Building bridges: Latino immigrant parents explore the home-school relationship

The focus of this project was to explore the concept of parent involvement as it pertains to the connections that parents make in the education of their children. Different models of explanation have been presented to explore the concept of Latino parent involvement. This project examines the concept of involvement using the ecocultural and activity setting theory as an analytical framework. This theory provides a conceptual tool to examine everyday influences and practices that impact the creation of collaborative relationships between the parents and the school.;The parents in this study corroborated previous research that indicates that Latino parents value educational attainment highly. Various factors were considered in the exploration of this topic such as the parents' country of origin, their education level and income. Parents commented on an array of practices being employed at home and in the school setting with the purpose of assisting their children develop academically. Parents also discussed a number of barriers that they perceived limited the connections that were made with the school. Parents indicated their willingness to adapt and construct new practices in order to overcome these barriers and improve the connections between themselves and their children's school.;Parents indicated a number of ways in which the home-school connection could be improved. They commented on the need for the school to value and respect the parents' point of view. Schools can also acknowledge and encourage the current practices taking place at home. Schools can also facilitate ways to improve the parents' involvement with homework. Furthermore, schools can be more responsive to the needs of the parents and explore different ways to communicate more effectively with parents. Schools can also examine ways to involve parents in leadership roles in an authentic manner. It is by examining ways to value and respect the contributions made by parents that the connection between the home and school can be enhanced.