Module 6.2 Building Partnerships with and Honoring the Contributions of Diverse Families

According to research, certain factors may influence teacher beliefs about parents and families. For example:

• Teachers’ own sociocultural background and childhood experiences. “An assertive parent who is seeking to be a leader may bring about a defensive reaction” from a teacher whose own parents did not seek out leadership roles or who ceded decision-making to the educator.
• School culture and norms. If the school signals to parents that “their roles are limited and do not involve leadership then teachers receive distorted messages about how to approach and develop meaningful parent and family involvement.”

In this module we will:

• Explore strategies to build capacity as educators, schools, and districts alongside families to come together in partnership around students’ social, emotional, and academic growth
• Take the perspective of families—and how best we can honor their contributions and expertise about their own children through a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens

Parents as SEL Partners

Critical to viewing parents as authentic partners is rejecting the idea that families are deficient in their approach to supporting their student’s social, emotional, and academic development. We must refocus instead on leveraging strengths and building capacity. This includes letting go of inaccurate stereotypes about race and poverty, such as the beliefs that because lower income parents may have less time or flexibility to participate in school activities, they care less about their children’s learning or that parents of different races hold higher or lower expectations for their children’s achievement.

In One Dream, Two Realities: Perspectives of Parents on America’s High Schools, a report on parent engagement by Civic Enterprises, nationally representative interviews confirmed that regardless of socioeconomic circumstances, parents and caregivers all hold the same set of goals for their children. Further, “parents with less education, lower incomes, and children in lower performing schools, are most likely to see rigorous education and their own involvement, as critical to their child’s success.”

Just as we must focus on an assets-based approach to student social and emotional skill development, so too must educators and school systems work to create the conditions for true partnerships. Co-creating pathways for parents and caregivers to contribute their strengths and participate in their child’s education in ways that enrich the school community is a key partnership-building practice. Another key practice is applying a culturally responsive approach to building socially, emotionally nourishing relationships with families and communities.