Hispanic Parental Involvement

Hispanic Parental InvolvementHispanic student academic success rates lag behind those of their White and Asian peers. Educators have long known that parental involvement is one of the leading indicators of any student's success. To increase the academic achievement of Hispanic students, time, energy, and resources must be invested to get more Hispanic parents involved in their children’s education. Efforts to improve our schools must continue, but just holding teachers and administrators accountable for their Hispanic student performance will not give us the results that are sought. It takes parental support. Hispanic parents need to develop certain competencies to better support their kids’ education? That is what this book is about.Dr. Lourdes Ferrer’s personal experience as an immigrant, parent and as a teacher, administrator, and consultant in addition to the results of hundreds of interviews with Hispanic students across the nation serve as the basis for this book. In the studies she conducted, Most of the students’ responses in these interviews had little or nothing to do with what happened in their classrooms or schools. Words such as "parents," "family," and "home" outweighed words such as "teacher," "classroom," or "school." Hispanic students frequently indicated a belief that their parents do not really know the role they need to play in their children’s education. Their comments revealed that their parents are likely to believe that they are doing what they are supposed to be doing by providing shelter, food, and sending them to school. The students consistently expressed that they are pretty much on their own. Things like which courses to take, how to apply for college, how to prepare for a college entrance test, or how get financial aid was pretty much the student’s responsibility. As one student put it, “White students get a lot of help from their parents. Their parents went to school here, and they know a lot of stuff about school and what to do to go to college. Hispanics have to explain everything to their parents.”Dr. Ferrer's studies have helped her identify ten competencies that parents must demonstrate to better support their children’s education. These ten competencies provide a framework for developing a solid parental involvement programs for Hispanics. This book addresses the issue of Hispanic student success by focusing on Hispanic parental involvement. This book is an invaluable resource for educators, school administrators, and political leaders involved in school policy decisions and initiatives.