Is the Feeling Mutual? Examining Parent-Teacher Relationships in Low-Income, Predominantly Latino Schools
Author ORCID Identifier
Rachel Fish: 0000-0002-5720-021X
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-1-2016
Publication Title
American Journal of Education
Abstract
Strong parent-teacher relationships are critical to students’ academic success. Mismatches in parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of each other may negatively affect children’s outcomes. Using survey data collected from parents and teachers in 52 low-income, predominantly Latino schools, we explore subgroup variation in parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of their relationship, and we examine the potential of a school-based family engagement program to shift these perceptions. We find notable misalignment in parents’ and teachers’ perceptions when parents are Spanish-dominant Latinos. We also find that a family engagement program improves parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of their relationship but does not eliminate the gap between teachers’ and Spanish-dominant Latino parents’ perceptions of one another.
Volume
123
Issue
1
First Page
37
Last Page
67
DOI
10.1086/688167
ISSN
01956744
Recommended Citation
Miller, Hannah; Valentine, Jessa Lewis; Fish, Rachel; and Robinson, Michelle, "Is the Feeling Mutual? Examining Parent-Teacher Relationships in Low-Income, Predominantly Latino Schools" (2016). Education and Child Study: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/edc_facpubs/33