ERIC EJ894474: Family Involvement in Four Voices: Administrator, Teacher, Students, and Community Member

2010·0.15 MB·English

by  ERIC

PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN EDUCATION SUMMER 2010 | PAGE 115
COMMENTARY
Family Involvement in Four Voices: Administrator, Teacher, Students,
and Community Member
By Angela Wiseman, North Carolina State University
My parents come to the coffeehous- that involve exchange and engagement tinued support and mentorship that is
es and it means a lot to me because with mutually defined goals benefiting developmentally appropriate and rel-
he (her dad) works from like 2:30 to all participants. However, the process evant to their needs (DePlanty, Coul-
4:30 and for him to come out and of developing and articulating goals is ter-Kern, & Duchane, 2007). Despite
stay out real late just to come out complex and can be affected by the dif- the fact that adolescents benefit from
and support me, it feels good. And ferent participants’ ideas about the pro- caring adults who participate in their
my grandmother is on the other side gram. The purpose of this paper is to education, involvement of families de-
of town; she also has to get up early. consider how a parent involvement pro- creases incrementally as students prog-
It feels good to have support. And gram in an eighth grade English class- ress to higher grades (Halsey, 2005).
they’re always saying to do your best room was affected by the collaboration There is still much to be understood
at everything. And when you do and participation of a funding agency, a about how to develop relationships
your best, you’ve got someone there classroom teacher, a community poet, that allow families to contribute and
to encourage you. – Sherie, 8th grade and students. Through conversations support students’ literacy learning for
and observations with the participants, children of this age. Adolescents often
Sherie’s response came from a I have examined how they perceive want their families to be involved, but
focus group session I had with five involvement within a poetry program only if the school practices and fam-
eighth graders, discussing a program that was developed to encourage fam- ily events must support their develop-
that was implemented in her Eng- ily participation. The following ques- ing autonomy (Deslandes & Cloutier,
lish class to encourage their families tion guides my inquiry for this paper: 2002) and be accessible and relevant to
to participate in school events. Her How do community members, teach- students and their families (Schmidt,
class has a weekly guest teacher: An ers, and students view family involve- 2000). Furthermore, adolescents of-
artist named Theo who works at a ment in an eighth grade classroom? ten do not encourage their families to
nearby community shelter that pro- participate because they have become
vides food, tutoring, and after school RELATED RESEARCH increasingly peer-oriented, more inde-
programs to low-income children and pendent, and their relationships with
There are compelling reasons to
their families. Sherie is describing their families have changed in many
look for connections between ado-
her positive feelings about her fam- ways (Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler,
lescent students’ families, communi-
ily’s involvement, particularly related 1995, 1997; Walker, Wilkins, Dal-
ties, and schooling experiences; ado-
to this program, which has opened up laire, Sandler, & Hoover-Dempsey,
lescence is a time when children are
many avenues of communication and 2005). It is important to note that
straddling the world of being a child yet
facilitated connections that have been the developing independence and the
moving toward developing indepen-
important in her life. The program desire for involvement do not have
dence as a result of their own experi-
was designed to create connections to be oppositional forces; however,
ences and understandings of their life.
among families, community members, understanding these different fac-
Significant adults can have an impor-
students, and teachers, yet the par- tors helps with considering different
tant impact on children’s development
ticipation and perceptions of all the kinds of programs that support the
at any age, but it is particularly relevant
participants have been very different. needs of adolescents and their families.
during the adolescent years due to the
Collaborations and partnerships Parent participation is defined in
significant life choices they experience
among schools and community mem- varying ways; for some families, in-
as they become more autonomous.
bers have been described as a way to volvement is centered on interactions
Unfortunately, there is a mispercep-
provide better educational opportuni- within the home context and might
tion that in developing their autono-
ties for students (DePlanty, Coulter- include activities such as talking with
my, adolescents need less adult guid-
Kern & Duchane, 2007; Epstein, 1996). their children about their educational
ance and involvement. Yet, research
Such school–community partnerships experiences, goals, or achievement (De
demonstrates that the opposite is true
have been described as relationships Gaetano, 2007; Foster & Peele, 2001;
because adolescents benefit from con-
PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN EDUCATION SUMMER 2010 | PAGE 116
Kerbow & Bernhardt, 1993), described were educated, who were familiar THE PROGRAM AND THE CONTEXT
as “invisible strategies” (Auerbach, with how schools worked, and who
My research took place in an eighth-
2007; Lareau, 2000; Lareau & Hor- saw their role as complementing
grade English classroom in an urban
vat, 1999). In Auerbach’s (2007) work, the teacher’s in developing chil-
public middle school in a major met-
she looks at some of the ways minority dren’s academic abilities. It did not
ropolitan area called Douglas Johnson
and poor parents are involved in their occur to school personnel that par-
Junior High School. Ninety-seven per-
children’s schooling and demonstrates ents might not know the appropri-
cent of the school population qualified
that some of the most significant work ate ways to communicate with the
for free or reduced lunch. Of the 22 stu-
may not be perceived by teachers and teachers, that they might feel em-
dents in the classroom, 17 were African
school administrators. For instance, barrassed about writing notes filled
American, 1 was Asian, and 4 were His-
some parents pursue supplemental with errors, and that they might not
panic; 9 were male and 13 were female.
