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Forces at Play: A Phenomenological Study of Successful Hispanic Students and Their Experiences with Regard to Academic Achievement
By Marin Gonzalez
Table 5. Educational Strategies for Parents that Increase Student Achievement
| What Parents Can Do |
Middle School Parents |
High School Parents |
| At Home |
- Talk about the value of education
- Talk about the value of hard work
- Share stories about your achievements or lack of
- Express expectations about student’s education—good grades/behavior
- Supervise academic work
- Limit television viewing
- Encourage participation in sports and/or clubs
- Supervise time use and behavior
- Meet and get to know child’s friends
- Encourage them to work hard in school
- Praise them for getting good grades
- Talk about school and plans for their future
- Know where and with whom they are
- Model what you expect
- Set goals—include yours
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- Discuss interest, issues, and studies in school
- Do things together—shopping, meals, vacations, movies
- Supervise behavior
- Encourage participation in sports and/or clubs
- Know what courses they are taking
- Supervise academic work
- Set goals for future
- Encourage AP/Honors classes
- Encourage high school graduation
- Encourage college
- Praise good effort and reward with praise
- Model what you expect
- Expect only success
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| At School |
- Know when grade reports are mailed home
- Know how/where your child can get extra help
- Attend parent teacher conferences
- Take part in parent organization
- Inform school of phone/address changes
- Attend child’s school activities
- Take part in school groups/committees
- Volunteer to help with school activities
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- Know when grade reports are mailed
- Learn about school resources
- Attend parent teacher conferences
- Take part in parent organizations
- Inform school of phone/address changes
- Attend child’s school activities
- Volunteer to help with school activities
- Take part in school groups/committees
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Note: Adapted from the research by Catsambis (1998), Pena (2000), Gutman (2000), Sanders (2000), Lopez (2001), and Hassinger (2005).
Working with Parents
Expecting parents to be actively involved in their child’s school in the traditional forms of parental involvement may be unrealistic. The students described a form of parental involvement that supported their efforts and their teachers’ efforts. Their parents were involved passively: encouraging their children, setting high expectations and expecting them to excel. Expecting parents to engage in traditional forms of parental involvement was not as vital as the support they received from their parents in praise and encouragement. Sharing with parents the strategies that researchers have identified as practices to increase parental support may help other students achieve excellence—see Table 5 (Catsambis, 1998; Pena, 2000; Gutman, 2000; Sanders, 2000; Lopez, 2001; Hassinger, 2005).
Helping teachers gain an understanding on how parents can contribute to their children’s academic success at home may help educators understand that parents can support their efforts even though they do not attend school functions and are unable to help them academically. As the students stated their parents were unable to help with their homework yet demanded excellence. The students stated that there was someone in their school who provided them with tutorial services or pointed them in the right direction when they needed extra academic support. Studies have shown how often parents do not participate in their children’s school due to challenges created by the school and staff (Pena, 2000). Expecting parents to do something they are unable to do is unrealistic. Telling parents to read to their children and to check their homework when they are unable to even speak the language creates frustration and indirectly blames them for their children’s low performance. Effective schools with high rates of parental involvement and student success have been known to create a no-fault policy; whereby, nobody is to blame for the children’s low achievement. These schools have partnered up with community organization to create after school homework centers, have the teachers and other parents provide after school tutorial services in their schools and have maintained school homework hotlines. As educators work with parents they must work with their school staff and change teachers’ expectations and attitudes about Hispanic students.
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