Abstract
Disruption through Concientización introduces a framework for Latinx family engagement, VERDAD: (1) Valor, (2) Engagement, (3) Respeto, (4) Disruption, (5) Action, and (6) Deber. The VERDAD lens provides a transformative way for examining and understanding the experiences of trauma and healing for Latinx families in schools. Disruption through Concientización draws on the previous work of pedagogy of the puppet, which exposed the deficit ways Latino and refugee families have been positioned in marginalized ways regarding their engagement in schools. Drawing on ethnographic methods, the authors unpack the disconnect these families experience in schools by reflecting on 1) Concientización and the colonization of families in schools, 2) humanizing and validating trauma, and 3) by being spirit warriors Saliendo de la invisibilidad. Their experiences reveal the VERDAD that occurs in the lives of Latinx families in schools.
TopIntroduction
In the United States and across the world, scholars and governments are taking a closer look at family engagement strategies. As student success has always been the focal point, families have been left behind. More funding has been provided for school districts to serve students and their families. However, engagement practices have not changed very much. For the most part, many schools are still old traditional “tourist” approaches to engaging families (Machado-Casas, 2014; Machado-Casas & Alaniz, 2015). However, research has continued to prove that these traditional practices don't work even though these practices are still utilized in schools across the United States. In this article, we expose some of the issues related to the way family involvement is approached from the families themselves, and the ways they are made feel in the process. We also address failed practices that continue to manipulate families in this process (Machado-Casas, 2009; 2012; 2015). Furthermore, we argue for the use of the term parental engagement as a counter-narrative to deficit definitions of parent involvement by centering on sociocultural knowledge of Latin@ families. By further developing an understanding of Latin@ needs within schools, we review culturally relevant information, opportunities for academic training for parents, and how to implement spaces for social networks for parents to become actively engaged in schools in order to have access to equal educational opportunities for their children and themselves.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Family Engagement: Generally understood as a teamwork approach to the children’s educational success.
Pedagogies of Puppetry: Recognizes the cultural and educational constraints teachers may face when partnering with Latino families and look to move from deficit perception views that define parent involvement as inadequate, non-existent, or lacking and in need of change.
CUPE (Comunidades Unidas Para la Educacion/Communities United for Education): As the group was serving the needs not only of Latinx families but also African American, Refugee, families, among others. CUPE is a community-based organization formed to meet the educational needs of cultural and linguistic minorities in the US.
VERDAD Framework: Framework incorporating (1) Valor , (2) Engagement, (3) Respeto , (4) Disruption, (5) Action, and (6) Deber .
Concientización: Critical consciousness is defined as “as the ability to intervene in reality in order to change it” (Freire, 1970).