Date of Award
Fall 2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
College
College of Education
Department
Department of Education
Primary Advisor
Dr. Joyce T. Harth
Second Advisor
Dr. Thomas J. Gollery
Third Advisor
Dr. Sarah J. Yates
Abstract
Empirical research on family-school partnerships highlights family engagement as a motivating force for educational success. However, the concept of family engagement is an obstacle as the notion of family-school partnerships differs amongst stakeholders. Mutual understanding of the beliefs sustaining family engagement is fundamental to building effective partnerships between educators, families, and the community. The quantitative, non-experimental study aimed to evaluate the cultural and linguistic factors that may influence parental engagement among culturally and linguistically diverse families, especially those of Haitian descent. The findings demonstrated that the study’s demographic identifier variables, such as primary language, child birthplace, parent birthplace, relationship to the child, educational setting, participant gender, child gender, and state of the child’s school, did not exert any effect upon the perceptions of family engagement. Perceptions of family efficacy were statistically significantly predictive of perceptions of family engagement. However, perceptions of school fit did not substantially affect perceptions of family engagement. Simple slopes analysis was conducted to explore further the effect of school fit on the relationship between family efficacy and family engagement. The simple slopes analysis indicates that as perceptions of school fit increase, the relationship between perceptions of family efficacy and family engagement strengthens. The interaction between family efficacy and grit was non-statistically significant, indicating that perceptions of grit do not moderate the relationship between perceptions of family efficacy and family engagement. Leveraging the linguistic and cultural capital of families of Haitian descent will lead to positive outcomes rooted in asset-based approaches and the dual capacity-building framework.
Recommended Citation
Petit Frere, Jeptha V., "AN EVALUATION OF PARENT ENGAGEMENT AMONGST CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE FAMILIES OF HAITIAN DESCENT" (2023). Doctor of Education (Ed.D). 166.
https://firescholars.seu.edu/coe/166
Supplemental Files
Included in
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