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##  Hispanic Parental Involvement in Home Literacy. ERIC Digest D158.            

People of Hispanic origin represent one of the largest minority                 groups in the United States. For Hispanic students, success in                  school is a complex process, dependent on both the actions of                   parents and teachers separately and also on their                               interactions (Paratore et al. 1999). 
The purpose of this digest is            to provide an overview of: 
(1) problems Hispanic parents encounter            as they become involved in their children's literacy                            development, 
(2) programs that help Hispanic parents become more              effective partners with their children and their children's                     school, 
(3) resources that provide useful information for parents,            teachers and administrators. PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY HISPANIC                 PARENTSHispanic parents are frequently unaware of practices                 essential to helping their children develop academic skills. They               may be confused about what the school expects from their children               and feel uncertain about how to help their children. Several recent             studies address the effects of cultural differences, parents' lack              of self-esteem, and a host of misconceptions, discussed below. 
Low            Self-esteem 
Recent studies by Hughes et al. (1999), Kelty (1997),             and Paratore (1999) explore reasons why some Hispanic parents are               hindered by low self-esteem. They found that some parents have been             unsuccessful in school, and therefore the entire school experience              causes anxiety. Some feel that because of the language barrier, they            are powerless to make a difference in their children's education.               And some view teachers as the experts and do not feel comfortable               questioning them. 
Culture Shock 
The process of acculturation,               internalizing a host culture's identity, is more acute for some                 immigrants than others. Lambourne and Zinn (1993) found immigrant               families may go through psychological adaptations such as culture               shock as they encounter a new culture. Kelty (1997) found that                  because the Hispanic culture emphasizes obedience and respect for               adult authority, many parents are more likely to communicate with               their children in a direct style than to engage their curiosity by              talking with them and reading to them. Consequently, the parents                fail to lay a strong foundation for building academic                           skills. 
Misconceptions 
Although it is true that culture shock               and low self-esteem play an important part in understanding the                 problems Hispanic parents face, the literature suggest that many                other factors are also at work.  Moles (1993) reported that in a                recent national survey of teachers, Hispanic parents' lack of                   interest and support was the most frequently cited educational                  problem.  However, according to Snow (1991) "...even children with              nurturing home literacy environments did poorly in reading if school            practices were inadequate." 
Paratore et al. (1999) found evidence             suggesting that despite limited English proficiency, low levels of              education, and few economic resources, when parents were provided               opportunities to learn from and collaborate with teachers, all were             willing and able to do so consistently and effectively. Yet in some             cases children still failed. 
Kelty (1997) found evidence that                 Spanish speaking parents are comfortable with parent conferences,               interactive workshops and, to an extent, home visits. These findings            contradict previous research indicating that parent involvement                 programs do not reach Hispanic parents. 
Moreno and Lopez (1999)               found the relationship between acculturation level and personal,                contextual, and involvement factors to be complex. They found that              although less acculturated Hispanic parents reported less knowledge             about school activities and more barriers to involvement, they had              high levels of perceived efficacy relevant to parent involvement,               educational expectations and spousal support. 
The study by                    Paratore et al. (1999), conducted in conjunction with their                     Intergenerational Literacy Project, found that in all the Latino                families studied, the practice of family literacy was in an                     important and integral part of family life long before parents                  joined the project. These researchers concluded that "...looking to             family literacy interventions as the primary solution to the                    problems of school failure for many Latino children is to dismiss               the complexity of challenges they face both inside and outside of               school." EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS THAT HAVE HELPED HISPANIC                         PARENTSTwo ESL teachers looked at parent involvement and culture            traits of Hispanics to better incorporate Hispanic families into the            school system. The project helped teachers realize that cultural                differences effect the ways in which students and parents react to              the school system. (Rodgers and Lyon 1999) 
Short (1998) reports               that eighteen states, most with high rates of immigration, have                 developed Newcomer Programs for students who are recent arrivals to             the U.S. and have limited English proficiency. Forty three percent              of the programs offer classes to orient parents to the United States            and 63% offer adults ESL classes either through the program or the              school district. 
