This article illustrates the experiences of teachers who conducted home visits as a way to cultivate sustainable avenues of school–home communication with families from an immigrant and/or language-minority background. The data stemming from these experiences are used to outline a sociocultural approach to conducting home visits and strengthening relationships with parents. This particular analytical lens addresses a significant gap in the literature concerning how educators across the K–12 spectrum should implement home visits. This article is especially relevant for school administrators seeking to establish what Auerbach (2012b) calls “leadership for authentic partnerships” with families and communities.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AllenJ. D., & PorterO. F. (2002). Teaching about diversity issues. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 38(3), 128–133.
2.
AllenS. F., & TracyE. M. (2004). Revitalizing the role of home visiting by school social workers. Children & Schools, 26, 3–21.
3.
AstutoJ., & AllenL. (2009). Home visitation and young children: An approach worth investing in?Social Policy Report, 23, 3–21.
4.
AuK. H., & BlakeK. M. (2003). Cultural identity and learning to teach in a diverse community: Findings from a collective case study. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(3), 192–205.
5.
AuerbachS. (2007). From moral supporters to struggling advocates: Reconceptualizing parent roles in education through the experience of working-class families. Urban Education, 42(3), 250–283.
6.
AuerbachS. (2009). Walking the walk: Portraits in leadership for family engagement in urban schools. School Community Journal, 19(1), 9–31.
7.
AuerbachS. (2011). Learning from Latino families. Educational Leadership, 68(8), 16–21.
8.
AuerbachS. (2012a). Conceptualizing leadership for authentic partnerships. In AuerbachS. (Ed.), School leadership for authentic family and community partnerships (pp. 29–51). New York: Routledge.
9.
AuerbachS. (Ed.) (2012b). School leadership for authentic family and community partnerships.New York: Routledge.
10.
AuerbachS. (2012c). Introduction: Why leadership for partnerships? In AuerbachS. (Ed.), School leadership for authentic family and community partnerships (pp. 3–9). New York: Routledge.
11.
BaederA. (2010). Stepping into students’ worlds. Educational Leadership, 67(5), 56–60.
12.
BarnyakN. C., & McNellyT. A. (2009). An urban school district's parent involvement: A study of teachers’ and administrators’ beliefs and practices. School Community Journal, 19(1), 33–58.
13.
BensonB. (2003). Framing culture within classroom practice: Culturally relevant teaching. Action in Teacher Education, 25, 16–22.
14.
BourdieuP. (1999). Structures, habitus, practices. In ElliotA. (Ed.), Contemporary social theory (pp. 107–118). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
15.
BourdieuP. (2004). Outline of a theory of practice.New York: Cambridge University Press.
CooperC. W. (2009). Parent involvement, African American mothers, and the politics of educational care. Equity & Excellence in Education, 42(4), 379–394.
18.
CorbinJ., & StraussA. (1990). Grounded theory research: Procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria. Qualitative Sociology, 13(1), 3–21.
19.
CowanG., BobbyK., St. RosemanP., & EchandiaA. (2002). Evaluation report: The home visit project. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED466018)
20.
DaroD. A., & HardingK. A. (1999). Healthy families America: Using research to enhance practice. Future of Children, 9(1), 152–176.
21.
DaroD., McCurdyK., FalconnierL., & StojanovicD. (2003). Sustaining new parents in home visitation services: Key participant and program factors. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27, 1101–1125.
22.
DesforgesC., & AbouchaarA. (2003). The impact of parental involvement, parental support, and family education on pupil achievements and adjustment: A literature review.Nottingham, England: Queen's Printer.
23.
EpsteinJ. L. (2009a). Introduction. In EpsteinJ. L. (Ed.), School, family, and community partnerships (pp. 1–8). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
24.
EpsteinJ. L. (2009b). School, family, and community partnerships.Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
25.
EpsteinJ. L. (2009c). School, family, and community partnerships: Caring for the children we share. In EpsteinJ. L. (Ed.), School, family, and community partnerships (pp. 9–30). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
26.
