Involvement of Immigrant Families in the School Life - Science Direct

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ScienceDirect Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 237 (2017) 157 – 163

7th International Conference on Intercultural Education “Education, Health and ICT for a Transcultural World”, EDUHEM 2016, 15-17 June 2016, Almeria, Spain

Involvement of immigrant families in the school life Mª Ángeles Hernández-Prados, Mª Paz García-Sanz*, Joaquín Parra, Mª Ángeles Gomariz Universidad de Murcia. Facultad de Educación. Campus de Espinardo.Murcia 30100, España

Abstract The aim of this study was to analyze the involvement of families that live in Spain in regards to the educational process of students, in terms of country of origin of these families. A questionnaire was given out to a total of 14876. The study was a descriptive research. The results showed that families from a Spanish origin valued higher, than families from other countries the variables considered in the study, except the variable regarding feeling of belonging, which was higher at a sample level in the non Spanish families. ©2017 2016The TheAuthors. Authors. Published by Elsevier © Published by Elsevier Ltd. Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EDUHEM 2016. Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EDUHEM 2016. Keywords: family involvement; immigration; school; nationality; sense of belonging

1. Introduction Despite the ample agreement in the relevance of the role played by the involvement of families in school matters within the civic academic development of children, we are faced with a value which appears differently in regards to different cultural factors. In that regard, the study by Lee & Bowen (2006) about the level of involvement of families in the academic performance of children in primary education according to ethnicity, showed different patterns of involvement depending on the demographic characteristics of the families, as well as a higher academic performance in the native families. This aspect is more evident when, in the decade of the nineties, the migratory processes began, the diversity increased and also the conditions of pupil intake. The necessity to deal with schooling needs of minors,

* Corresponding author. Tel.:+34 868 88 40 56; fax:+34 868 88 42 02. E-mail address: [email protected]

1877-0428 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EDUHEM 2016. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2017.02.057

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Mª Ángeles Hernández-Prados et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 237 (2017) 157 – 163

in occasions ended up in a lack of attention to the welcoming and inclusion of families in the activities of the setting. As a consequence of this new school reality, it was felt necessary to promote the socio academic success of the entire pupil intake, with the involvement of families, including families of foreign origin, a mandatory condition. The study regarding advantages linked to involvement of families (Castro, Expósito, Lizasoain, López & Navarro, 2014; Stewart, 2008) has generated evidences of the relationship between the involvement of families and the academic performance of students, the school atmosphere, decrease in violence in educational settings, among others. In the case of families from a foreign origin, the involvement contributes to the increase of the achievement of three aims of intercultural education: the building of knowledge, the reduction of prejudices and the creation of an integration culture through community dynamics with a focus on setting up competences on the students (Lozano, Alcaraz & Colás, 2013). Families are co educators alongside the school, and their importance lies in the contribution that they bring to the teaching task. In order to put together the different school practices, families are considered a requirement because of their indispensable support (Bolívar, 2009). But this theoretical conception finds difficulties of all sorts in order to become a current reality in a continuous and global way in school settings, which encompasses secrecy and acceptance of teaching autonomy, the non effectiveness and lack of update of some participative procedures, and the delegation of family educational responsibility in teachers. Furthermore, as highlighted by Karoly & González (2011), the lack of involvement of immigrant families in early years education, is due to economic and linguistic reasons. However, we agree with Fuligni (1997) in highlighting the educational variables above economic ones, as only a small part of the academic success is due to the economic level. Because of all of this, the indexes of involvement are generally below what is desirable, mainly just chance encounters, sporadic and typical of early years, with a greater neglect of educational support of families in secondary. In the case of immigrant families, they are less familiarised with the educational system of the host country, particularly with the activities developed, as well as with the practices that improve academic success (Kirk, Lewis, Nilsen & Colvin, 2011). However, Santos & De la Rosa (2016) recognise, supported by the ideas shown by González Falcón (2007), that one of most influential factors in family participation is attitude and beliefs of the native population. Therefore, involvement in these cases, is narrowly linked to the welcoming of the immigrant families and the feeling of belonging that they develop. Based on a previous and larger study, coordinated and financed by the School State Council (2014), the aim of this study was to analyze the degree of involvement of families that live in Spain in the educational process of their children in Early Years, Primary or Secondary education, in regards to the country of origin of parents of participants. 2. Method The study is located within a quantitative non experimental research. It is precisely a descriptive study survey type, of exploratory character. 2.1. Participants After carrying out a ranked random sample ( which ranks were: autonomous community, educational stage and ownership of the setting), in the study there were 14876 families living in Spain, whose children attended stages in Early Years, Primary and Secondary education. The distribution of the sample of families, according to the country of origin can be seen on Table 1. Table 1. Sample distribution of families Families born in Spain

