9.5 Challenges and Barriers to Connecting with Families
9.5 Challenges and Barriers to Connecting with Families
Ardene Niemer, M.Ed.
Identifying Barriers
There are many benefits that are gained for a family and child when the family is engaged and connected with the teacher and/or the school. At the same time, we also know that there are barriers to family engagement, and many parents cannot or do not become engaged or connected in their child’s schooling experiences. These barriers can be on the part of the school or the family.
Some barriers result from limited resources but can also stem from the beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes of families and school staff. Some common examples stem from a lack of teacher time because of other responsibilities and teachers seeing family engagement as just another task to complete (Baker et al., 2016). There are also teachers who do not understand or seek to understand a parent’s communication style or work to build those relationships. This mismatch may be the result of cultural or language differences, teachers’ misperceptions of the parents’ abilities, limited family resources such as time or lack of transportation, parents’ lack of comfort, and not feeling welcome at school. Some parents may have had negative school experiences that cloud their ability to make positive connections, or they may be unfamiliar with American culture and expectations around family engagement in schools. There also may be a belief from families that teachers only connect with “bad news.” This one-way communication system does not allow for opportunities to share information.
Teacher Perspective
From the teacher’s perspective, some teachers may not feel respected by a parent or may feel that a family has challenged their authority or questioned decisions (Arce, 2019). Mobility in urban areas can also challenge connections due to the more frequent movement of families. Finally, many families may simply not see the value of being engaged with their child’s education and do not believe they could have any meaningful role in their child’s schooling.
Each one of these barriers can be mediated through building an invested interest on both sides, clear and intentional communication, relationship development, and an attitude of partnership. There are barriers, however, that present a more complicated challenge. It is important to begin thinking about building a collection of resources or a resource file that you can offer to families when barriers are identified and/or disclosed. It is important to learn about safety and structure for children and families and how to offer nonjudgmental support.
Challenges to Making Connections
Parents and teachers benefit when families are involved in their child’s education. However, there are barriers that prevent this. These barriers include limited resources, time constraints, cultural and language differences, and negative past experiences, and more. There is a template for a resource list at the end of this text.
- Dysregulated children and/or dysre