Family Engagement: Developing Relationship-Rich Partnerships With Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families to Improve Students’ Long-Term Life Outcomes

Abstract

In addition to the demographic disparities between educators and students, many preservice general and special education teachers report limited exposure to students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds and perceive themselves as ill prepared to address the learning needs of diverse populations of students with and without disabilities. This article provides a pragmatic illustration of how school leadership can build relationship-rich partnerships with families using the four fundamental high-impact family and community engagement strategies (relationships and trust, communication, culture and diversity, and collaboration and partnerships) identified by Hernandez (2020). Actionable steps and examples are offered for facilitating effective collaboration with culturally and linguistically diverse families and those of students with special needs to improve student learning outcomes.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adams-Sharif

(2017). Beginning again with marginalized parents. Educational Leadership, 75(1), 34–38.

Barrio

B. L.

Lindo

E. J.

Combes

B. H.

Hovey

K. A.

(2015). Ten years of response to intervention: Implications for general education teacher preparation programs. Action in Teacher Education, 37(2), 190–204. https://doi.org/10.1080/01626620.2015.1004603

Billingsley

McLeskey

Crockett

J. B.

(2017). Principal leadership: Moving toward inclusive and high-achieving schools for students with disabilities (Document No. IC-8). https://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Principal-Leadership-IC-2017-Revision.pdf

Blair

(2017). Traumatic experiences widespread among U.S. youth, new data show. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/articles-andnews/2017/10/traumatic-experiences-widespread-among-u-s–youth–new-datashow.html

Boutte

(2023). Educating African American students and how are the children? (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Bower

H. A.

Griffin

(2011). Can the Epstein model of parental involvement work in a high-minority, high-poverty elementary school? A case study. Professional School Counseling, 15(2), 77–87. https://doi.org/10.5330/PSC.n.2011-15.77

Bywaters

K. A.

Russell

A. T.

Simmons

Morgan

J. J.

Spies

T. G.

(2022). Preparing to engage in culturally sustaining practices in urban education environments. Intervention in School and Clinic, 58(2), 118–123. https://doi.org/10.1177/10534512211051077

Chai

Lieberman-Betz

(2016). Strategies for helping parents of young children address challenging behaviors in the home. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 48(4), 186–194. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059915621754

Cohen

P. N.

(2017). Families are changing – and staying the same. Educational Leadership, 75(1), 46–50.

10.

Cole-Malott

D. M.

Thompson

K. P.

Peterson-Ansari

Whitaker

R. W.

(2021). The Pennsylvania culturally relevant and sustaining education competencies. Pennsylvania Educator Diversity Consortium’s CR-SE Toolkit Workgroup. https://s3.amazonaws.com/newamericadotorg/documents/The_Pennsylvania_Culturally_Relevant_and_Sustaining_Education_Competencies.pdf

11.

Cowhey

(2022). Families with power: Centering students by engaging with families and community. Teachers College Press.

12.

Darensbourg

Perez

Blake

J. J.

(2010). Overrepresentation of African American males in exclusionary discipline: The role of school-based mental health professionals in dismantling the school to prison pipeline. Journal of African American Males in Education, 1(3), 196–211.

13.

Data USA. (2020). Special education teachers. https://datausa.io/profile/soc/special-education-teachers#demographics

14.

de Brey

Synder

T. D.

Zhang

Dillow

S. A

. (2021). Digest of education statistics 2019 (NCES 2021-009). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences.

15.

Dixon

R. D.

Griffin

A. R.

Teoh

M. B.

(2019). If you listen, we will stay: Why teachers of color leave and how to disrupt teacher turnover. The Education Trust & Teach Plus.

16.

Durand

T. M.

(2011). Latino parental involvement in kindergarten: Findings from the early childhood longitudinal study. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 33(4), 469–489. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986311423077

17.

Fowler

Coleman

M. R.

Bogdan

W. K.

(2019). The state of the special education profession survey report. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 52(1), 8–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059919875703

18.

Gerzel-Short

Kiru

E. W.

Hsiao

Y.-J.

Hovey

K. A.

Wei

Miller

R. D.

(2019). Engaging culturally and linguistically diverse families of children with disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 55(2), 120–126. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053451219837637

19.

Gilson

Etscheidt

(2022). Preparing administrative leaders to support special education programs in schools: A comprehensive multi-dimensional model. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 17(1), 41–55.

20.

Graff

C. S.

(2021). Co-investigation and co-education in “family as faculty” approaches: A repositioning of power. Theory into Practice, 60(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2020.1829380

21.

Graff

C. S.

Manlove

Stuckey

Foley

(2020). Examining pre-service special education teachers’ biases and evolving understandings about families through a family as faculty approach. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 65(1), 20–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2020.1811626

22.

Griffin

Tackie

(2017). Through our eyes: Perspectives from Black teachers. Phi Delta Kappan, 98(5), 36–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721717690363

23.