learning opportunities for their chil- even understand how to interpret
All of the people and places in this
dren, such as tutoring or participating their children’s report cards. (p. 167)
article have been given pseudonyms.
in extracurricular activities, without
The poetry program was designed to
ever initiating contact with the school. Often, these mismatched expecta-
provide families with a variety of op-
Important forms of support are often tions occur with families that do not
portunities to become involved in their
employed at home and this support share the same socioeconomic or cul-
children’s school experience; students
“from the sidelines” can be a significant tural background as the teacher. While
were encouraged to invite their families
factor in how students understand and many teachers in Valdes’ study be-
to coffeehouses, share poetry with them
view the world. Research has shown lieved that parent involvement would
at home, and solicit poetry from caring
that this type of involvement can be solve many of the students’ educational
adults for their anthology, which would
a strong determinant of good grades experiences, she found that advocating
be published at the end of the year.
and positive life choices (De Gaetano, parental involvement in a traditional
The poetry program began because
2007; Falbo, Lein, & Amador, 2001). sense is a “small solution to what are
Pamela, the teacher in this classroom,
The various ways that involve- extremely complex problems” (p. 31).
was looking for a way to connect stu-
ment is defined reflects the inequities Regarding school and classroom
dents’ learning in the classroom to
of society, cultural variances, and eco- participation, the most common forms
the community. By working with a
nomic opportunities along with differ- of parent involvement include parent-
local nonprofit educational organiza-
ing values and expectations of families initiated contact with the teachers re-
tion called Urban Voices in Education
(Green, Walker, Hoover-Dempsey, & garding academic matters (Lareau,
(UVE), she was introduced to Theo.
Sandler, 2007; Halsey, 2005). Cul- 1989/2000; Lareau & Horvat, 1999),
Theo, who was also a poet and art-
ture and power relationships also have parent volunteer opportunities, and
ist, agreed to teach a weekly poetry
a profound influence on the relation- participation in parent-teacher orga-
workshop and then emcee bimonthly
ships between families and school and nizations (Swap, 1993). Families are
evening poetry coffeehouses for fami-
many minority families feel alienated usually in positions of less power and
lies, students, community members,
from schools as a result of their own authority that the teacher and admin-
and teachers to perform poetry. UVE
negative experiences while they were istrators of the school when it comes
secured grant money from the Ford
students. For instance, families of bi- to decisions about education, and,
Foundation to improve parent involve-
cultural students may not participate therefore, they are often excluded from
ment, and they used the funds to pay
in school events because they feel that educational decisions and reform (De
him a stipend for two years. Pamela
they are treated differently or because Gaetano, 2007; Fine, 1993; Lareau,
arranged to “loop” with her students
there are language and cultural barri- 1989/2000; Lareau & Horvat, 1999).
and teach them English for both their
ers that inhibit their participation (De One way to encourage family involve-
seventh and eighth grade years so
Gaetano, 2007, Cassity & Harris, 2000; ment is to change relationships be-
both she and Theo could continue her
Nieto, 2008). In Valdes’ (1996) three- tween schools and home so that power
involvement with the same students.
year ethnographic study with ten Mexi- and resources are reconfigured. An im-
English instruction in Pamela’s
can and Mexican-American families portant aspect of restructuring the rela-
classroom was a balance of skills in-
on the Mexican-American border, she tionships between families and schools
struction and service-based projects;
found that teachers often did not un- is for schools is for families to feel sup-
Pamela’s collaboration with Theo was
derstand the families and thus viewed port and encouragement (Swanson,
one of several projects that linked the
them from a deficit lens. Her work with Cunningham, & Spencer, 2003). For ex-
students’ classroom learning to experi-
teachers and families shows that both ample, Fine (1993) describes examples
ences within the community, including
sides are operating with assumptions where school curriculum and reform
classroom projects that incorporated
that prevent effective interactions: began with considerations of parents;
community member interviews and
Both the schools and the families however, this approach is not com-
volunteer work that focused on learn-
made assumptions about each oth- monly used as a basis for creating part-
ing through experiences outside of the
er. Schools expected a “standard” nerships between schools and families.
classroom. Theo’s poetry workshop
family, a family whose members
PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN EDUCATION SUMMER 2010 | PAGE 117
became one vehicle to encourage risk- DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS aspect of my research and conducted
taking and create a space where stu- with students throughout my data
This research is part of a larger
dents could share and learn with each collection and analysis. The students
ethnographic study that documented
other. The poetry writing workshops in this focus group provided me with
many aspects of the middle school po-
lasted approximately 45 minutes and member checks regarding findings and
etry program, including the literacy
were designed by Theo based on either throughout data collection and analysis
learning that occurred as a result of
topics he believed were relevant to the and also read through significant parts
the partnership between the commu-
students or music that conveyed an of my data analysis to provide verifi-
nity poet, the teacher, and the students
important message. After a 15-minute cation (Creswell, 2008). It is impor-
(Wiseman, 2007). My research utilizes
introduction that included students tant to note that I was granted access
a broadly qualitative and descriptive
listening to a song and reading lyr- to students, teachers and community
approach (Miles & Huberman, 1994).
