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The Voices of Parents: Rethinking the Intersection of Family and School

In this study, we explored ideas and attitudes about education among low-income, minority parents to understand their interaction patterns with schools. Although the bulk of research on parent involvement has been aimed at demonstrating its effects, few field-based studies have focused on the factors that contribute to parents' participation in home and school-based activities. In this study, we attempted to identify these factors by examining the source (e.g., culture, community, institutionalized norms) and nature of parent ideas about schooling. Semistructured interviews regarding the parent's educational experiences, their views about the value of schooling, their role in their children's education, and the nature of their interactions with their children's schools were conducted with parents from a single school located in a minority community in northern California. In contrast to the perceptions of many principals and teachers, low instances of parent involvement did not reflect a parental lack of interest in their child's development. Instead, although such factors as time, distance, and day care obligations were cited, it seemed clear that patterns of family-school interactions were controlled by highly defined, socially constructed scripts that institutionalize the relationships among parents, teachers, and school administrators.