Shaneé Wangia
Boston College
Title: Locked Doors?(Dis)engagingIndigenous Families and Communities in USA and Canadian Schools
Objective:This research explores contemporary conceptions, promotions, and enactments of family-school-community engagement or partnerships in two school districts with large populations of Indigenous students. It investigates how family-school-community engagement or partnerships are defined and conceptualized by Indigenous families and community members and by district employees; how it is promoted and enacted in schools and districts via policies and practices by district employees; and how families and community members perceive and respond to school and district promotions and enactments of family and community engagement in or with schools.
Theoretical framework:A decolonizing lens is used to explore this topic (Smith,2012). This study heeds Tuck and Yang’s (2014) recommendation to engage in pedagogies of refusal, refusal to engage in damage-centered research, and to shift the gaze from focusing on people to a focus on the relationship between people and institutions of power.
Methods:This research is an exploratory multiple-case study of a USA and Canadian school district, each with significant populations of Indigenous students when compared to other districts locally and nationally. Aveling (2013) argues that Western scientific research must be critiqued and resisted as a “mechanism of colonization,” particularly as it relates to Indigenous peoples. Because the study involves Indigenous parents and community members and non-Indigenous district leaders and educators, a combination of Western qualitative methods and Indigenous methodologies are used to collect data.
Data Sources:The study uses multiple data sources including semi-structured interviews with school and district administrators and educators; unstructured conversations and sharing circles with Indigenous families and community members; and document analysis of district and school documents describing family and community engagement policies and/or initiatives, parent council meeting notes,mission/vision statements,parent surveys, etc.
Results and conclusion:This research revealed that there is often a disconnect between how district leaders and educators define and conceptualize family-school-community engagement or partnerships and how Indigenous families and community members themselves view these relationships. Furthermore, definitions and conceptions of family-school-community engagement or partnerships rarely align with promotions and enactments of these policies by district leaders and educators. Lastly, Indigenous family and community members’ perceptions of district family-school-community engagement or partnership policies and practices, are often in dissonance with that of district employees.
Educational importance of this study for theory, practice, and/or policy:Students achieve at higher levels and school improvement occurs when schools, families, and community members work together to support students’ learning and development (Epstein & Sanders, 2006; Henderson & Mapp, 2002; Jeynes, 2005). While research validates the link between parental involvement and student achievement, research on this topic as it relates to Indigenous communities in the USA and Canada has been limited (Friedel, 1999). This study contributes to existing knowledge on this topic with the potential of influencing policy and practices and cultivating more meaningful partnerships between Indigenous families and community members and the educators and administrators who serve their children.
Connection to the conference theme:This study’s focus directly aligns with the conference subtheme, “Partnering for Innovative Change,” in that family-school-community partnerships are essential for improved student achievement. Such partnership practices require conscientious and innovative approaches for Indigenous families and communities.
References:
Aveling, N. (2013). ‘Don't talk about what you don't know’: on (not) conducting research with/in
Indigenous contexts.Critical Studies in Education,54(2), 203-214.
Epstein, J. L., & Sanders, M. G. (2006). Prospects for change: Preparing educators for school,
family, and community partnerships.Peabody journal of Education,81(2), 81-120.
Friedel, T.L. (1999). The role of Aboriginal parents in public education: Barriers to change in an
urban setting. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 23(2), 139-157.
Henderson, A. T., & Mapp, K. L. (2002). A new wave of evidence: The impact of school, family,
and community connections on student achievement. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.
Jeynes, W. J. (2005, December). Parental involvement and student achievement: A meta-
analysis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Family Research Project. Retrieved from yyp:// publications-resources/browse-our-publications/ parental-involvement-and-student-achievement- a-meta-analysis
Smith, L. T. (2012).Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. London, UK:
Zed Books Ltd.
Tuck, E., & Yang, K. W. (2014). Unbecoming Claims Pedagogies of Refusal in Qualitative
Research.Qualitative Inquiry, 1077800414530265.