Enhancing Latino Parent Involvement in an Urban Charter School: A Collaborative Action Research Project

1. 
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

2. 
Purpose Behind My Project
 Concerned with the level of parental involvement.
 Sought to enhance collaboration between parents
and school.

3. 
 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

4. 
 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

5. 
 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

6. 
 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)
Literature
Interventions

7. 
 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?

8. 
 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

9. 
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

10. 
Cycle One
Healthy
Relationships
Workshop 1
Financial Aid
Workshop 2
Mothers
Against
Drunk Driving
Workshop 3

11. 
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

12. 
 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

13. 
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).

14. 
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

15. 
Cycle Two
College
Making it
Happen
Night
Workshop 1
Parenting
Tips
&
Progress
Report Night
Workshop 2

16. 
 Time: Evenings
 Location: In their community
 Language: Information and materials in Spanish
 More personalized phone calls
 Student incentives
 School wide efforts
Cycle Two:
Procedures

17. 
 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.

18. 
• 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).

19. 
Cycle TwoCycle One
Overall Findings:
Reflection

20. 
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

21. 
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.

22. 
 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

23. 
 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

24. 
 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 
Enhancing Latino Parent Involvement
in an Urban Charter School:
A Collaborative Action Research Project
Marcela Meave
School Counseling Program
University of San Diego