Parents of prekindergarten students in one public            school in Texas received instructions in developing a portfolio of              their child's literacy development which reflected literacy behavior            at home. The parent/child workshop offers parents specific ways to              help their children at home and allows parents to be active                     participants in their children's education. (Williams and Lundsteen             1997) 
The Intergenerational Literacy Project began in 1993 and is             now in its sixth year. This project is one component of a                       partnership between a local university and an urban community where             the majority of families are new immigrants to the United States.               The project has three goals: 
(1) to provide opportunities for                 adults to read and respond to literacy materials of personal                    interest; 
(2) to provide a selection of books, strategies and                 ideas for adults to share with their children in order to support               their literacy learning; 
(3) to provide a forum through which                 adults can share their family literacy experiences. (Paratore et al.            1999) 
Project FLAME (Family Literacy: Apprendiendo, Mejorando,                Educando [Learning, Improving, Educating]) is a family literacy                 program developed in 1989 by Rodriguez-Brown and Shanahan to train              parents in different strategies to help their children's literacy               learning at home. The objectives of this program are to (1) increase            the ability of Hispanic parents to provide literacy opportunities               for their children; (2) increase parents' ability to act as positive            role models; (3) improve the Hispanic parents' skills so that they              can more effectively initiate, encourage, support, and extend their             children's literacy learning, and (4) increase and improve                      relationships between Hispanic families and the                                 schools. (Rodriguez-Brown et al. 1999) 
AVANCE is a preschool                  parenting program in San Antonio that incorporates family culture to            achieve significant success with recent and second-generation                   Mexican-immigrant families. The program targets low-income mothers              with young children. Infants and toddlers accompany their mothers to            the program and are placed in day care that provides developmental              and educational activities. (Romo 1999) INFORMATION RESOURCES FOR             PARENTS, TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS"Home Literacy Activities:              Perceptions and Practices of Hispanic Parents of Children with                  Learning Disabilities" (Hughes et al. 1999) investigated Hispanic               parents' perceptions and practices with respect to home reading                 activities. Parents in this study reported using a wide variety of              reading activities on a regular basis, but experienced frustration              in helping their children at home. 
"Involving Hispanic Parents in             Improving Educational Opportunities for Their Children" (Sosa 1996)             discusses logistical barriers such as time, money, safety and child             care; attitudinal barriers such as disagreements, dissatisfaction               and communication problems; and expectations barriers as forces                 which hinder involvement of migrant/immigrant parents. This study               provides alternative ways to involve these parents as well as                   strategies to cultivate more successful experiences. 
"Exploring               Home-School Connections: A Family Literacy Perspective on Improving             Urban Schools" (Nistler and Maiers 1999) contributes an                         understanding of what constitutes family literacy and discusses                 family literacy programs in terms of three very distinct categories             of approaches: Parent Involvement Programs, Intergenerational                   Programs, and Research on Naturally Occurring Family Literacy                   programs. 
"An Examination of Hispanic Parent Involvement in Early             Childhood Programs" (Kelty 1997) developed a bilingual survey to                register the feelings of parents toward involvement in their                    children's preschool and kindergarten and to determine the unique               needs of parents during interactions with the schools. The survey               was tested with 50 parents, and the results were tabulated to                   determine differences between the feelings of Hispanic and                      non-Hispanic parents. 
"Latina Mothers' Involvement in their                   Children's Schooling: The Role of Maternal Education and                        Acculturation" (Moreno and Lopez 1999) investigated the influence of            language proficiency and family socio-economic status on Latina                 mothers' involvement in their children's schooling. This study                  specifically investigated the influence of sociocultural factors                on (1) personal and psychological factors, (2) contextual factors,              and (3) levels of involvement. REFERENCESHughes, M. T. Schumm,            J.S., Vaughn, S. (1999). Home literacy activities: perceptions and              practices of Hispanic parents of children with learning                         disabilities. In Learning Disabilities Quarterly 22 (3),                        224-35. 
