they were offered in my neighborhood. 74% agreed

What can do school do to increase your involvement on campus? 66% preferred evening meetings

Needs Assessment

Research Method

Cycle One

Workshop 1

Workshop 2

Workshop 3

Collect and Analyze Data

Reflection

Cycle Two

Workshop 1

Workshop 2

Collect and Analyze Data

Reflection McNiff, J. & Whitehead, J. (2010). You and Your Action Research Project. New York:

Routledge

Cycle One

Healthy Relationships

Workshop 1

Financial Aid

Workshop 2

Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Workshop 3

Cycle One

Time: Mornings

Location: Upper School

Language: Information in English then translated into Spanish

Outreach: Impersonal; automated phone calls

Time: Evenings

Location: In their community

Language: Spanish; all information was in their home language

Outreach: Personal; personalized + automated phone calls

Combined parent events

Cycle 1 ProceduresPast Procedures

Phone Calls Record Attendance Record

Field Notes: Parent Feedback Counselor Feedback Personal Observations

Qualitative

Quantitative

Interpretation

Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:

Sage. 

Cycle One:Mixed Methods Data

Cycle One: Findings

• Phone Calls: 0• Attendance: 6

Workshop 1

• Phone Calls: 11• Attendance: 9

Workshop 2

• Phone Calls: 21• Attendance: 13

Workshop 3

Field Notes: “Me gusta el nuevo lugar del

taller. Me puedo ir caminando” (Parent Feedback).

“Gracias por hablarnos personalmente. Nadie hace esto por nosotros” (Parent Feedback).

Parents open up about some of the issues they have with their students (Personal Observations).

Cycle one findings:

Steady increase in attendance as more personalized phone calls were made

Relationship building between school and families

Suggestions for next cycle: Keep location and language More personalized phone calls Add a student incentive Collaborate more with staff from “upper school”

Reflection

Cycle Two

College Making it Happen Night

Workshop 1

Parenting Tips&

Progress Report Night

Workshop 2

CMHN

Time: Evenings

Location: In their community

Language: Information and materials in Spanish

More personalized phone calls

Student incentives

School wide efforts

Cycle Two:Procedures

Phone Call Record Attendance Record

Field Notes: Parent Feedback Counselor Feedback Personal Observations

Cycle Two:Mixed Methods Data

Qualitative

Quantitative

Interpretation

Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:

Sage. 

• Phone Calls: 43• Attendance: 53

Workshop 1

• Phone Calls: 53• Attendance: 40

Workshop 2

Cycle Two: Findings

Field Notes: “Muchas gracias por

tomarse tiempo para hablarnos personalmente” (Parent Feedback).

“Pensé que me estaba hablando porque mi hijo se porto mal” (Parent Feedback).

“Trabajo pero veré que hago para poder asistir porque me interesa mucho el tema” (Parent Feedback).

Cycle TwoCycle One

Overall Findings:Reflection

Overall Findings:Reflection

Attendance increased as personalized and collaborative efforts increased.

Rapport is what brings parents in.

Built a stronger relationship between school and families.

Cycle 1 Cycle 2

Workshop 1 6 53

Workshop 2 9 40

Workshop 3 13 TBD

Project Legitimacy

Prolonged Engagement/Persistent Observation: Researcher has worked at school site for nine months. Consistent interaction with parents.

Triangulation

Member Checking: Before and after each workshop.

External Audit: Weekly consultation sessions with colleagues and USD

advisor that provided critical feedback.

Lincoln, Y. S.,  & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Many factors impact parent involvement and some

are outside of school’s capacity for change. Working parents Child care

Our school split into two campuses; ‘double’ communication

Scheduling conflicts within the school.

Administrative needs sometimes took precedence over support for action research interventions.

Novice school counselor and action researcher.

Project Limitations

Support for existing literature.

Efforts to increase parent involvement have to be context specific.

Personalized outreach efforts are more time consuming yet yield positive results.

Establishing rapport with families is essentially what brings parents in.

Language delivery is very important. Check assumptions: If parents don’t show up, it

doesn’t mean they don’t care.

New Knowledge Generated

School will continue monthly workshops for our

parents.

Continue building relationship between school and families.

New school and it is a work in progress.

Language barrier between certified school staff and families.

Significance & Implications

Utility of data-based practice: inform program development and practice. reflective practice as a way to enhance myself as a school

counselor. Importance of understanding professional concern in the context of

your school.

Understanding practice in school counseling: Helped increase my awareness of how to work with a low-SES and

ethnic minority population. Improved my communication and collaboration skills as parents

began to open up and share their stories. It is not about the numbers but the rapport with families.

Personal Reflection

Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods

approaches (3rd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 

De Gaetano, Y. (2007). The Role of Culture in Engaging Latino Parents’ Involvement in School.

Urban Education, 42(2), 145-162.

Hill, N. E., & Taylor, L. C. (2004). Parental School Involvement and Children’s Academic

Achievement: Pragmatics and Issues. Current Directions In Psychological Science, 13(4), 161-164. doi:10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.00298.X

 

Inger, M., & ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, N. Y. (1992). Increasing the School

Involment of Hispanic Parents. ERIC/CUE Digest Number 80.

Lincoln, Y. S.,  & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 

McNiff, J. & Whitehead, J. (2010). You and Your Action Research Project. New York: Routledge.

 

Panferov, S. (2010). Increasing ELL Parental Involvement in Our Schools: Learning From the

Parents. Theory Into Practice, 49(2), 106-112. doi:10.1080/00405841003626551.

References

Enhancing Latino Parent Involvement in an Urban Charter School:

A Collaborative Action Research Project

Marcela Meave School Counseling Program

University of San Diego