Involving Parents in the Schools: A Process of Empowerment

This four-year study in a southern California school district examined parent-involvement activities as they encouraged isolated Spanish-speaking parents to participate more fully in their children's schooling. The findings showed that conventional avenues for involving parents in school were closed to many parents because specific cultural knowledge (which, in essence, is power) was required in order to participate effectively. On the other hand, nonconventional activities encouraged parents to participate in their children's education through culturally responsive communication. The parent-school empowerment process described in this article illustrates a difficult but possible approach taken by a community interested in Latino children's education. By forming cooperative linkages between the school and families, parents became aware of their children's conditions in their school and their rights as parents to collectively join with others who shared their experience, to cooperate with the schools, and to create change in the schools through improved programs and policies, which then led to continued dialogue between the schools and the families.