Redefining school and community relations: Teachers' perceptions of parents as participants and stakeholders

Teacher Education Quarterly, Fall 1999 by Dunlap, Carmen Zuniga, Alva, Sylvia Alatorre

Parent involvement is widely acclaimed as an important component of educational reform. The National Education Goals state that "by the year 2000, every school will promote partnerships that will increase parental involvement and participation in promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children" (1994).

What should be the nature of the parent-school partnership? Who sets the agenda for parent involvement? How can parents, schools, and other organizalions best promote the overall well-being of children? A review of the parent involvement literature shows that schools typically decide what parents should know and teach their children and therefore set the agenda for school-parent relationships. Particularly for low-income and minority families, involving parents has been narrowly viewed as a way to help parents develop a knowledge base or set of skills to assist with their children's academic and social success in school. The underlying assumption is that parents should partner with schools so that parents can be taught what is worth knowing and what they should teach their children. (Corner, 1984; 1988; White, Taylor, & Moss, 1992).

"Building and maintaining a genuine partnership with parents is a process of continually seeking to understand assumptions and to share meanings and expectations" (Family Resource Coalition, 1996, p. 12). Partnerships can only grow when they are based on mutual trust and respect for the other's values, perspectives and experiences. It is not uncommon, however, for minority parents and families to feel alienated from the school. Minority parents may lack knowledge about school protocol and may feel inadequate or unwelcome due to differences of income, education or ethnicity compared to school personnel. This difference may result in the perception that the school is indifferent or even cold. In turn, the school then judges parents as uninterested in school involvement. Additionally, the psychological distance between minority group parents and teachers is compounded when school personnel do not see themselves or the school as a part of the surrounding community and the families.

Why is parent involvement so highly valued? Research shows that a correlate of increased levels of parent involvement is an increase in student achievement (Epstein, 1995; Flaxman & Inger, 1992; Hickman, Greenwood, & Miller, 1995), as well as improved student attendance and reduced dropout rates (Berger, 1991; Greenwood & Hickman, 1991). These are desirable outcomes from an "educentric" perspective, however they fall short of fully addressing the National Educational Goal to "increase parental involvement and participation in promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children." Clearly, schools should not be expected to single-handedly undertake this task. Educators and parents together must promote the well-being of students within family and community contexts.

School collaboration with other institutions and agencies provides rich and varied possibilities and realities. Additionally, collaborating with parents and communities, while capitalizing on their resources and strengths, promotes social and emotional growth for children. This simultaneously promotes parent, family and community empowerment and well-being (Lubetkin, 1996; Nevarez-La Torre, 1997; Zuniga & Alva, 1996). Successful parent-school collaborations must include opportunities for parents to recognize and value their skills and knowledge, utilize those strengths and resources present among the parents and the community and create multiple opportunities for parents to expand their abilities. This is particularly true for low income parents whose only access to education may be through their children's school. Collaboratively promoting the well-being of the student and the family develops human and social capital that strengthens families and communities.

El Instituto Familiar, described elsewhere in detail, is considered a successful parent involvement initiative (Zuniga & Alva, 1996). El Instituto Familiar concretizes Davies' (1991) view of "a new definition of parent involvement...that is not limited to traditional parent activities in the school building.. where families are viewed not as deficient, but as sources of strength" (p. 379). The guiding principles were to help parents (1) value their own knowledge, (2) share their knowledge with others, (3) learn new skills and talents to benefit themselves and their families, and (4) become involved on their own terms in the life of the school. The starting point of el Instituto Familiar was to ask parents to self-assess their strengths, talents, and set the collaborative school-parent agenda by voicing their needs and wants to guide and shape the nature of their involvement in the school.

El Instituto Familiar is housed at a middle school in a large school district in southern California. About 95 percent of the population is Latino and experiences daily economic, social, cultural, and linguistic tensions and realities typical of a large urban setting. El Instituto Familiar initially involved a modest 10 to 15 parents. In five years it has reached and involved over a hundred parents in multiple ways. A few of these include: taking a variety of classes, some taught by parents; making policy decisions about parent classes; and seeing through to reality a decision that their early adolescent students should wear uniforms to school. The initiative has been successful in terms of parent mobilization, instruction and creative allocation of resources, constructs borrowed from Nettles (1991) and Delgado-Gaitan (1990) to assess parent involvement effectiveness.