Griffin

(2011). Parent involvement with African American families in expanded school mental health practice. Advances in School Mental Health Promotion, 4(2), 16–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/1754730X.2011.9715626

24.

Harry

Ocasio-Stoutenburg

(2020). Meeting families where they are: Building equity through advocacy with diverse school and communities. Teachers College Press.

25.

Health Resources & Services Administration. (2019). New HRSA data show one in three US children have suffered an adverse childhood experience. https://www.hrsa.gov/about/

26.

Hernandez

(2020, September). State of the states: Family, school, and community engagement within state educator licensure requirements. National Association for Family, School and Community Engagement. https://cdn.ymaws.com/nafsce.org/resource/resmgr/files/NAFSCE_States_Report_2020.pdf

27.

The Hunt Institute. (2022). A campaign for one million more teachers of color. https://huntinstitute.org/one-million-teachers-of-color/

28.

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq. (2004).

29.

Izard

(2016). Teaching children from poverty and trauma. National Education Association. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED594465

30.

Kea

C. D.

Trent

S. C.

(2013, Summer). Providing culturally responsive teaching in field-based and student teaching experiences: A case study. Interdisciplinary Journal of Teaching and Learning, 3(2), 81–100.

31.

Khalifa

M. A.

Gooden

M. A.

Davis

J. E.

(2016). Culturally responsive school leadership: A synthesis of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 1272–1311. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465431663038

32.

Kober

Rentner

D. S.

(2020). History and evolution of public education in the US. George Washington University.

33.

Kraft

M. A.

(2017). Engaging parents as partners in education through better communication. Educational Leadership, 75(1), 58–62.

34.

Ladson-Billings

(2021). I’m here for the hard re-set: Post pandemic pedagogy to preserve our culture. Equity & Excellence in Education, 54(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2020.1863883

35.

Melloy

K. J.

Cieminski

Sundeen

(2021). Accepting educational responsibility: Preparing administrators to lead inclusive schools. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 17(4), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/194277512110184

36.

Milner

H. R.

(2020). Start where you are but don’t stay there: Understanding diversity, opportunity gaps, and teaching in today's classrooms (2nd ed.). Harvard Education Press.

37.

Minkel

(2017). Welcome families by focusing on strengths. Educational Leadership, 75(1), 71–74.

38.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2022). Racial/ethnic enrollment in public schools. Conditions of education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cge/.

39.

Office of Special Education Programs. (2021). OSEP fast facts: Race and ethnicity of children with disabilities served under IDEA Part B. U.S. Department of Education. https://sites.ed.gov/idea/osep-fast-facts-race-and-ethnicity-of-children-with-disabilities-served-under-idea-part-b/

40.

Office of Special Education Programs. (2022). OSEP fast facts. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. https://sites.ed.gov/idea/osep-fast-facts/

41.

Rossetti

Sauer

Bui

(2017). Developing collaborative partnerships with culturally and linguistically diverse families during the IEP process. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 49(5), 328–338.

42.

Sacks

Murphey

(2018). The prevalence of adverse childhood experiences, nationally, by state, and by race or ethnicity. Child Trends. https://www.childtrends.org/publications/prevalence-adverse-childhood-experiencesnationally-state-race-ethnicity

43.

Scott

L. A.

Bell

Dayton

Bowman

R. W.

Evans

Grillo

Spence

Layden

S. J.

(2023). Special education teachers of color retention decisions: Findings from a national study. Exceptional Children, 89(3), 256–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/00144029221109850

44.

Sun

A. O.

Xin

J. F

. (2019). School principals’ opinions about special education services. Preventing School Failure, 64(2), 106–115.

45.

Superville

(2021). Principals of color are scarce. Here’s what districts are doing about it. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/principals-of-color-are-scarce-heres-what-districts-are-doing-about-it/2021/12

46.

Symonds

Hansen

(2022). Low retention diversity among school principals sparks needs for long-term strategies. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2022/11/22/1649415/

47.

Trent

S. C.

Kea

C. D.

(2008). Preparing preservice educators for cultural diversity: How far have we come? Exceptional Children, 74(3), 328–350.

48.

Thomas-Skaf

B. A.

Jenney

(2020). Bringing social justice into focus: “Trauma-informed” work with children with disabilities. Child Care in Practice, 27(4), 316–332. https://doi.org/10.1080/13575279.2020.1765146

49.

Wang

Jackson

Freeman-Green

Kamuru

Driver

(2022). Integrating culturally sustaining pedagogy and evidence-based practices to support students with learning disabilities in a social justice mathematics lesson. TEACHING Exceptional Children. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00400599221079640

50.

Whitford

D. K.

Gage

N. A.

Katsiyannis

Counts

Rapa

L. J.

McWhorter

(2019). The exclusionary discipline of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students with and without disabilities: A civil rights data collection (CRDC) national analysis. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 28(12), 3327–3337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01511-8

51.

Woysher

Cucchiara

(2017). Can parent-teacher groups work for all students? Educational Leadership, 75(1), 64–69.