rich home environments, and reading at home makes for better readers at
Similarly, the level of verbal interaction affects how well young children
develop thinking skills. Young mothers who dropped out of school, or have not
experienced a stimulating workplace, may lack the skills to use language
elaborately with their children. Sigel (1991) finds that when parents use
low-level or authoritative oral strategies with preschool children, the children
perform poorly on tasks requiring memory or problem-solving. A low-level
question would be: "What color is the shoe?" A high-level one would be: "Are
there other ways you might draw the house?"
DIFFERENT VIEWS OF YOUNG FAMILIES
Most of the research and
program efforts reflect these "deficit" perceptions of children from families in
poverty and attribute the inadequate preparation of young children for school to
economic status, racial/ethnic conditioning, single parenthood, or dysfunctional
There is, however, another view contending that none of the research so far
really describes the process by which parents prepare their children for school
and, further, that it perpetuates stereotypes of particular groups (Iglesias,
1992). Even the most poverty-stricken families or those with very poor literacy
skills have been good early teachers for their children (Clark, 1989). They set
aside time for learning, make opportunities for a lot of family discussion, and
go together with their children to outside resources, such as libraries. Clark
calls this "quality of family life style."
Similarly, Scott-Jones (1987) found that low-income, minority parents who
want to help their children with home learning in the early grades, and do so,
have varying skills. Such differences are one of the reasons why Iglesias (1992)
argues that parenting and parent involvement programs should be tailored to the
individual needs of each family instead of forcing every family to fit into a
single type of program. "It is essential," he says, "that we begin asking
families what they want, rather than providing them only those services which
are immediately at our disposal."
Several recent studies contend that parent involvement in schools suffers
because educators do not understand different family cultures or even the
circumstances that make parenting difficult for poor families. They describe
situations where it is not lack of parental interest in the education of their
children that causes poor communication with the schools, as many educators
believe, but, rather, parental feelings of alienation from the schools.
In Appalachia, for example, the Education Writers Association (1992) notes
that school failure by mothers over several generations leads again and again to
early pregnancies, dropping out, and extreme difficulties in re-entering the
education system. These mothers and others interviewed for this report generally
felt ignored or misunderstood by the schools because of their poverty and/or
lack of English proficiency. The interviews were with populations of young
families--inner-city African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and rural
Appalachians. Garlington (1991) found similar attitudes in a project with
inner-city Baltimore families whose children were in the middle grades. She
dismisses the stereotype of parents who do not care about their children's
schooling, pointing out that when they have the confidence to become advocates
for their children, the parents no longer feel "invisible, voiceless, and
The myriad of ways schools attempt to
encourage parent involvement and fulfill their responsibilities to parents is
described in five types by Epstein (1992). These are:
Basic obligations of families: Positive home conditions that support learning
are a responsibility of families; schools help families become informed and
skillful at understanding their children and supporting their learning at home
through various activities such as parent training and information giving.
Basic obligations of schools: Schools are responsible for communicating with
families about school programs and children's progres