PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070)

Traditionally, school personnel have expressed concern about the relatively poor record of involving Hispanic parents in schools. The root of the problem is that many immigrant and migrant Hispanic parents cherish beliefs and expectations different from those held by schools and by the parents whom schools most frequently engage. This chapter examines barriers to Hispanic parents ' participation and strategies for cultivating more successful experiences with these parents. Barriers to the involvement of migrant and immigrant parents include: (1) logistical barriers (lack of time, financial pressures, migrants ' fear of the community, lack of child care, and the segmented nature of public education); (2) attitudinal barriers (parents ' uncertainties about their role in school, disagreements over school policy, parents ' dissatisfaction with their own ability to help their children academically, and home-school communication problems); and (3) expectations barriers (school disregard of family's recent arrival, social or ethnic bias of school, and parents ' perceptions of bias). Strategies that support the involvement of migrant and immigrant parents include flexible scheduling, providing transportation and child care, home visits, including extended family and community, parent workshops on expectations and roles, respect for parents, providing translators and bilingual school information, recognizing parents as contributors and collaborators, and basing programs on assessed needs. Overall, successful programs have stopped viewing parents as deficient, include parents as equal partners, and treat families wit