Date of Award

January 2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching & Learning

First Advisor

Grace Keengwe

Abstract

The benefit of parental involvement (PI) cannot be underestimated, most specifically, the PI that operates on mutual trust and respect, and balancing of power between homes and schools. It is particularly beneficial to students who are learning English as a second language because their parents can partner with educators to close the achievement gap. However, literature has revealed that most schools have operated using the unidirectional approach in which parents and family members are being alienated from their children’s education due to several factors like an imbalance of power between home and school (Cooper, 2009; Ishimaru et al., 2016). Hence, it is crucial to hear from educators, who are key agents in the practice of PI about their perceptions of Spanish-speaking English Language learners (ELLs) PI, the challenges they are encountering in their partnership with these parents, and the strategies they are implementing to accomplish equitable collaborations with parents of Spanish-speaking ELLs. The study uses “Equitable Collaboration” and “the six types of PI Model” as the theoretical Framework. The study adopts a qualitative research design with a basic interpretive approach. An elementary school with a higher percentage of Spanish-speaking ELLs is purposely selected with sample criterion, and semi-standardized-open-ended interview responses of six ELL teachers were analyzed with the basic interpretive approach guided by an inductive analysis method. Overall, the teacher participants’ practices of PI are relevant to the equitable collaboration framework to a certain degree in terms of mutual respect for parents, their welcoming strategies, an inclusive and open-door policy, literacy and empowerment programs, and the use of Spanish interpreters, etc. However, some teachers still lack understanding of some aspects of equitable collaboration, and they may need training in supporting parents’ leadership, decision-making, and advocacy, acknowledging and using parents’ expertise, and their cultural capital as learning resources. Some strategies to achieve equitable collaboration were recommended.

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