Latino Parents' Perception of Parental Involvement. (Paperback)

Over time, some theorists have characterized education as a contributor to liberty and freedom; as a capital investment to justify financial support; as an advocate for the teaching of a variety of cultures--multiculturalism--as a part of the curriculum in public school; as a tool to coach students in sound morals, values and as an agent to help students make their own decisions and take responsibility for their own lives and their communities. In other words, education can be defined as the most important aspect of society. As a consequence, theorists and other researchers have studied, reflected, and focused on the effects of parental involvement on student achievement and on other student issues. Despite this national interest in parental involvement, not enough research has been conducted to determine what actions and behaviors constitute parental involvement for Latino parents. Moreover, while social scientists, educators, and school communities have embraced a myriad of definitions for parental involvement, little attention has been paid as to how Latino parents, specifically, perceive parental involvement. The US Census Bureau Press Release of May 2008 stated, "The nation's Hispanic population increased 1.4 million to reach 45.5 million on July 1, 2007, or 15.1% of the estimated total U.S. population of 301.6 million." In addition, the Pew Hispanic Center emphasized an obvious outcome that the rapid rise in the number of Hispanic children would lead "to increases in U.S. school enrollments since 1980." Upon this foundation, the researcher chose the case study strategy to examine Latino parents' perception of parental involvement. The following research questions will be addressed: How and why does attending informational meetings and/or parenting seminars increase Latino parental involvement? How do Latino parents define parental involvement? How do Latino parents perceive their participation in the education of their children? How and why does attending seminars create a better understanding of the school community? Why would Latino parents refrain from being involved in the school community? The researcher argues that the insights achieved from the findings can create opportunities for schools to better acknowledge, encourage and increase Latino parental involvement, and ultimately student success.