ics related to the topic, students were members in this study; however, the
As a researcher and former teacher,
encouraged to move to a comfortable school district restricted my data col-
I was both a participant and an ob-
place, work together if they wanted lection with parents and other family
server with this classroom, using eth-
to and write down their ideas in po- members. I interacted with students’
nographic techniques of participant
etic form. Pamela, Theo, and I would families in many instances but did not
observation and descriptive analysis
circulate and confer with students record any of the conversations for my
to document the poetry program and
through the classroom as students research because of the restrictions
the classroom interactions (Creswell,
wrote and read, and the workshop from the school district’s review board.
2008). I attended poetry workshops,
concluded with an opportunity for stu-
regular English class sessions, field
dents to read their work to the class. trips during the school day and after FINDINGS
Although I observed the program
school, and poetry events, and I also In the next section, I present the
and spoke with Pamela and Theo dur-
met participants for interviews and different perspectives of those involved
ing the first year of its implementation,
member checks in the community. in the program. First, I present Em-
my role as a researcher documenting
I became involved in this poetry ily, the administrator from a commu-
this program began during its second
program because of my interest in nity agency responsible for funding
year, while the students were in eighth
classroom learning opportunities that the coffeehouse program. Then, I de-
grade. During that time, the grant ad-
connected students’ in- and out-of- scribe the classroom teacher’s perspec-
ministrator at UVE was pleased with
school literacies. I spent a full school tive, particularly related to the various
some aspects of the program, par-
year in this classroom, observing and efforts she made to increase family
ticularly since many parents who had
interacting with Theo, Pamela, and involvement in her school and class-
previously not been involved in their
their students. My role evolved from room. The third perspective is that of
children’s schooling were attending the
observing and taking notes to work- the students, whose relationships and
evening coffeehouses and submitting
ing with small groups, assisting stu- attitudes about literacy played a strong
poetry for the anthology. Some of the
dents, and discussing their writing factor in whether or not they encour-
coffeehouses did not have the level of
and experiences. In addition, I held aged their families to participate in
attendance the administrator was hop-
focus groups with five students to dis- the program. Finally, I present the
ing to see, and she began to question
cuss topics related to their experiences voice of the community poet to show
her support of the program. During
within the poetry workshops and their his perspective and vantage point from
the first year of the poetry program, the
attitudes regarding family involvement working with the students outside of
poetry coffeehouses had good parent
(Creswell, 2008). I also conducted in- school and in the community. These
turnout, often with 40 family members
terviews and regularly communicated differing voices illustrate the complexi-
attending. However, during the second
with all the participants regarding the ties of designing and implementing a
year of the poetry program, fewer par-
success and progress of the poetry pro- program to increase the involvement
ents were attending the coffeehouses,
gram. The focus groups, interviews, of families in a junior high school.
usually with approximately 15 parents
lessons, and evening coffeehouses
attending. As parent involvement de-
were audiotaped and transcribed to The Funding Agency/Administrator:
creased, UVE and Theo recruited other
be analyzed. Themes were established
adults to attend; hence at any given cof- Looking for an “Open Door” to
inductively (Strauss & Corbin, 1998)
feehouse there were other community
and data were used to generate theory Encourage Involvement with Families
members in attendance to read poetry
(Coffee & Atkinson, 1996). My goal
Emily was an administrator at Ur-
and interact with the students. It was
was to create a story of this classroom
ban Voices in Education (UVE), an
in this context that I organized and col-
that represented the participants’ ex-
agency that advocated for students and
lected information from the four par-
periences in a way that was sensitive
families in the city public schools. This
ticipants – the funding agency, teach-
to their knowledge and understand-
poetry program was funded from her
er, students, and community members
ing; therefore, member checks and
initiatives; she was awarded a grant
– regarding family involvement.
peer debriefings were a significant
from the Ford Foundation and the
PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN EDUCATION SUMMER 2010 | PAGE 118
funding provided Theo with a stipend developing parent involvement from for parents, and gather information
to teach poetry workshops to Pamela’s the administrators’ standpoint. While from parents as to how to develop rela-
classroom for two years. She explained Emily expressed that parents could be tionships (Swap, 1993). These compo-
that her impetus was, “to get parents “difficult to work with”, she did not feel nents were echoed in Emily’s approach
involved with their kids in an intergen- that this was an adequate explanation to working with the school in support-
erational project”. Emily realized that for not encouraging families to have ing and designing programs. Emily’s
fostering parent involvement at this responsibility in their child’s school. experiences at this middle school were
middle school required actions from She explained to me, “If parents sup- aimed at broadening the base of parent
the school and the parents and felt port what you are doing, they can really involvement. However, the varied and
that developing a positive relationship be a factor in raising student achieve- extensive approaches she attempted
was the most important component of ment” . While Emily understood that did not meet their goals of increasing
working with a program. In an inter- working with parents took extra time the broad base of involvement in the
view, she explained, “If the relation- and energy, she also acknowledged school. At the beginning of the fol-
ship is built you’d have parents glad to the role of the administration in keep- lowing school year, Emily and Urban
come in. They could find some time” . ing families out of the school. As she Voices in Education decided not to
Emily thought that it was important to reflected on her efforts, her evalua- fund Theo’s poetry program. They de-
encourage some “nurturing and trust- tion was both positive and negative: cided to shift their emphasis from fam-
building” among the schools and fami- I think it’s been real mixed. It’s ilies to initiatives that would increase
lies so parents would feel comfortable been real mixed. I don’t know-- teacher training and professionalism
participating and supporting their chil- we’ve worked at from several direc- and the program was discontinued.
