Engaging Parents: Interrogating School-Community and Family Connections

This ethnographic study describes the process of developing a partnership between school leaders, parents, and a university researcher in an effort to build relationships and trust within an urban neighborhood. Gentrification pressures and market-era reform have led to school closures and existing school choice policies have exacerbated distrust in the community. The leadership team at a local high school is striving to rebuild trust through participatory research and developing spaces for parents within school decision-making. While under pressure, I demonstrate how schools and parents can forge collective aims, even within constricting neoliberal district policies

In this research community college students experience conducting ethnographic research on their family members around the topic of work. They created a research question, selected a research subject (these students selected family members), observed their family member at work and interviewed them. One year later, students were interviewed about this experience. Students reveal an insightful and emotional analysis of work and opportunity structures faced by their family, and how their research solidified their hopes for themselves. This research demonstrates how colleges can be culturally relevant by giving students the opportunity to investigate topics that and people who reflect their cultures.

Amidst rapid demographic shifts in suburban communities, this ethnographic study explores the lived experiences of Black and Hispanic/Latino families in a predominantly White suburban elementary school community. The study pursues an examination of family experiences, and community history, yielding a systematic analysis of engagement in the wider socio-political context and guiding towards a culturally relevant characterization of parental engagement. Critical race theory, and an ecological framework, contribute towards acquiring counter-stories and examining power structures that perpetuate educational inequities. Public document analysis, participant observation, and semi-structured interview are all employed to triangulate experiences within the diverse community.