Families from other origin

Lost values

12241

2346

289


2.2. Instruments The information required for this research was collated through a questionnaire ad hoc with 45 closed items, 29 numerical ones with a scale from 1 to 4 (1: never/nothing; 2: sometimes/ a bit; 3: frequently/quite a lot, 4: always/a lot) and 16 dichotomous (yes/no). The latter ones belonging to the implication in AMPA (parents association) and CE (School council) of the setting. The numerical interpretation of all added positive answers, to each of these two dimensions is integrated in a scale of 9 degrees (0: non implication; 1: very low; 2: low; 3: middle low; 4: moderate; 5: middle high; 6: high; 7: very high; 8:excellent). The validity of the content of the instrument was carried out through a judgement of experts by teaching staff of 4 different universities. The validity of construct was obtained through a factorial analysis of main components, finding more than one factor in the referred items to the quality of communication, direct implication and implication in the CE (School Council). Finally, the questionnaire obtained a coefficient of validity alpha of Cronbach of .861, which confirms a high validity of the instrument (De Vellis, 2003). 2.3. Variables The predicted variable considered in the study was country of origin of families. In regards to criteria variables, as they were used in other studies and considered relevant to conform to the degree of involvement of families in the educational process of their children, were the following ones: x Quality of communication between families and the educational setting. Made up from the mean of 9 items referred to the frequency in which such communication took place (i.e “I attend tutor times when the tutor makes an appointment) and the suitability of such (i.e “I am satisfied with the meetings I have had in the setting). x Involvement in activities in the setting. This was configured from the mean of 4 items related to the implication of families in activities organized by the educational setting (i.e. “ I participate in training activities for parents, such as parent school, informative chats, etc”. x Feeling of belonging to the setting. This was determined by the mean of 4 items, and it referred to the degree in which families felt part of the educational community (i.e. “I feel part of the setting, I consider it something mine”). x Direct collaboration from home. This was determined by the mean of 12 items referred to the educational support that families carried out from their homes (i.e. “promotion in the child of responsible use of computers and mobiles). x Implication in AMPA (parent’s association) of the setting. Integrated by adding all positive answers of 8 items. This refers to the knowledge that parents had of the parents association and the degree of involvement (i.e. “I am, or have been a member of the AMPA of the setting). x Implication in the School council of the setting. Also determined by the adding of positive answers of 8 items. This refers to the knowledge that parents have regarding the school council and their degree of involvement (i.e. “I know the representatives of families from the School Council of the setting”) 2.4.

Procedure

After the elaboration and validation of the questionnaire, this was given to families taking part, in paper form, through the School Councils of the different autonomous communities. As the items were closed, the data analysis was carried out through the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS), version 19. It relied on descriptive statistics as well as inferential non parametric. The latter one was chosen as the data gathered did not have the necessary conditions to be able to apply parametric statistics (Siegel, 1990). The level of statistic meaning was α= .05.

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3. Results 3.1.

Mean and dispersion of data of family involvement

Table 2 shows the mean and standard deviation of each of the criteria variables considered in the study, in regards to the country of origin of participant families. Table 2. Descriptive statistics of family involvement, considering the country of origin Spanish families Variables