dren’s education. Establishing relation- tions simultaneously by working
ships with parents and then building a with the workshop. The thing is, I The Classroom Teacher’s Perspective:
program based on their interests and think, when a school does not have
Exploring Ways to Improve School
concerns were two of Emily’s objec- an ongoing kind of openness about
tives. In our conversations about fami- family involvement, it’s real tough. Involvement
ly involvement, Emily reflected on how From my first conversation with Pa-
the perspectives of families are often Even though she was attempting to sup- mela, I was struck by her energy and
lost in educational decision-making, port a variety of programs, she believed enthusiasm for teaching and working
which alienates both students and their that these initiatives were hindered by with the students and their families.
caregivers from school experiences. various factors coming from the school. At the beginning of the school year,
Emily’s experiences with Douglas- Emily’s approach to parent involve- she listed her ideas for connecting with
Johnson Middle School and her initia- ment was to look for opportunities to families in the community through re-
tives to create programs that bridged gain momentum through long-term search projects, writing assignments,
the gap between schools and families programs rather than short-term in- and text selection. One of her main
were affected by school policies. Em- services or projects. The poetry work- initiatives was to improve parent in-
ily, along with her organization UVE, shop was one of many initiatives she volvement because “That’s a negative
approached the administration of supported in order to increase parent thing about our school. We don’t have
the school with many different ways involvement, and she explained that she enough partners and we don’t have
that UVE could support their efforts showed the administration a “menu” of enough people” . Pamela attempted to
to increase parent involvement. She options and also worked on “getting a be in touch with parents on different
worked with a teacher to reactivate trust building relationship. You have subjects, particularly when their stu-
a parent resource at the school, but to have that open door”. Despite her dents were having a hard time with at-
it was later taken away as necessary varied attempts to find ways to create tendance or grades. However, with as
classroom space. As the poetry work- partnerships, she felt disappointment many students as middle school teach-
shops continued through the spring se- that there was not an improvement ers are responsible for, this was not an
mester, Emily started attending more in the relationships between families easy task (Sanders, 2001). Pamela par-
of the sessions and speaking with Pa- and schools and wished the initiatives ticipated in a committee that discussed
mela, the classroom teacher, regarding of Urban Voices in Education could ways to encourage families to become
ways to encourage parents to come to have encouraged more parents to be involved in their children’s education.
the poetry coffeehouses. Her increased involved in the school. Urban Voices She considered different ideas with her
attention to parent involvement co- in Education’s work with the parent colleagues in the school and some days,
incided with her assessment that the resource room and poetry coffeehous- spent much of her planning time try-
poetry workshop was not improving es did not increase the participation ing to stay in touch with parents with
the base of involvement with parents. of families in their children’s educa- varying levels of success. The evening
While she placed some of the re- tion from a quantitative standpoint. coffeehouses were planned because Pa-
sponsibility for the lack of trust-build- Successful parent involvement ini- mela thought they might be a way to
ing on the school administration, Em- tiatives change their modes of approach- motivate students’ writing and speaking
ily also recognized the difficulties of ing relationships, increase resources
PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN EDUCATION SUMMER 2010 | PAGE 119
while promoting parent involvement. We never know how much in- involved in encouraging families to par-
Pamela worked to further her un- formation you have. We don’t ticipate; he told me, “Many factors had
derstanding about parent involvement know who gets flyers and infor- to be in place in order for the families
by attending conferences, speaking mation that we want you to have. to attend the coffeehouse. The parents
with other educators, and discussing have to be able to come in the evenings,
topics at school. The idea for the cof- Speculating that parents were not have the energy to attend another func-
feehouse was sparked from a presen- coming to the coffeehouses because tion, and be willing to write and par-
tation at a conference she attended the students were not giving their ticipate in a school event, and this goal
where a teacher described some ini- parents the flyers or invitations to the might not be achieved for all students”.
tiatives that had been successful in events, Pamela identified the problem Furthermore, he realized from his work
her school. Pamela’s initial goals of communication between students in the community that having parents
were quite similar to Emily’s objec- and their families as being a barrier involved could present some difficul-
tives in that she wanted to encourage to coffeehouse attendance (McGrew- ties for students. He explained to me,
parents to attend the coffeehouses as Zoubi, 1998). Although Pamela dis- “So, it’s not as if we are in Mayberry
a method for increasing parent in- tributed the flyers and called parents and we’re trying to get all of the positive
volvement. When Pamela proposed at home to invite them to the coffee- moms and dads to come out and do it”.
