The Hidden Perspective of Family Engagement: School Beliefs and In-Home Practices of Parents and Caregivers in an Urban High School

Problem: Few factors are as important to student success as family engagement in the educational process. One overarching barrier to perceived parental/caregiver involvement in urban high schools is the use of traditional definitions of family involvement, which are still espoused by school personnel, that place an emphasis on one-way school-based communication and events. Method: This quantitative study surveyed 39 caregivers in a lower SES, predominantly African American urban high school to discover these caregivers’ beliefs and in-home practices regarding family engagement at the high school level. Results: Findings suggest that the majority of these caregivers regularly engage in various at-home activities in their student’s education. Conclusions: These results demonstrate the importance of schools reexamining their definitions of family engagement and co-creating unique ways to discover and incorporate caregivers’ beliefs and in-home practices into urban schools.