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Description
Parental involvement in schools has been shown to positively impact a student's attitude and academic performance. Children of recent migrants to the U.S. tend to experience the least amount of parental integration into their school life for a variety of reasons. Most research points to language barriers, cultural differences in adult participation in children's school life, and conflicts with work schedules as the primary reasons. These issues indicate that an improved method of communicating, as well as mitigating the need to physically come to campus, should form the focus on outreach campaigns intended to integrate immigrant parents. Recent innovations in technology have allowed schools to use various forms of social media to bridge the communication gap, but little has been written about its successes and limitations. My study offers contrasting observations between a traditional elementary school in the San Diego Unified School District and a bilingual charter school in the greater San Diego area. I employed participant-observation at two schools, along with open-ended surveys, in-depth interviews, and an analysis of bilingual education literature. My research participants (N=25) consisted of teachers (N=7), parents (N=13), and students (N=5). The objectives of my research were: (1) to assess the effects of language barriers between immigrant parents and teachers at two elementary schools in the San Diego area; (2) to establish an initial discussion on the impact that school-based social networking sites may have in closing the gap on parental involvement among immigrant parents and their children's schools; and (3) to investigate the influence of the role of language or cultural broker on the subjectivity of fourth grade students. In working with immigrant parents and bicultural students, I employed the paradigm of subjectivity to uncover the particular sentiments of parents, youth, and teachers as they navigate the technological, cultural and linguistic barriers and how these sentiments frame broader interactions. My thesis project contributes to research on the effects of bilingual education on a child's elementary school life, children's negotiation of an adult role (interpreter) at a young age, and evaluates the use of academic networking sites for bridging communication between immigrant parents and teachers.
