Teacher Selfies and Parent Portraits: The Relationship Between Teacher Communication and School-Family Partnerships in Low Socio-economic Schools
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Date
2022-05-10
Authors
Grissom, Suzanne
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Research indicates that school-family partnerships improve student academic achievement, yet forming those partnerships can be challenging in any school. While the importance of those partnerships has been researched and recognized, schools struggle with outreach and implementation, and school-family partnerships continue to be elusive. In schools serving low socio-economic communities, the challenges for implementation of School-Family partnerships are compounded. The additional challenges faced by English Learner (EL) families exacerbate that issue. In this descriptive study, three surveys were conducted at a rural, remote Pre-K to 4th grade elementary school with 35% EL students, 67 Spanish-speaking parents, and 98% low socio-economic status. Teachers were surveyed as well as two parent groups: the parents of EL students, and parents identified as “involved” in either the school’s Parent Teacher Organization or School Site Council. Questions in all three surveys centered around the role of the teacher and teacher communication in school-family partnerships and the role of the school and school leadership. Interviews conducted with EL parents further explored the questions on the survey. The samples were small and thus statistically under-powered for group comparisons. However, responses from English Learner families suggest that they may feel less of a partnership with the school than the other two groups. Some English Learner families felt that there was insufficient communication from the teacher and the school. Interviews conducted with two English Learner parents also provided evidence that they did not feel connected with the school or teacher and they did not feel that they had a partnership with their child’s teacher and the school. Implications for practice are discussed.
KEY WORDS: Teacher communication, School-Family partnerships, English learner families, Parent engagement, Parent involvement, School outreach, Low socio-economic schools.
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Keywords
English Learner Families, Low Socio-economic Schools, Parent Engagement, School Outreach, School-Family partnerships, Teacher Communication