FaltisC. J. (2001). Joinfostering: Teaching and learning in multilingual classrooms.Columbus, OH: Merrill Prentice Hall.
27.
FaltisC. J. (2006). Teaching English language learners in elementary school communities: A joinfostering approach.Columbus, OH: Pearson.
28.
GinsbergM. B. (2007). Lessons at the kitchen table. Educational Leadership, 64(6), 56–61.
29.
GombyD. S. (1999). Understanding evaluations of home visitation programs. Future of Children, 9(1), 27–43.
30.
GombyD. S., CulrossP. L., & BehrmanR. E. (1999). Home visiting: Recent program evaluations—analysis and recommendations. Future of Children, 9(1), 4–26.
GonzálezN. (2005). Beyond culture: The hybridity of funds of knowledge. In GonzálezN., MollL. C., & AmantiC. (Eds.), Funds of knowledge: Theorizing practices in households, communities, and classrooms (pp. 29–46). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
34.
GonzálezN., MollL. C., & AmantiC. (2005a). Funds of knowledge: Theorizing practices in households, communities, and classrooms.Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
35.
GonzálezN., MollL. C., & AmantiC. (2005b). Introduction: Theorizing practices. In GonzálezN., MollL. C., & AmantiC. (Eds.), Funds of knowledge: Theorizing practices in households, communities, and classrooms (pp. 1–28). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
36.
GoodallJ., VorhausJ., CarpentieriJ., BrooksG., AkermanR., & HarrisA. (2011). Review of best practice in parental engagement.London: Department for Education.
37.
HadjistassouS. K. (2008). Deficit-based education theory. In GonzálezJ. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of bilingual education (Vol. 1, pp. 218–222). Los Angeles: Sage.
HebbelerK. M., & Gerlach-DownieS. G. (2002). Inside the black box of home visiting: A qualitative analysis of why intended outcomes were not achieved. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 17, 28–51.
JohnsonE. J. (2008). Ethnographic approaches to language, education, and politics: Negotiating identity and academic achievement in a multicultural urban school district (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Arizona State University, Tempe.
42.
JohnsonM. (2011). A parent advocate's vision of a 21st century model for bicultural parent engagement. In OlivosE. M., Jiménez-CastellanosO., & OchoaA. M. (Eds.), Bicultural parent engagement: Advocacy and empowerment (pp. 145–158). New York: Teachers College Press.
43.
KorfmacherJ., GreenB., SpellmannM., & ThornburgK. R. (2007). The helping relationship and program participation in early childhood home visiting. Infant Mental Health Journal, 28(5), 459–480.
44.
KorfmacherJ., GreenB., StaerkelF., PetersonC., CookG., RoggmanL. (2008). Parent involvement in early childhood home visiting. Child Youth Care Forum, 37, 171–196.
45.
KozolJ. (1992). Savage inequalities: Children in America's schools.New York: HarperPerennial.
46.
KozolJ. (2005). The shame of the nation: The restoration of apartheid schooling in America.New York: Crown.
47.
LinM., & BatesA. B. (2010). Home visits: How do they affect teachers’ beliefs about teaching and diversity?Early Childhood Education Journal, 38, 179–185.
48.
LopezG. R. (2001). The value of hard work: Lessons on parent involvement from an (im)migrant household. Harvard Educational Review, 71(3), 416–437.
49.
LopezG. R., ScribnerJ. D., & MahitivanichchaK. (2001). Redefining parental involvement: Lessons from high-performing migrant-impacted schools. American Educational Research Journal, 38(2), 253–288.
50.
MargerM. N. (2006). Race and ethnic relations: American and global perspectives.Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
51.
McCartyT. L. (2004). Dangerous difference: A critical-historical analysis of language education policies in the United States. In TollefsonJ. W., & TsuiA. B. M. (Eds.), Medium of instruction policies: Which agenda? Whose agenda? (pp. 71–96). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
52.
MeyerJ. A., & MannM. B. (2006). Teachers’ perceptions of the benefits of home visits for early elementary children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 34(1), 93–97.