Families from other country Standard

Mean

Standard deviation

Mean

Communication quality

2.67

.405

2.55

.469

Involvement in activities

2.14

.767

1.95

.750

Feeling of belonging

3.08

.662

3.12

.699

Direct collaboration

3.48

.310

3.35

.423

Implication in the AMPA

2.49

2.181

1.70

1.851

Implication in the CE

2.81

2.249

1.96

1.979

deviation

From Table 1 you can deduce the following results: x The families who took part, have a perception ranging from: a bit and quite a lot, the quality of communication established with the educational setting of their children. However, such perception is slightly higher in Spanish families. x In general terms, there is little family involvement in activities organized by the setting; even less involvement of parents, with a different country of origin. x There is quite a feeling of belonging towards the school setting in both types of families, slightly higher in immigrated families. x Parents participation ranged between quite a lot and a lot, in the educational process of their children from home, with a slightly higher implication in Spanish families. x Families born in Spain, have an mean implication ranging from low to medium-low in the AMPA (parents association) of the centre, while parents from other countries was considered inferior to low. However, it is appreciated a high variability of data in regards to the mean in both types of families (SD=2.181 and variation coefficient=87.59%, in Spanish families; SD= 1.851 and variation coefficient=108.88%, in families with different country of origin). x The mean implication in the CE (School Council) of the settings from Spanish families was close to middle to low, with a lower one shown by parents of immigrants. In this occasion, it can be observed a greater dispersion in the data in regards to the mean in the two types of families (SD=2.249 and variation of coefficient=80.03%, in Spanish families; SD= 1.979 and variation coefficient=100.97%, in immigrant families). In summary, the means of family involvement in the variables included in the study are superior in Spanish families, with the exception of feeling of belonging, which is slightly superior with immigrant families. The analysis show that considering the standard 2,5 in the first four variables studied (with a scale of 1 to 4), in regards to quality of communication with the educational setting, the two types of families should increase the frequency they hold meetings with teachers or tutors, with the senior leadership team and with the adviser. In regards to parent involvement in activities organized by the setting, also, the two types of families should involve themselves more in training activities for parents (parent school, informative chats, etc), in work committees created by the setting (of cycle, cohabitation, infrastructures, fund raising, etc) and in support activities, inside the setting (storytelling, reading support, chats, professional information, specific workshops, etc) and also outside the setting


(museums outings, theatre plays, exhibitions, trips, etc). In regards to the feeling of belonging of families towards the school setting, both types of families surpass the established standard. In regards to collaboration of families from their home, both the Spanish a immigrant families should take part more often in cultural associations different to the ones from the school setting. In regards to the last two variables, it was considered standard to obtain at least 50% of positive answers in each item. In relation to the implication of Spanish families in the AMPA (parent association) of the setting, this must be improved in all analyzed aspects, except in the fact of being or having being a member of this association at some point. This feature should also be strengthen in immigrant families. The same should happen with Spanish families, they should improve their involvement in the CE (School Council) of the setting in all analyzed questions, with the exception of the knowledge of the function of representatives of parents in this association, the degree of information they have about the celebration of elections of the CE and the information that they receive about the candidates in the elections representatives in the CE (School Council). Families from a different country of origin, must improve everything related to their involvement in the CE (School Council) of the setting. 3.2. Statistic meaning of family involvement, in regards to the country of origin of families. Table 3 explicits results from the Mann-Whitney test in each of the criteria variables studied, considering the country of origin of families Table 3. Statistic meaning, in regards to country of origin of families U of Mann-Whitney

Asymptotic Signific.

Communication Quality

10303848

.000

Activities involvement

10127010

.000

Feeling of belonging

11829236,5

.078

Direct collaboration

10124982

.000

AMPA Implication

9403066

.000

CE Implication

9407673

.000

In Table 2 it is appreciated that the sample differences indicated in the previous section, were statistically significant in relation to the country of origin of parents whose children attended Infant, Primary or Secondary Education, in regards to: quality of communication established in the educational setting, participation in organized activities by the school setting, direct collaboration from home, implication in the AMPA (parent association) and the CE (School Council) of the setting. All of this in favor of Spanish families. However, there were not statistically significant differences in regards to the feeling of belonging of both types of families towards the educational setting of their children. 4. Discussion and conclusions The results evidence that families are selective regarding involvement; as from the six dimensions considered, what stands out is mainly the level of implication in the learning of the children from home, followed by the feeling of belonging (in both cases the categories outlined are frequently/quite a lot and always/ a lot ). This type of implication includes various aspects that encompass from the transmission of values, the promotion of extracurricular activities and motivation towards studying. In this way, Suárez et al. (2012) states that the most significant finding in the direct implication of families with children happens when they do their school homework, specially at an early age. Equally, the study carried out by Dotterer & Lowe (2015), in which the relationship between ways of bringing up children in families and the academic adaptation of immigrant pupils was analysed, it was revealed that educational support from parents is associated to higher levels of academic motivation and a higher commitment to school. Therefore, it is necessary to launch this type of educational family implication at school and in order to achieve this, it is considered essential to promote a personalized relationship between family