the program to Emily, Pamela was in- houses, she was unsure how much in- Theo related to the students’ per-
terested in increasing parent involve- formation the families were receiving. spectives because of his vantage point
ment for the benefit of her students. Pamela explained to me, “Studies as an adult working directly with young
Taking on most of the responsibil- show that parent involvement helps,” people in the classroom, explaining, “If
ity for organizing the coffeehouses, she and she put forth time and energy to we’re in the classroom and we’re on the
put extra effort into contacting parents encourage participation in her class- front line, then we have a totally differ-
and creating a welcoming atmosphere room. However, Pamela realized that ent vantage point than the administra-
for all. Pamela distributed flyers in the barriers from the school were larg- tors of it. So, that’s where things could
Spanish and English, bought food and er than her own individual initiatives. potentially get a little murky.” Charac-
solicited donations for pizza, and orga- She took on the role of juggling vari- terizing himself as “on the front line,”
nized the room with students. Pamela ous goals and objectives of UVE, Theo, he used this metaphor to convey that
explained, “We were so happy with the and students within her classroom. he knows the students from his con-
parent turnout the first year. In a weird Even though the attendance of the cof- nections and regular interactions with
way, it did achieve, but it never in- feehouses declined during the second them. As Theo further questioned the
creased. I think that is why Emily was year, she believed that the program initial goals of the program, his percep-
unhappy”. Pamela had a good rapport was successful and was a benefit to her tions of Urban Voices in Education’s
with many of her students and, know- students. As a result, she worked hard involvement reflect their distance and
ing their backgrounds, she realized that to continue everyone’s involvement lack of understanding as a result of dif-
parents experienced barriers to partici- for the sake of her students. Her focus fering backgrounds and culture. Since
pation such as their work schedules, shifted from an initial goal of increas- Theo is African American and Emily
family responsibilities, and comfort ing family participation to recognizing is white, he questioned how her race
level at school functions, which made it the benefits of the poetry program for and class, which are different than the
difficult to participate in school events. her students. Furthermore, despite students’, might affect her understand-
Transportation, time, and financial re- the fact that the poetry program was ing of the students’ circumstances:
sources have been cited as major factors discontinued, Pamela continued with You might have a sense where there
that affect parent’s ability to partici- her own efforts to encourage fami- are administrators from different
pate (Cassity & Harris, 2000; Hoover- lies to help their children at school. ethnicities and from different situ-
Dempsey & Sandler, 1995), and Pamela ations where the perception is that
was well aware that these factors af- The Community Poet: “We’re not in the parent is not involved, but to
fected her students and their families. the young person, their perception,
Mayberry…”
During one coffeehouse, Pamela which truly is the perception that
wondered aloud if the students were Theo knew the families of several counts, their perception is, “Know
showing the flyers advertising the cof- children from either his involvement in what? As long as I can walk into
feehouse to their parents. She made an church or from the children’s involve- that house, flip that switch, and the
announcement to the people in atten- ment in after school programs at his light comes on… And there’s food in
dance questioning whether parents were community non-profit center, Janet’s the refrigerator and there’s clothes
receiving information about the events: Kitchen. While he encouraged par- on my back, then that’s the support.
I was just going to add, because ent involvement, he also believed that That’s participation. That’s what my
we have fewer parents here, there counting the numbers of parents at mom is doing. She puts a little bit of
are people, like I know Desiree’s the coffeehouse did not represent their allowance in my pocket, I can actu-
mother, some of you I hope even involvement in their children’s lives. ally get a snack, I can come to school
if it is the first time here to come. Also, he emphasized the complexities and forget about myself. You know,
PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN EDUCATION SUMMER 2010 | PAGE 120
to a degree, based on my esteem tended to include significant adults. In attended two of the three coffeehouses,
and somewhat being attached to light of the positive impact the poetry and she additionally shared her po-
what I have. That’s parent involve- program had for students and the situ- etry with her family on a regular basis
ment. So, I understand both sides. ation that many of the families were to convey her feelings. She explained,
in, Theo thought that evaluating the My father left and I was angry,
In this statement, Theo reflects an program solely on the attendance at but my mom didn’t want me to
understanding of the students that was the coffeehouses was misdirected. Be- talk about it. I could write po-
not addressed in conversations among lieving that there were other important ems, though. I wrote two poems
school staff or Urban Voices in Edu- successes within the program, namely about my dad, about hating my
cation administrators. Realizing that the positive influence it had for stu- dad. When I showed my mom,
some of the students were not encour- dents, Theo did not want students to she broke down and hugged me.
