Fostering the Home-School Connection in Middle School Years YiLin Lee
The ecological systems theory posits that different environmental contexts play a significant role in children’s development (Bronfenbrenner, 1986). One of these environments, the mesosystem, encompasses the interactions between different figures in a child’s life, such as parents and teachers (Bronfenbrenner, 1986). The home-school connection emphasizes a collaboration between two prominent contexts in a student’s life: the school and the home (Bronfenbrenner, 1986; Hill & Tyson, 2009; Martin & Hagan-Burke, 2002). Utilizing the ecological systems framework, a strong relationship between the school environment (e.g., teachers and administration) and the home context (e.g., parents and caregivers) should greatly support children’s development (Bronfenbrenner, 1986; Hill & Tyson, 2009; Martin & Hagan-Burke, 2002). Current literature examines the relation between families and schools as a factor in supporting students’ academic abilities (Adams & Christenson, 2000; Boonk, Gijselaers, Ritzen, & Brand-Gruwel, 2018; Hill & Tyson, 2009). Specifically, the home-school connection is the degree to which schools and families take on the joint responsibility of fostering open communication, cooperation, and collaboration for the purpose of supporting students’ development (Adams & Christenson, 2000; Grolnick, Benjet, Kurowski, & Apostoleris, 1997; Kohl, Lengua, & McMahon, 2000; Young, Austin, & Growe, 2013). A strong home-school connection is associated with increased GPA, student attendance, and positive attitudes towards school (Gutman & Midgley, 2000; Hill & Tyson, 2009). Parents who are in constant communication with teachers are believed to promote academic success through the creation and supervision of expectations of academic achievement in both the school and home contexts (Broussard, 2003; Hill & Tyson, 2009). The collaboration between teachers and parents creates consistent expectations for the student’s educational development across contexts, ensuring that both adult figures support a common goal (Knopf & Swick, 2008; Kohl et al., 2000). In fact, research has found that parents are more likely to participate in their child’s education if they see themselves as one of their child’s teachers, and not just as a parent (Adams & Christenson, 2000; Grolnick et al., 1997). While teachers are responsible for supporting academic material in the formal school context, it is important that parents also take on an active role in supplementing children’s course material throughout the home (Adams & Christenson, 2000; Grolnick et al., 1997; Kohl et al., 2000). Fostering the home-school connection builds more trust in the relationship between parents and school officials through frequent and consistent communication about the student’s progress and family’s goals for education, an open
effort for cultural competence, and increased opportunities for parents to be actively involved in the learning environment (Knopf & Swick, 2008; Lareau, 1987; Martin & Hagen-Burke, 2002). However, in current research, parent participation is measured through the amount of time spent at school events (e.g., parent-teacher conferences, parent-teacher association meetings) or facilitating at-home conversations related to the school curriculum (Hill & Tyson, 2009; Knopf & Swick, 2008; Lareau, 1987). This operationalization of the home-school connection places the role of fostering the relation on parents, often disregarding parent circumstances that could inhibit involvement in their child’s academics. Students with highly involved parents are more likely to develop educational aspirations, but it is typically high-income parents who are more likely to be involved in their child’s academic progress, due to parental education level or access to resources (e.g., books; Adams & Christenson, 2000; Barber & Olsen, 2004; Hill & Tyson, 2009). Low-income minority parents, in comparison, are found to strongly value involvement in students’ learning, but are less likely to be directly involved in the school setting due to feelings of inadequacy with regards to supporting their child’s academic development (Boonk et al., 2018; Drummond & Stipek, 2004). Yet low-income minority parents have higher academic expectations for their children compared to other socioeconomic classes, thus fostering more educational aspirations in their children outside the school environment (Berzin, 2010; Mello, 2009). Furthermore, minority parents have strong beliefs in the utility of education, and see education as a means for economic mobility (Fuligni & Hardway, 2004; Strand & Winstron, 2008). The gap between low-income minority parents’ beliefs about the importance of education and their presumed lack of involvement in the home-school connection must be bridged. The home-school connection for low-income minority parents should also take into account the interactions between parents and children within the home context, rather than simply the school environment. Although the home-school connection is believed to be influential on children’s development, research is typically focused on early childhood education and does not address the middle school years; however the home-school connection is still influential during the early adolescent period (Adams & Christenson, 2000; Broussard, 2003; Grolnick et al., 1997; Gutman & Midgley, 2000; Jeynes, 2007). The middle school years are characterized by rapid biological, social, and cognitive development as students experience the onset of puberty, undergo changes in relationships with parents, teachers, and peers, and advance their skills in problem-solving and selfResearch Article | 27
