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Abstract

Focusing on a group of international parents who came to the United States as visiting scholars, graduate students, or their partners, this qualitative study delineates the nature of their experiences as they navigated learning about parental involvement in a U.S. school. Despite the parents’ extensive formal schooling in their home countries, they still experienced parental involvement as a process of adaptation to and discovery of expectations and permitted forms of involvement in the United States. They often learned of opportunities informally through contact with other parents. The school personnel with whom they engaged were critical in supporting their adjustment to the new school system, and the language and professional skills they brought with them also influenced how they interacted with school personnel. Our findings call schools to make intentional efforts to be culturally and linguistically responsive through informing and involving parents who are unfamiliar with U.S. schooling rather than leaving them to find their own way.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5422/jmer.2022-2023.v12.57-82

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