Supporting Parental Involvement in Schools: An Ethnographic Study of the Toronto Latin American Parent Support Group

Names of Co-Investigators:
Judith K. Bernhard, Ryerson Polytechnic University
Marlinda Freire, University of Toronto, Hospital for Sick Children
Spanish-Speaking Parents' Liaison Committee, Toronto Board of Education
Parents' Committee of the International Languages Program – Spanish, Toronto
Board of Education
Spanish Teachers' Committee, Toronto Board of Education

Through an action research approach, we investigated the school adaptation difficulties of Latin Americans in the Greater Toronto Area and documented the process by which parents are brought together to hear one another, become informed, and plan desired changes. We formed a support group of 8-12 Latin American parents, assessed and documented their concerns, frustrations, ideas and plans, as well as facilitated their dealings with the educational system. Over an eight-month period, the parents met monthly to discuss issues regarding their children and their primary level schooling. The effects of the parents' support group were two-fold. Not only did the parents learn to assert their interests and collaborate with teachers, but by sharing with each other, they became able to affirm the worth of their differences. Where there are few or inadequate mechanisms for involving parents and eliciting their input, the type of difficulties we found are likely to occur, particularly in diverse settings. Our findings indicate that policy changes are needed to promote genuine collaboration as opposed to imposing agendas for ‘appropriate’ input. Parents will not be able to effect changes unless structures are changed for two-way interactions for both sides to listen and talk. It is up to policy makers to support teachers in assuming such new roles.

Through an action research approach, we proposed to investigate the school adaptation difficulties of Latinos in the GTA and to document the process by which parents are brought together to hear one another, become informed, and plan desired changes. For the grant period of 1997, we were successful in carrying out our objectives of forming an on-going Latino parent support group, assessing and documenting the parents concerns, frustrations, ideas and plans, as well as facilitating their dealings with the educational system. Our aim to examine the process of interaction by which the group becomes involved with the system, and secure valid social-scientific data was successfully achieved.

The effects of the parents' support group were two-fold. Not only did the parents learn to assert their interests and collaborate with teachers, but by sharing with each other, they became able to affirm the worth of their differences rather than accept marginalization; and they rejected labels of deficit in parental values or motivation. The parents began to take action and make their voices heard as they accomplished a variety of goals in relation to school personnel. The findings show how the parents' group helped its members understand their role, in supporting their children's educational practices without devaluing their own cultural capital, and become more effective in supporting their children's educational processes.

The general research questions addressed to the Latin America community of the Greater Toronto Area were a) How do these particular children and families react to the Canadian educational system specifically with respect to individual and family aspirations, self confidence, identity as 'ethnic' or 'new Canadian', family involvement in the educational process? b) What barriers to communication and empowerment are encountered between parents and teachers? c) Within the Latino community, how do other social constructions multiply the cultural disadvantage: race, class, gender, and disability? d) What methods of information sharing and other procedures facilitate the development of a partnership between teachers and families?

The data collected contribute significantly to the advancement of knowledge in the following three ways:

A. We now have an understanding of how Latin American parents experience their migrant position in relation to their encounters with the educational system and how it intersects with gender, race and class. Interactions of race, class, migrant status, and gender are often talked about in the literature, but there has been little documentation of how these factors get carried out in the Canadian context. This grass-roots study is one of the few Canadian attempts to document the experiences of Latin American families within the educational system.

B. The data contribute to our understanding of what is commonly called parental non-participation. Based on our group discussions, we now understand this as an effect of the dominant institutional processes that place parents outside the decision-making process and devalue their skills and assets.

C. Based on our discussions, we now have an understanding of how parents think of Latin Americans as a race. The parents, in a majority of cases, did not construe their difficulties in terms of ‘racial problems’; they did not see themselves as fitting into a black/white framework. Seemingly at variance with their rejection of racial categories, many of the parents had a sense of Latin-American people as being a race. In fact, several parents of darker skin colour referred to experiencing racism in this narrow sense as based on skin colour. We submit that the Latin American parents of this group can appropriately be said to have been racialized despite their own understanding of the concept of race discrimination.

Although the present project was conducted at the primary level of education, it seems evident from the parents' perspective that certain patterns of behavior had already been long established between the parents and the school system in accord with present policies. The marginalization of parents' cultural capital is in fact a long-standing phenomenon and process. Any long-ranging improvements of the educational system would require policy changes leading to the development of new structures for collaboration between parents, and between parents and teachers.