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and school (Etxeberria, Intxuasti & Joaristi, 2013), as well as a revision of the concept of involvement which should include functions of families and other members of the educational community and a higher awareness that parents do vary the ways of involvement in the education of their children (Ryan, Casas, KellyVance, Ryalls & Nero, 2010). Similarly, the feeling of belonging of families refers to the acknowledgment as a member and active part of the educational setting and it works in two ways: as a facilitator of the involvement and as a consequence of such involvement (Hernández-Prados, Gomariz, Parra & García-Sanz, 2015). The feeling of belonging, has also been linked from the students perspective, to a great variety of positive behaviors such as academic success and development of prosocial behaviour, decrease of disruptive behaviour, abandonment and school failure, among others (Battistich & Hom 1997; González & Padilla, 1997). In order to boost the feeling of belonging, educational settings should open higher communication channels and school activities to allow involvement of all the school community. ,QUHJDUGVWRTXDOLW\RIFRPPXQLFDWLRQWKLVGLPHQVLRQZDV WKHWKLUGEHVWHYDOXDWHGZLWK YDOXHVWKDWLQIDPLOLHVIURPD6SDQLVKRULJLQDQGQRQ6SDQLVKRULJLQZHUHFRQVLGHUHGDPRQJ WKHFDWHJRULHVRI VRPHWLPHVDELWDQG IUHTXHQWO\TXLWHDORW7KHLPSRUWDQFHRIFRPPXQLFDWLRQ EHWZHHQIDPLOLHVDQGHGXFDWLRQDOVHWWLQJVLVMXVWLILHGDPRQJRWKHUUHDVRQVE\WKHIDFWWKDW ZLWKLQ WKH PRGHOV RI LQYROYHPHQW FRQWHPSODWHG E\ (SVWHLQ RQH RI WKH PRVW KLJKO\ FRQVLGHUHGLQWKH6SDQLVKVFKRROLVWKHFRPPXQLFDWLRQEHWZHHQIDPLOLHVDQGWHDFKHUV Involvement in activities organized by the setting is one of the dimensions regarding family implication more scarce, both in Spanish and immigrant families, with mean levels inferiors to the category sometimes/a bit. According to Camacho & Fuligni (2014), despite immigrant families showing high academic expectations for their children, the organization of activities by the school is specially important for students of immigrant families, as this gives them additional experiences that contribute to academic achievement. Anything that involves participation through formal paths of family implication in the school settings, in other words, AMPA (parent association) and CE (School Council) has been the worst evaluated. Specifically, the mean punctuation given by Spanish families is under the category of low and medium-low and from immigrant families is under the category of low. The studies (Baráibar, 2005; Bueno & Belda, 2005; Parra, García-Sanz, Gomariz and Hernández-Prados, 2014) confirm the differences presented between families of none Spanish nationality and native families, in regards to their implication in the AMPA (parents association) and School Council, even this implication is scarce, generally from all families. Taking into account the high feeling of belonging shown, from both types of families, it is considered relevant to take this as a starting point (closeness to the setting, to feel the setting as something belonging to one…), in order to direct intervention proposals that could promote a higher implication, in activities of the setting as well as activities promoted by the AMPA (parents association) and the CE (School Council). To conclude, it should be noted, that despite immigrant families presenting a high feeling of belonging and direct implication in educational aspects from home, we agree with Raleigh & Kao (2010), in the lack of familiarity with optimal methods to move through the educational system of the host country and to be able to participate in other dimensions linked to the management of the school setting. Therefore there is a need to deal with these features from the welcoming/hosting prospective, associations and of course from the training that will prepare families to assume parental responsibility, from the family home as well as from a bigger opening to the community. This inclusive vision of education is linked to the feeling of responsibility, not only of known people but also of others, awakening a bigger solidarity linked to citizenship and global interdependence (Booth & Ainscow, 2012). Therefore, for this aim, it is considered an example of good praxis, “learning communities”, in which teachers, pupils and families are integrated and in its foundation prevails as pedagogical principle; quality, equality and cooperation. References Baráibar, J.M. (2005). Inmigració n, familias y escuela en educació n infantil. Madrid: Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia–Catarata. Battistich, V. & Hom, A. (1997). The relationship between students’ sense of their school as a community and their involvement in problem behaviors. American Journal of Public Health, 87, 1997–2001. DOI:10.2105/AJPH.87.12.1997. Bolívar, A. (2009). Presentación. Escuela, monográfico octubre, 3.