OldsD. L., HendersonC. R., KitzmanH. J., EckenrodeJ. J., ColeR. E., & TatelbaumR. C. (1999). Prenatal and infancy home visitation by nurses: Recent findings. Future of Children, 9(1), 44–65.
56.
OlivosE. M. (2012). Authentic engagement with bicultural parents and communities. In AuerbachS. (Ed.), School leadership for authentic family and community partnerships (pp. 98–114). New York: Routledge.
57.
OvandoC. (2003). Bilingual education in the United States: Historical development and current issues. Bilingual Research Journal, 27(1), 1–24.
Peralta-NashC. (2003). The impact of home visit in students’ perception of teaching. Teacher Education Quarterly, 30, 111–125.
61.
PérezB. (2004). Sociocultural contexts of language and literacy.Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
62.
RogersJ., FreelonR., & TerriquezV. (2012). Enlisting collective help: Urban principals’ encouragement of parent participation in school decision-making. In AuerbachS. (Ed.), School leadership for authentic family and community partnerships (pp. 55–77). New York: Routledge.
63.
RoggmanL. A., BoyceL. K., CookG. A., & JumpV. K. (2001). Inside home visits: A collaborative look at process and quality. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 16, 53–71.
64.
Ruffin-AdamsA., & WilsonC. M. (2012). Advocacy-based partnerships, special education, and African American families: Resisting the politics of containment. In AuerbachS. (Ed.), School leadership for authentic family and community partnerships (pp. 78–97). New York: Routledge.
65.
SpethT., SaiferS., & ForehandG. (2008). Parent involvement activities in school improvement plans in the Northwest region.Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences.
66.
St. PierreR.G., & LayzerJ. I. (1999). Using home visits for multiple purposes: The comprehensive child development program. Future of Children, 9(1), 134–151.
67.
SternbergR. S. (2006). Home visits: A principal demonstrates a high level of caring by visiting at-risk students in their homes each summer. Principal Leadership, 6, 36–37.
68.
StuhtA. (2009). Hitting the streets for home visits. Leadership, 39, 24–26.
69.
Suárez-OrozcoC., Suárez-OrozcoM. M., & TodorovaI. (2008). Learning a new land.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
70.
SwapS. M. (1993). Developing home–school partnerships.New York: Teachers College Press.
71.
SweetM. A., & AppelbaumM. I. (2004). Is home visiting an effective strategy? A meta analytic review of home visiting programs for families with young children. Child Development, 75(5), 1435–1456.
72.
TakakiR. (1993). A different mirror: A history of multicultural America.Boston: Little, Brown.
73.
TaverasG. (1998). Home visits: From the teacher's perspective. Project Head Start, 3, 2–12.
74.
TerrillM. M., & MarkD. L. H. (2000). Preservice teachers’ expectations for schools with children of color and second-language learners. Journal of Teacher Education, 51(2), 149–155.
75.
TheoharisG. (2012). Foreword. In AuerbachS. (Ed.), School leadership for authentic family and community partnerships (pp. xiii–xv). New York: Routledge.
76.
ValdésG. (1996). Con respeto: Bridging the distances between culturally diverse families and schools.New York: Teachers College Press.
77.
Vélez-IbáñezC., & GreenbergJ. (2005). Formation and transformation of funds of knowledge. In GonzálezN., MollL. C., & AmantiC. (Eds.), Funds of knowledge: Theorizing practices in households, communities, and classrooms (pp. 47–70). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
78.
Zajicek-FarberM. L. (2010). Building practice evidence for parent mentoring: Home visiting in early childhood. Research on Social Work Practice, 20(1), 46–64.
79.
ZentellaA. C. (2002). Latin@ languages and identities. In Suárez-OrozcoM. M., & PáezM. M. (Eds.), Latinos: Remaking America (pp. 321–338). Los Angeles: University of California Press.
80.
ZentellaA. C. (2005). Building on strength: Language and literacy in Latino families and communities.New York: Teachers College Press.
81.
ZinnH. (2005). A people's history of the United States: 1492 to present.New York: HarperPerennial Modern Classics.
