| Resum: |
At no other time in the history of educational reform is the role of parental involvement in U. S. schools of paramount importance (Comer, 2004; Esptein, 2004) Much research has shown that parents are critical in raising the achievement of students particularly where there is direct, curriculum related outreach and trust (Henderson and Mapp, 2002; Ascher, 1988, Baker and Soden, 1993). Others researchers such as Mattingly, Radmila, McKenzie, Rodriguez and Kazar (2002) indicate that there is no evidence of a causal relationship between parent involvement and student achievement. Schools have nevertheless been mandated to conduct outreach to parents in order to reduce the achievement gaps that persist for African American and Latino students in relation to European whites and to offset what are apparent shortcomings in the reservoirs of social capital limited expectations for children's success (Jeynes, 2002). The ethnographic study presented herein is an attempt in identifying ways in which Latino parents in different communities (a community based organization, an after church group, a community organizing group, and a school group) who have undergone training by a university researcher learn how to use ethnographic research techniques and methods that help them understand schools, how to use data, and how they can become empowered by conducting their own research. Using focus groups, the training and research took place during 1999 to 2002 and was reinitiated during 2005 in communities with high concentrations of Latinos in the greater metropolitan area of Boston, Massachusetts. The study was guided by the following research questions: 1) What do Latino parents understand of U. S. schooling and the ways that the curriculum, assessment, and teaching is organized? More specifically what do they see their roles as parents being vis a vis the schools? 2) Using the skills of ethnographers in observing, writing field notes, focusing on material culture, interviewing key school personnel, how can these parents gather data that helps them make decisions about what is going on in their schools? 3) What can parents learn from using this type of research approach that enables them to understand their roles in school and become empowered? 4) What considerations can ethnographic theory and methods gain from this research? The study concludes that much can be learned from the perspectives of Latino parents, particularly in the way we employ some of the theoretical models for parental involvement. In addition, ethnographic research may gain from the theoretical and methodological considerations provided by using the perspectives of Latino parents in understanding their participatory roles and sense of empowerment. |
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