Understanding the Challenges to Parent Engagement in Cumberland County Schools
Lawhorn, Jeremy
:
2021-08-14
Abstract
This study used the Ecologies of Parent Engagement (EPE) framework to explore some of the current challenges faced by the Cumberland County School system regarding parent engagement. Consistent with many previous studies, this study found multiple barriers for parents, especially from lower socio-economic groups, that play a role in preventing parent engagement. This study also found that issues such as structural development and historical race relations contribute to the understanding of what is accepted as parent engagement which further exacerbates the existing barriers. Although this study found many barriers to parent engagement, it also highlights some ways of overcoming those barriers. Using the “funds of knowledge” concept, society can better understand how parents from diverse backgrounds can contribute to the learning process. The “communities of practice” framework provides a way of understanding how to better incorporate parents with barriers as well as those parents that have traditionally been left out.