Kelty, J. M. (1997). "An examination of Hispanic parent               involvement in early childhood programs". 
Lambourne, K., and Zinn,            M. B. (1993). "Education, Race, and Family: Issues for the 1990s".              East Lansing, MI: Julian Samora Research Institute, Michigan State              University 
Moles, O.C. (1993) Collaboration between schools and               disadvantaged parents. In.F. Chavkin (Ed.), "Families and schools in            a pluralistic society" (pp. 21-53). Albany, NY: State University of             New York Press. 
Moreno, R. P. and Lopez, J. A. (l999). Latina                 mothers' involvement in their children's schooling: The role of                 maternal education and acculturation. Julian Samora Research                    Institute. Working Paper                                                        Series. 
http://jsri.msu.edu/RandS/research/wps/wp44.html 
Nistler,           R.J. and Maiers, A. (1999). Exploring home-school connections: A                family literacy perspective on improving urban schools. In Education            and Urban Society, 32 (1) 2-17. 
Paratore, J.B., Melzi, G., &                  Krol-Sinclair, B. (1999). What should we expect of family literacy?             Experiences of Latino children whose parents participated in an                 Intergenerational Literacy Project. 
Rodgers, J., and Lyon,                    L. (1999). Hispanic families in our school: knowing the roots of our            growing branches. 
Rodriguez-Brown, F.V., Li,-Ran-Fen, Albom,                  J.B. (1999). Hispanic parents' awareness and use of literacy-rich               environments at home and in the community. In Education and Urban               Society, 32 (1) 41-58. 
Romo, H. (1999). Reaching out: best                    practices for educating Mexican-origin children and youth. ERIC                 Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools, Charleston,                 WV. 
Short, D.J. (1998). Secondary newcomer program: helping recent            immigrants prepare for school success. ERIC Clearinghouse on                    Language and Linguistics: Center for Applied                                    Linguistics 
http://aelvis.ael.org/eric/digests/edofl986.htm 
Snow,           C.E., Barnes, W.S., Chandler, J., Goodman, I.R., & Hemphill,                    L. (1991) "Unfulfilled expectations: Home and school influences on              literacy". Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 
Sosa,                     A.S. (1996) Involving Hispanic parents in improving educational                 opportunities for their children. The University of Texas at San                Antonio 
http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/pathways/newimmigrant/parents.htm             
Williams, P., and Lundsteen, S.W. (1997). Home literacy                       portfolios: cooperative tools for assessing parents' involvement in             their prekindergarten child's literacy development. 
Digest #158 is            EDO-CS-00-09 and was published in November 2000 by the ERIC                     Clearinghouse on Reading, English and Communication, 2805 E 10th                Street, Bloomington, IN 47408-2698, Telephone (812) 855-5847                    or (800) 759-4723. ERIC Digests are in the public domain and may be             freely reproduced. Additional copies may be ordered by contacting               the ERIC Document Reproduction Service at (800) 443-3742. 
This                project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the            U.S. Department of Education under contract number ED-99-CO-0028.               The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the                views or policies of the U.S. Department of Education nor does                  mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply             endorsement by the U.S. Government.                                          **Title:** Hispanic Parental Involvement in Home Literacy. ERIC Digest D158.            **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication, Indiana              University, 2805 E. 10th Street, Suite 140, Bloomington, IN                     47408-2698. Tel: 800-759-4723 (Toll Free); Web site:                            http://eric.indiana.edu.                                                     **Descriptors:** Elementary Secondary Education,  Hispanic Americans, Limited English            Speaking,  Parent Participation,  Parent School Relationship,                    Parent Student Relationship, Program Descriptions, Resource                    Materials                                                                    **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests                                                                 
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