Mª Ángeles Hernández-Prados et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 237 (2017) 157 – 163 Booth, T. & Ainscow, M. (2012). Guía para la inclusión educativa: desarrollando el aprendizaje y la participación en las escuelas. Santiago de Chile: CSIE-Fundación Creando Futuro. Bueno, J.R. & Belda, J.F. (2005). Familias inmigrantes en la escuela. Discursos de los agentes educativos. Valencia: Universidad de Valencia. Camacho, D. E. & Fuligni, A. J. (2014). Extracurricular participation among adolescents from immigrant families. Journal of youth and adolescence, 44(6), 1251-1262. Castro, M., Expósito, E., Lizasoain, L., López, E. & Navarro, E. (2014). Participación familiar y rendimiento académio. Una síntesis metaanalítica. En Consejo Escolar del Estado (Coord.), La participación de las familias en la educación escolar (pp. 83-105). Madrid: Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. Consejo Escolar del Estado (2014). La participación de las familias en la educación escolar. Madrid: Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. DeVellis, R.F. (2003). Scale development: Theory and applications (2ª ed.), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Dotterer, A. M. & Lowe, K. (2015). Perceived discrimination, parenting, and academic adjustment among racial/ethnic minority adolescents. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 41, 71-77. Epstein, J. L. (2011). School, Family and Community Partnerships. Preparing Educators and Improving Schools. Philadelphia: Westview Press. Etxeberria, F., Intxausti, N. & Joaristi, L. (2013). Factors Favouring the Educational Involvement of Immigrant Families with Children in Primary Education. Revista de Psicodidáctica, 18(1), 109-135. DOI: 10.1387/RevPsicodidact.5684 Fuligni, A.J. (1997). The academic achievement of adolescents from immigrant families: the roles of family background, attitudes, and behavior, Child Development, 68(2), 351 /63. González, R. & Padilla, A.M. (1997). The academic resilience of Mexican American high school students. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 19, 301–317. DOI:10.1177/073998639701 93004. González Falcón, I. (2007). La participación de las familias inmigrantes en la escuela: necesidades de orientación y formación. XXI-Revista de Educación, 9, 155-165. Hernández-Prados, M.A., Gomariz, M.A Parra, J. & García Sanz, M.P. (2015). El sentimiento de pertenencia en la relación entre familia y escuela. Participación Educativa, 4(7), 49-58. Disponible en: http://www.mecd.gob.es/cee/publicaciones/revista-participacion-educativa/Sumario_N7.html Karoly, L.A. & González, G.C. (2011). Early care and education for children in immigrant families. The Future of Children, 21(1), 71-101. Kirk, C.M., Lewis, R.K., Nilsen, C. & Colvin, D.Q. (2011). The role of parent expectations on adolescent educational aspirations. Educational Studies, 37, 89-99. Lee, J. & Bowen, N. (2006). Parent involvement, cultural capital, and the achievement gap among elementary school children. American Educational Research Journal 43(2), 193-218. Lozano, J., Alcaraz, S. & Colás, M.P. (2013). Los centros educativos multiculturales y sus relaciones con las familias: el caso de la región de Murcia. Educación XX1, 16(1), 210-232. Parra, J., García-Sanz, M.P., Gomariz, M.A., y Hernández-Prados, M.A. (2014). Perfiles de participación de las familias españolas en los centros educativos. En Consejo Escolar del Estado (Coord.), La participación de las familias en la educación escolar (pp. 127-148). Madrid: Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. Raleigh, E. & Kao, G. (2010). Do immigrant minority parents have more consistent college aspirations for their children? Social Science Quarterly, 91, 1083-1102. Ryan, C.S., Casas, J.F., KellyǦVance, L., Ryalls, B.O. & Nero, C. (2010). Parent involvement and views of school success: the role of parents' Latino and White American cultural orientations. Psychology in the Schools, 47(4), 391-405. Siegel, S. (1990). Estadística no paramétrica aplicada a las Ciencias de la Conducta. México: Trillas. Suárez, N., Fernández, E., Cerezo, R., Rodríguez, C., Rosário, P. & Núñez, J.C. (2012). Tareas para casa, implicación familiar y rendimiento académico. Aula Abierta, 40(1), 73-84. Santos Guerra, M.A. & De la Rosa Moreno, L. (2016). La participación de las familias de alumnos y alumnas inmigrantes en las instituciones educativas. Revista internacional de formação de professores, 1(1), 101-120. Stewart, B. (2008). School structural characteristics, student effort, peer associations, and parental involvement. The influence of school and individual level factors on academic achievement. Education and Urban society, 40, 179-204.

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