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The nature of interactions between Chinese immigrant families and preschool staff: How culture, class, and methodology matter
Citation
Heng, T. T. (2014). The nature of interactions between Chinese immigrant families and preschool staff: How culture, class, and methodology matter. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 12(2), 111-127. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X13515423
Abstract
While the parental-involvement field has progressed from asking what the impact of parental involvement is to how we can better involve parents, research has lagged in finding out how sociocultural and class differentials between homes and schools affect immigrant families’ interactions with schools. This case study uses ethnographic tools to examine the nature of interactions between 11 Chinese immigrant families and staff at a low-income preschool. Interview, participant observation, and textual data revealed that the nature in which staff interacted with parents was didactic and one-directional and depended upon parents’ economic-cultural-linguistic capital. Sociocultural differences between staff and parents complicated the interaction, and parental resistance was often misinterpreted. These findings are discussed in light of methodological issues in research as well as how to avoid letting stereotypes, and sociocultural and class differences, hamper the establishment of successful partnerships between schools and immigrant families.
Publisher
Sage
Journal
Journal of Early Childhood Research
DOI
10.1177/1476718X13515423
Description
This is the final draft, after peer-review, of a manuscript published in Journal of Early Childhood Research. The published version is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1476718X13515423