The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
Educator Reflections: Using Mothers' Core Values to Guide Teaching and School Involvement Practice
Teacher Nieves Torres reflects on engaging immigrant Latina mothers.
I am a first generation Latina teacher, administrator, researcher, and mother of two grown children. I have had the good fortune of working with immigrant populations since 1971, when I was hired to be the first bilingual kindergarten teacher at Skinner Elementary in Brownsville, Texas. This border-town experience was my introduction to working with diverse families. My doctoral dissertation also focused on successful educational advocacy of a group of immigrant Latina women on behalf of their children. In all of these experiences, I have learned that immigrant Latinas yearn to provide a better life for their families and want their children to acquire a good education. Their understanding is that formal education offers an entrée into financial security that will, in turn, provide them with options to become actualized and contributing members of this society.
Based on my experiences, below I offer reflections on some of the core values about home life and community that were held by immigrant Latina mothers, as well as suggestions for how to extend these specific values to guide the structure and process of teaching and learning. I conclude with reflections on some core values about school participation, with some of the implications they may have for involvement practices.
Core Values About Home Life and Community
Orderly routines for children and families. The Latinas I worked with placed high value on maintaining household chores, homework assignments, appropriate sleeping habits, and positive interactions among family members. Teachers can create similar routines for student learning and parent interactions. For example, teachers may wish to hold meetings with parents every time a new unit is introduced to outline the unit's title, vocabulary words, math concepts, and social science discussions. Books, music, and videos that reinforce the thematic unit may be loaned out to families, community resources that enhance those units may be pointed out, and parents may be recruited to read, do crafts, or supervise on field trips. In charging parents with defined roles and responsibilities on a regular basis, teachers communicate to parents that they are needed and respected.
Persistence and follow through at home. The Latinas I worked with had high expectations for their children and were willing and committed to helping their children at home. However, they required specific information and role-playing opportunities to be able to follow through on teacher requests. For example, it is not enough to tell parents to read to children every night. Parents want to know which books to read, what questions and comments to make, and tactics that educators typically use when reading a book.
Traditional cultural practices. The Latinas I have worked with value cultural traditions surrounding native language, food, music, and customs. Mothers showed dedication, commitment, and hard work in reinforcing these practices. Teachers can solicit parents' help to identify such cultural traditions and celebrate them in the classroom-for example, by integrating them into the curriculum. Teachers can also frame their own classroom practices as traditions that they value and maintain based on their own personal, cultural, or professional experiences.
Positive feedback on parenting efforts. The women I came to know enjoyed receiving praise for a delicious meal from their husbands, parents, and children. They similarly appreciated when teachers noticed their parenting efforts. Teachers can show their appreciation by complimenting mothers on their children's grooming, good manners, knowledge, or any other admirable quality.
Courteous and respectful child behavior. Courtesy by children in the home was highly regarded among the women with whom I worked. Teachers can reinforce this value by praising their students and congratulating their students' parents for children's good behavior. Parents will be proud to hear that their child sets the tone for the other children in regard to behavior. These messages can be conveyed by positive notes, phone calls home, or other means.
Lifelong learning. The Latina mothers with whom I worked were interested in many forms of adult learning. Many of them had moved to this country in search of the opportunity to better their lives. They want to learn English, gain U.S. citizenship, and improve their parenting skills. Teachers and schools can inform parents about ESL classes, citizenship classes and legal assistance, family centers and parent advisory councils, and other opportunities for adult education in the school and community. Mothers also valued literacy skills not only for their children but also for themselves. They demonstrated this value, in part, by actively seeking out literacy training. Teachers can explain to parents the reading program and how it matches their child's mode of learning. They can also support parents' own literacy learning by offering books in parents' native language to read and discuss at parent meetings or book clubs or even invite parents to create their own storybooks about their migration to this country.
Resources in and around one's community. The Latinas with whom I worked wanted to learn about public facilities and learning opportunities for their children in the community, such as libraries, pools, community centers, and summer school. They also wanted information that would improve their child and family health, nutrition, and housing.
Core Values About School Participation
Membership in a group or learning community. The Latinas I have known wanted a sense that they belonged to a group. This group can include other parents as well as teachers, such that a learning community where all participants feel welcome, safe, and confident begins to emerge. Phone trees can connect parents with one another, with Spanish-speaking parents calling other Spanish-speaking parents. With a strong peer network parents can advocate, tutor, and cheer each other on to success. Parent–teacher connections can thrive when teachers call parents by their first names and vice versa. Classroom social events can build connections and strategic planning meetings can assist the development of a group with shared goals and action plans, especially when discussion and differing opinions are welcomed.
Accountability for those in authority. The Latinas I worked with felt that school board members, superintendents, directors, principals, and teachers should all be held accountable for their work. But parents need assistance in how to interact with those who make educational decisions that impact their child. For example, teachers can invite a school board member to a discussion at a parent meeting, making sure to enlist a translator for Spanish speakers. Similarly, parents will gladly uphold their responsibility to reinforce learning at home. However, in order to carry out these roles, parents need clear directives from teachers on what they can do to support their children's learning, how to do it, and in what time frame, followed by an opportunity to report their success and challenges. They also value receiving critical feedback about their involvement efforts and their child's progress. Latinas respect teachers highly and take their comments and validation quite seriously.
Volunteer work. The mothers with whom I worked wanted to feel useful in enhancing their children's knowledge. Many attended elementary schools in Mexico where an emphasis was placed on crafts. Therefore, one way to use their skills in the classroom was as project helpers, tutors, storytellers, and singers. Clear instructions to parents and a space for parent–student interactions can foster efficacy and communicate the value teachers place on volunteering. Even a warm smile for a greeting can help a volunteer parent feel welcome when they do not speak English.
Programs that offer children an educational edge. The Latinas I worked with learned to gather program information from and advocate on behalf of their children with the school district. Teachers can share information with parents about special programs that will give their children a good start in education, such as Head Start and Even Start, full-day prekindergarten, and dual language or bilingual programs. They can also actively advocate to help parents gain access these opportunities.
Leadership. The Latinas I met were often the best advocates for change in schools. These mothers seized leadership opportunities. Teachers can encourage this by moving into a participant role and inviting parents to take on facilitator roles in meetings. They can also acknowledge mothers who are “movers and shakers” in the community and capitalize on their knowledge to recruit other parents to become involved in school affairs.
As I reflect on my work with immigrant Latina families, I realize that it has transformed my teaching and my students' learning. My advice to educators is: Don't be afraid. Just go out there and jump in! In time, parents will come to know you and cherish you for your efforts to include and accommodate them and honor them as individuals. Armed with information, tools, and know-how, parents will work harder than anyone to support their children's educational goals.
Written by Nieves Torres, Ed.D., April 2007
Dr. Nieves Torres currently works at the University of New Mexico College of Education, where she directs the Family Literacy Program and the Plaza Comunitaria-an initiative that provides elementary and secondary certification to Mexican nationals and other Spanish-speaking educators.
Throughout her career, Dr. Torres has worked in a variety of educational arenas that center on bilingual, early childhood, and family issues. She was the first bilingual teacher in Brownsville, Texas, supervisor and consultant to the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory's (SEDL) National Follow Through Program, and director of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund's (MALDEF) Family Leadership Program in Albuquerque.