An example of policy change and constructive implementation is mentioned in our main paper. The Parent Support Project in California (PSP), is based on a collaborative effort so that the PSP staff help staff at child care centres and parents to work together and set up programs for the benefit of the entire team. There are specific provisions of support to parents in job training, income tax preparation and sick child care options.

Our findings indicate that policy changes are needed to promote genuine collaboration as opposed to imposing agendas for ‘appropriate’ input. Parents will not be able to effect changes unless structures are changed for two-way interactions for both sides to listen and talk, for parents to have some power to ensure their ideas are implemented. The situation is arguably due to institutional hindrances rather than ill-intentioned actions of individuals. Where there are few or inadequate mechanisms for involving parents and eliciting their input, the type of difficulty we have described is likely to occur, particularly in diverse settings. A key component of establishing a collaborative model is the teachers’ developing an understanding of families' cultures and concerns, and of obtaining practical experience in working with families. Teachers can play a critical role in devising, or facilitating, new arrangements. It is up to policy makers to support teachers in their assuming such new roles.

A total of four students and research assistants participated in the project. Two research assistants conducted the groups and participated in every stage of the project. One of these assistants, Maria Teresa Wilson, is now on a waiting list for admission in the Adult Education department at OISE/UT. The second research assistant, Virginia Villanueva, is now learning English and preparing for application to graduate school.

Veronica Pacini, a student working on the research team completed her MA thesis at York University based on data collected during the present grant period. Her dissertation entitled, The language of power: Latino parents in the Canadian system was supervised by Dr. Sandra Schecter of the Faculty of Education at York University (1998). Suparna Nirdosh completed her M.Ed. at OISE/UT based on her observations of the project work. Her dissertation, listed below, was supervised by Dr. Grace Feuverger in the Curriculum Department. Fidelia Torres worked with the team in the first few months of the project. She is now beginning an MA degree in the Social Work Department at the University of Toronto.

All the students and research assistants received training in how the educational system works and how to conduct groups. The students were also involved in discussions of methodology and attended regular meetings with the research team. Further, some of the students participated in sessions with professionals and with the parents to verify our initial analysis.

The project also served to train future researchers in that two persons from the Community Partner groups who also received training and experience in conducting research are now enrolled in graduate schools. The President of Spanish-Speaking Parents' Liaison Committee of the Toronto Board of Education, Carlos Torchia, has been admitted into a Graduate program at York University. Luz Bascuņan, a member of the Community Partner group has now returned to graduate school to complete her dissertation in the area of Latin American children in the schools.

Bernhard, J. K., Freire, M. & Pacini, V., Villanueva, V. Reconsidering parent-teacher collaboration. How a group of Latino parents took action in the schooling of their children. Canadian Ethnic Studies (R).

Submitted (43 pages)

Bernhard, J. K., Freire, M., Pacini, V., Torchia, C. & Villanueva, V.

Culturally contested issues among Latin American parents and the Canadian educational system.

Ottawa, June, 1998. (18 pages)

Bernhard, J. K.

San Diego, April, 1998. (17 pages)

Bernhard, J. K.

Winnipeg, April, 1998. (22 pages)

Bernhard, J. K. & Pacini, V.

Philadelphia, March, 1998. (18 pages)

Media

Judith Bernhard, Magazine, Canadian Living, Susan Notes, Toronto, 02-10-98

Judith Bernhard, Carlos Torchia, TV, Hispanos en Canada, Elvira Sanchez, Toronto, 05-22-97

Judith Bernhard, Carlos Torchia, TV, The Latino Network, Claudia Caranci, Toronto, 05-08-97

Article published in newspaper El Popular, May 1998

Public Lectures

Judith Bernhard, Marlinda Freire, Veronica Pacini.

LA parent meeting Toronto 22 participants

Judith Bernhard, Veronica Pacini.

Greet workshop Toronto 16 participants

Nirdosh, Suparna: The social construction of "ideal parents": A qualitative inquiry into the lives of Spanish-speaking families (M.Ed., 1998, OISE-UT).

Pacini, Veronica: The language of power: Latino parents in the Canadian system (M.A., 1998, York University).

Back to Top