aging their parents to participate be- feel alienated or disappointed that
cause they had other responsibilities their families were not able to attend. Poetry opened up avenues of com-
or that they were not able to have this munication between Shakira and her
type of support, Theo’s understanding Eighth Grade Students: “ Why would mother that may not have otherwise ex-
of students reflects the mismatched as- isted. While Shakira had positive feel-
I want my parents there? What if I
sumptions of schools and families (Val- ings about sharing her poetry with her
des, 1996). It also reflects the complex mess up?” family, in a focus group she also char-
intersections of race and identity and Students’ relationships with their acterized her mother’s attendance as a
how participants can have different families had a strong impact on “bad thing.” Poetry was a conduit for
interpretations of a situation based on whether or not they invited them to telling her mother about her experienc-
their own experiences (Nieto, 2008). participate in school events. Expla- es; however, Shakira had mixed feelings
As he considered the outcomes of nations about their families’ lack of about her attendance at poetry events
the program, he believed that con- attendance revealed the students’ re- because emotional topics sparked
tinuing the focus on parent involve- lationships with their parents, their similar emotions within her mother
ment could be detrimental to stu- parents’ job responsibilities, and their and made it difficult for her mother
dents. Theo explained that maybe parents’ levels of stress at home. In to listen when Shakira was reading.
the initial approach and ideas be- this study, students were most com- Some students did not feel com-
hind the program needed to change: fortable encouraging involvement, in- fortable sharing their poetry with their
And truthfully, I would be the first cluding engaging with their parents at parents, and they prevented their par-
one to go on record to say that in home, if their relationship supported ents from attending the coffeehouses
some ways, the objectives that we this type of literacy event. Since the because they were worried about the
went at, in some places we could poetry was usually quite personal in dynamics. Taniqua was such a student;
have been wrong. Because, the nature, the students were affected by she was reluctant to share her poetry
goal of the parental involvement whether or not they shared these types with her family, never shared the cof-
and what that could produce, I’m of personal feelings with their parents. feehouse invitations with them, and did
not saying that that is wrong… So For some students, the poetry work- not have any parental participation in
if the two years, we created a space shops were the only places where they the program. During the first year of the
where they were able to positively could safely express their feelings, con- project, Taniqua was shy and reserved
influence each other, then maybe sider some of the experiences they were and did not volunteer to read any of
the objective was wrong. So, maybe facing in life, and receive support from her poetry out loud; therefore, she did
in the analysis, in the prognosis, peers and adults. Involving families not attend the coffeehouses. During the
and if we do have an opportunity in a program where students were en- second year of the program, she began
to go at it again, then maybe the couraged to do important identity work to open up and share her poetry in class
objectives need to be reprioritized. provided some students with an op- as a result of her increasing confidence
portunity for guidance and mentorship and the encouragement of her peers.
As he evaluated the program and that expanded their modes of commu- In a conversation where some of the
considered the families of the students, nication. For those students who were students were discussing their feelings
he wondered about further expanding comfortable, their experiences with and attitudes about performing poetry,
program goals by encouraging other poetry and performance as well as their Taniqua talked about the concerns that
community members to write with their emotional development were often prevented her from inviting her moth-
parents citing that it was important enhanced by bringing poetry perfor- er: “What would happen to me when I
to “open other avenues” and focus on mance into the relationship they had got home? Would she say something
mentorship rather than family involve- with family members. For instance, good about me? What if I mess up?”
ment. Theo believed that other com- Shakira felt comfortable sharing her Taniqua was uncomfortable involving
munity members could be recruited to poetry and invited her family to partici- her family in this type of venue be-
write and perform poetry with students pate in the poetry program. Her family cause the nature of her relationships
so that the idea of family would be ex- with them made it difficult to share
PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN EDUCATION SUMMER 2010 | PAGE 121
such personal poetry. Taniqua was volved by not providing information on expressed differing definitions and
like several students in this class who school functions. Taking responsibil- perceptions about family involvement
tended to rely on support from peers ity for the lack of communication with that were connected to their identi-
rather than working with her parents her mother, Desiree acknowledged that ties and roles within the program and
to improve and communicate through the coffeehouse dates were organized in their lives. Emily’s experiences at
poetry. She chose to separate the per- with plenty of time for her parents to this middle school reflected a history of
sonal nature of the poetry topics from make plans if told earlier. While her taking different approaches, yet being
her relationships with family members. response was most likely autobio- discouraged by abandoned initiatives
Desiree was another student who graphical, it also reflected why some and discouraging administrators. Pa-
did not tell her mother about the cof- of the other parents were not attend- mela is a teacher who knew and under-
feehouses during the second year of the ing; the avenues of communication be- stood her students’ backgrounds and
poetry program even though her moth- tween families and students were often put forth much time and resources to
er had been involved in the coffeehous- not open and parents did not receive create opportunities for parents to be-
es during the first year of its imple- information about the coffeehouses. come involved in the students’ lives
mentation. Desiree described how she For students, the nature of the lit- beyond the school day. Theo under-
decided not to inform her mother of the eracy event can encourage or hinder stood many of the reasons these stu-
coffeehouses because she thought that participation; therefore, looking at the dents would act as gatekeepers and
her mother was too busy and stressed: goals of the program and making sure promoted a broad definition of fam-
I told her last year [about the cof- that they are in alignment with the ily and involvement, suggesting that
feehouses] but not this year. It’s ways that families interact is important. that students encourage relationships
not the fact that she’s lazy. She’s Students’ feelings and responses about with community members. The stu-
stressed out. I know that’s the parental involvement reflected vary- dents reported different comfort lev-
best time to write… And then ing life situations and backgrounds. I els with having their families involved
she’s busy and when she’s home, found that some students encouraged and, in some cases, actually took the
I’m not home. When she does get their families to attend and found it to responsibility of controlling the com-
home, my mother sleeps. There’s be an important aspect of their rela- munication between school and home.
