ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on how parents engage with educators and schools and vice versa. The chapter begins by discussing differing conceptions of parental involvement and engagement; school, family, and community partnerships; and community change. Next, school officials’ and parents’ views of barriers to engaging in schools are considered. The following section on improving home-school engagement focuses on language use, social class, cultural respect, and invitations from school. Throughout the chapter, issues of diversity and deficit viewpoints of families are discussed, and recommendations for family self-advocacy in future practices with schools or educational institutions are shared.
