Leverage culturally-specific engagement strengths: support school participation for Spanish-speaking families and oral storytelling for English-speaking families¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article recommends that programs tailor engagement outreach to the dimensions that distinguish each language group's high engagement profiles. For Spanish-speaking parents, it suggests "considering parents' work schedules, inviting the involvement of extended family members, and connecting with parents beyond the translation of letters and materials," and adjusting traditionally school-based activities so they can be incorporated at home. For English-speaking Latino parents, it recommends encouraging integration of heritage culture into learning activities, for example "encouraging the use of oral storytelling, a familiar practice for many immigrant parents, might be a way to bridge early literacy goals with a culturally-valued style of communication."

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Programs need information about the culturally- and contextually-meaningful ways low-income Latino parents engage with children's learning

Constraints¶

• Recommendations arise from concurrent, correlational findings in one urban Head Start context and may not generalize to other settings or income groups

Target Learners¶

• Low-income Latino families of preschool children in Head Start

Target Learning Goals¶

• Supporting children's early language, literacy, and social skills through family engagement

Affordances¶

• Ecocultural Theory Niche Profiles

Claims¶

• Different engagement dimensions defined the high engagement profiles across language groups: school participation for Spanish-speaking parents, foundational education for English-speaking parents [+W]
• Demographic predictors of engagement profile membership differed across language groups, with employment the only significant predictor for English-speaking parents [+W]

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

-

Key Sources¶

• McWayne, C. M., Melzi, G., Limlingan, M. C., & Schick, A. (2016). Ecocultural Patterns of Family Engagement among Low-income Latino Families of Preschool Children. Developmental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040343