Meeting, knowing, and affirming Spanish-speaking immigrant families through successful culturally responsive family engagement

Abstract

School districts and community agencies continue to support families with family involvement and engagement opportunities, but we question the methods utilized and the gap between the ideological beliefs utilized and the beliefs of the families being served. In this article, we analyze data from one strand of a year-long study to explain and demonstrate the successful use of culturally responsive pedagogy when applied to the development of school-family partnerships with families from immigrant backgrounds. Six Spanish-speaking parent participants in the study shared their perspectives through Photovoice, a collaborative research method. The families shared intimate descriptions of the strengths of their families, their expectations for their children in school, their own experiences with schools, and what they want educators to know about them and their families. Given the findings, we conclude the article by asserting that educational leaders must rethink traditional models, methods, and strategies of family engagement and seek to be more inclusive in engaging a broader section of families in their partnering efforts to meet, know, and affirm Spanish-speaking immigrant family members.