Parent Involvement Practices of Farmworking Immigrant Mothers in a Rural Community

Abstract

This qualitative study documents the experiences of farmworking parents with their local school system. More specifically, this investigation examines the parent involvement practices of farmworking immigrant mothers. The data for this study was collected though parent workshops discussions. Utilizing critical counter storytelling and Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005) to framework this study seeks to bring the voices of farmworking parents to the forefront of the discussions about parent involvement. Findings from this study revealed that parents become involved in their children’s education by engaging in three main practices: 1) homework help; 2) consejos, and 3) parental coaching. This study contributes to the existing literature that challenges the deficit arguments that low-income Latino parents are not involved in their children’s education (Chavez-Reyes, 2010; Delgado-Gaitan, 1992; Faltis, 2006; LeFevre & Shaw, 2011; López, 2001). Findings from this study have implications for practitioners and policy makers interested in developing culturally-relevant community-campus partnerships that aim to bridge the home and school.