not time to explain it to her. tionships, while other students whose Much of the evaluative pressure from
families participated described some Urban Voices in Education’s perspec-
Desiree reflects the concern that stu- drawbacks regarding that involve- tive was influenced by a specific grant
dents have when they see their parents ment. Also, some of the students were that funded this program and was de-
working hard and holding down several making the decision that their fami- signed to improve family involvement.
jobs. Desiree further reflects on the role lies should not be involved because of Regardless of the efforts of a commu-
of communication for other students in their parents’ schedules or stress levels. nity organization that attempts to be
the class when she considers the differ- attuned to the needs of a school com-
ence between last year’s and this year’s DIFFERING PERCEPTIONS AND IDEAS munity, the relationships established
attendance at the coffeehouse events: by school administrators can override
ABOUT FAMILY INVOLVEMENT
Desiree: Last year, it seems like the initiatives of teachers or commu-
there were more people. And now, The topic of family involvement, nity agencies (Fine, 1993; Swap, 1993).
they tell us ahead of time and peo- seen from different vantage points, il- When a school has discouraged par-
ple be forgetting and they have all lustrates how perceptions can vary ent involvement, it is quite difficult to
these other activities. They finally based on experiences and background make changes and affect the school and
tell their parents at the last min- for participants in a program de- family relationships through initiatives
ute and their parents can’t come. signed to promote parent involve- in one classroom. Emily found herself
ment. There was much to be learned in a difficult position; while she clearly
Me: Is that something you by simply asking, “What constitutes had respect for Theo and his work, her
do? Or is that something that family involvement? or “What were responsibility to meet the objectives of
other people in the class do? your own experiences with family in- the grant caused her to focus almost
volvement?” Because the intent of solely on the numbers of parents at-
Desiree: Me. And it seems like the program was to increase parent tending the coffeehouse. Since she was
other people do that, too. Because involvement, this topic became a fo- responsible for the funding, her dissat-
we would tell them that there’s a cal point and an evaluative measure in isfaction was cause for concern from
coffeehouse tonight, can you stay? the spring semester of this study. In Theo and Pamela and represented a
many ways, the participants’ views of point of dissonance for both of them.
Desiree’s description of how adoles- how parents should be involved rep- The teacher in this study believed
cents informed their parents at the last resented a touchstone that reflected that having families involved would
minute is consistent with other students the multiple ways of thinking about improve students’ educational expe-
who documented that adolescents dis- the children and families in this study. riences. As she considered activities
courage families from becoming in- All of the participants in this study that would encourage family participa-
PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN EDUCATION SUMMER 2010 | PAGE 122
tion, Pamela clearly understood that ing their feelings, and they were more been a mentoring system provided for
encouraging families to attend the cof- comfortable sharing their poetry with any child who wanted to collaborate
feehouse was unrealistic in some situ- classmates. The poetry workshops for with an adult? Would more students
ations due to work schedules, trans- some students were the only places have come to the evening events to
portation, and family responsibilities. where they could safely express their work with other types of people? Car-
Regarding her collaboration with Theo feelings, communicate some of the ing adults would certainly be in the
and Urban Voices in Education, Pame- major experiences they were facing in position to support students in vari-
la found herself juggling their different life, and get support from peers and ous ways, especially in the context of
goals and objectives. While she initial- adults (for more details on this aspect poetic expression and academic in-
ly thought that the program had the po- of the program, see Wiseman, 2007 volvement. Expanding the notion of
tential to improve parent involvement, and Wissman & Wiseman, in press). involvement seems to be an impor-
her focus shifted when it became obvi- For some students who were testing tant idea that could have encouraged
ous that the educational outcomes had out important issues and not comfort- more students as well as more adults
more of an impact on the students than able doing so in front of family, this to participate in this school program.
