Involving Migrant Families in Education. ERIC Digest.

Overview & Synopsis

This digest describes parent involvement in their children's education from the perspective of migrant parents and educators and offers strategies to enhance the experience of schooling for migrant students and their families. Teachers often perceive parent involvement as preparing children for school, attending school events, and fulfilling teacher requests. The life circumstances of migrant parents preclude such activities. In addition, teachers and parents may define education differently; teachers define education as academically oriented instruction, while migrant parents perceive education in terms of forming the child's character through appropriate child rearing practices. Despite barriers to migrant parent participation, most migrant parents want their children to succeed in school. Family intervention programs should recognize that parents may contribute to the education process through either environmental resources or emotional and motivational resources. While migrant parents often lack environmental resources (economic resources, education, familiarity with education systems), they can provide a wealth of emotional resources to their children. Mexican American parents with low education levels often use cultural narratives ("consejos") to motivate their children. Sixteen strategies to engage migrant families in the schooling experience are listed. (Contains 10 references.) (SV)