did their families’ involvement. At the was a factor in whether or not they in- The second implication is to rec-
same time, she wanted to continue the vited their parents, which illustrates ognize how significant the content
collaboration with Urban Voices in how important it is to respect students’ and organization of the program can
Education because they were funding developing autonomy when creating be for encouraging or deterring fam-
the program and had provided many of programs (Deplanty, Coulter Kern, & ily involvement, with the idea that ad-
the resources to support Theo’s work in Duchane, 2007). As a result, students dressing adolescents’ concerns is an
the classroom. Placed in the position relied on other people for support, such important way to encourage their par-
of mediating the goals of the grant and as peers or other adults, and discour- ticipation. With many of the students
understanding what was most effec- aged their parents from participating. concerned about future employment
tive for her students, Pamela worked In order to understand the learn- and thinking about which high school
hard to maintain the goals of parent in- ing environment in the classroom, to apply to and with the teachers con-
volvement from a realistic perspective. it is important to consider the larger cerned about the students’ future aca-
Theo believed that when it came to context of the students’ lives and to demic goals, would the participation
family involvement, different adults conceptualize ways this knowledge have been different if students received
can be involved, that significant adults can be incorporated within the class- educational and occupational informa-
can be extended family or close friends, room. Involving family members has tion at the coffeehouses? As DePlanty,
and that parent involvement was not been described as one way to do this, Coulter-Kern, & Duchane (2007) ex-
necessarily positive for all students. He but there are many complexities in the plain, support and mentorship needs
also felt a strong connection to the stu- intentions and goals of a program de- to be developmentally appropriate and
dents because of their shared cultural signed to incorporate important adults relevant to adolescents’ needs. While
backgrounds. This understanding af- from students’ lives into the school en- the students were very receptive to
fected his approach and also resulted in vironment. Each individual brought writing poetry in the classroom (see
his attitude that parental involvement her/his own intentions and perspec- Wiseman, 2007 for more details), it
cannot be forced or mandated–that tives, and, in the end, all of these in- may not have fit with all of the students’
many of the children excluded their dividual voices shed light on the com- needs or interests to continue writ-
parents for significant reasons that plexities of implementing a family ing with family. Carefully considering
may be beyond their control. Theo’s involvement program for adolescents. the goals of the program as well as the
motivations and incentives were quite needs of the students and their fami-
different because he was not directly IMPLICATIONS lies would be an important point for
responsible for carrying out the objec- planning sessions or activities. While
There are several implications from
tives of a grant or meeting certain goals there were surveys and questionnaires
listening to the different views of the
or objectives. Theo’s knowledge about administered in the first year of the
participants in this family involvement
families and his role as a mentor in this program, it could be that as students
program. First of all, from some of the
class resulted in notions of involve- got closer to entering high school and
adults and students in this project, it
ment that were different than counting as they may have been becoming more
seemed that opening up mentorship
the parents that showed up for events. independent, their interests changed.
and guidance beyond the family might
The students were in powerful po- Regular assessment and feedback
be a positive approach, especially when
sitions to broker the relationships be- should be an important component of
the levels of participation for immedi-
tween their families and the school. any type of program that encourages
ate family are lower than anticipated.
Some students had ideas about fam- involvement beyond one school year.
In this program, there were several
ily involvement that clashed with the Third, it is important to recognize
other community members and other
objectives of the evening coffeehouses the different kinds of involvement and
caring adults who participated in the
and their relationships with their par- the importance of “invisible strate-
poetry coffeehouses. What if there had
ents that were not conducive to shar- gies” (Auerbach, 2007) and possibly
PERSPECTIVES ON URBAN EDUCATION SUMMER 2010 | PAGE 123
look to build of some of different ways that seemed to influence perceptions this goal and its outcomes were com-
students receive support. In some and understandings in this program. plex and reflected differing viewpoints.
settings, technology might facilitate Theo provided one perspective that il- The various perspectives and approach-
participation – students and parents luminated a mistrust of administrators es to families demonstrate some of the
could write and respond to each other and questioned whether the goals of the complexities of collaboration as well
about various topics and create a vir- program were synchronous with what as the difficulties of increasing parent
tual school presence. While I do not was best for children. Understanding involvement for adolescent children.
think that technology can replace im- the different needs or interests, partic- Above all, it is important to note that
portant face-to-face guidance, it might ularly of those who are closely involved understanding the roles and systems
make some of the ways that families in the community and of different of family support for adolescents is a
are involved more visible. This would backgrounds or perspectives, would complex and important consideration.
relate to the notion that it is impor- provide important insight on how pro-
tant to create more supportive inter- grams are structured and how to sus-
actions between schools and families tain involvement (De Gaetano, 2007; Angela Wiseman graduated with
by both recognizing and encouraging Nieto, 2008). It might be that under- a Ph.D. from the University of Penn-
different ways of becoming involved standing more and hearing from differ- sylvania’s department of Reading/
(Swanson, Cunningham, & Spencer, ent voices, particularly with knowledge Writing/Literacy in 2004. She cur-
2003). This would also confirm the of and an investment in the communi- rently is a literacy professor at North
assertion that one way of creating ty, would enhance our understanding Carolina State University in Raleigh,
more supportive school-family inter- of involvement. Further studies that NC and has published work on po-
actions is to recognize and encourage incorporate different perspectives and etry, parent involvement, and the
different ways of becoming involved. models of successful community part- social nature of writing in journals
Finally, the ways that parents view nerships are crucial to knowing about such as Journal of Adult and Ado-
involvement can be affected by many why and how they become involved. lescent Literacy and Language Arts.
factors, and certainly racial and cul- This poetry program was funded to
tural identity was an underlying factor improve family involvement; however,
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