Parental involvement and family-school partnership in English education in a Christian Bilingual Primary School in Honduras

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Riika Pappinen

Parental Involvement and Family-School Partnership in English Education in a Christian Bilingual Primary School in Honduras

Parents and Teachers’ Perspectives

UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND Philosophical Faculty School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education Master’s Degree Programme in Early Language Education for Intercultural Communication Master’s Thesis in Education December 2019

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UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND – ITÄ-SUOMEN YLIOPISTO

Tiedekunta – Faculty Philosophical Faculty

Osasto – School

School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education Tekijät – Author

Riika Pappinen Työn nimi – Title

Parental Involvement and Family-School Partnership in English Education in a Christian Bilingual Primary School in Honduras Pääaine – Main subject

Education

Työn laji – Level

Päivämäärä – Date 8.12.2019

Sivumäärä – Number of pages

94 + 5 appendices

Pro gradu -tutkielma X

Sivuainetutkielma Kandidaatin tutkielma Aineopintojen tutkielma Tiivistelmä – Abstract

Parental involvement and building effective partnership between home and school is pivotal in education, as well as language education. This research took place in Honduras, in the context of a Christian bilingual primary school. It aimed to study the parents and teachers’ views, i.e. their experiences and hopes in relation with family–school partnership and parental involvement as well as how the teachers had supported the parents’ involvement in practice.

Both qualitative and quantitative type of data was collected. Six parents and six teachers were interviewed using the semi-structural interview method. 75 questionnaires were distributed among the families, of which 30,7% (N=23) were returned. Both the interviews and the open-response questions of the questionnaires were analyzed using qualitative (data-driven) content analysis.

The frequencies of the close-response questions were examined to elucidate the quantitative point of view of the phenomenon.

The results implicate that the parents had good experiences regarding the partnership with the teachers but did not necessarily feel qualified to develop it. They were motivated to be involved and aware of their children’s learning process but hoped to receive more information, tools and support from the teachers to be able to help their children with their education at home. Parents also felt that it was difficult for them to help their children with school-related activities when they did not have good English skills.

However, there were some strategies that they used to compensate this difficulty caused by the language barrier.

For the most part the teachers were happy with their relationship with the parents. They described several ways how they maintained a good partnership, but some teachers felt that language barrier could make communicating less efficient. The teachers appreciated the parents’ input and had seen their involvement make a great difference in the students’ learning. They identified various barriers which hindered the parents’ participation. They had supported the parents’ involvement by encouraging, giving English classes, giving advice and tips and teaching the parents to teach their children and making the teaching process more transparent. Running workshops and creating goals that the parents also could follow would further help with supporting the parents.

This research can help the school to identify its strengths in creating positive and constructive relations with the families of the community and foster them. It can also help them recognize the organizational areas or school practices that could be developed in order to further support the families’ efforts to be involved in their children’s English education.

Avainsanat – Keywords

Parental involvement, family-school partnership, English language education, bilingual school, Honduras

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TIIVISTELMÄ

UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND – ITÄ-SUOMEN YLIOPISTO

Tiedekunta – Faculty Filosofinen tiedekunta

Osasto – School

Soveltavan kasvatustieteen ja opettajankoulutuksen osasto Tekijät – Author

Riika Pappinen Työn nimi – Title

Parental Involvement and Family-School Partnership in English Education in a Christian Bilingual Primary School in Honduras Pääaine – Main subject

Kasvatustiede

Työn laji – Level

Päivämäärä – Date 8.12.2019

Sivumäärä – Number of pages

94 + 5 liitettä

Pro gradu -tutkielma X

Sivuainetutkielma Kandidaatin tutkielma Aineopintojen tutkielma Tiivistelmä – Abstract

Vanhempien osallisuus sekä toimiva kodin ja koulun välinen yhteistyö ovat ensisijaisen tärkeitä opetuksen ja kasvatuksen, myös kielikasvatuksen, näkökulmasta. Tämän tutkielman tarkoitus on tarkastella sekä vanhempien että opettajien kokemuksia ja toiveita liittyen koulu-kotiyhteistyöhön ja vanhempien osallisuuteen, sekä niitä käytännön menetelmiä, joita opettajat käyttivät tukeakseen vanhempien osallisuutta. Tutkimusympäristönä toimii eräs hondurasilainen kaksikielinen kristillinen peruskoulu.

Tutkielmaan kerättiin sekä laadullista että määrällistä aineistoa. Kuutta vanhempaa ja kuutta opettajaa haastateltiin käyttämällä semistrukturoidun haastattelun menetelmiä. Oppilaiden vanhemmille jaettiin yhteensä 75 kyselylomaketta, ja vastausprosentti oli 30,7% (N=23). Niin haastattelut kuin kyselylomakkeiden avoimet vastaukset analysoitiin käyttämällä aineistolähtöistä sisällönanalyysia. Strukturoitujen kysymysten osalta tarkasteltiin frekvenssejä, mikä tuki tutkielman laadullista aineistoa.

Tulosten mukaan vanhemmilla oli hyviä kokemuksia koulu-kotiyhteistyöstä opettajien kanssa, vaikka he eivät välttämättä tunteneet itseään päteviksi kehittämään koulu-kotiyhteistyötä. Vanhemmat olivat kyllä motivoituneita osallistumaan lastensa koulunkäyntiin ja olivat tietoisia lastensa oppimisprosessista, mutta toivoivat kuitenkin saavansa lisää tietoa, työkaluja ja tukea opettajilta ollakseen yhä enemmän läsnä lastensa koulunkäynnissä. Vanhemmat, joiden englannin kielen taso oli heikko, kokivat vaikeaksi auttaa lapsiaan koulutehtävissä. He olivat kuitenkin löytäneet tapoja, joiden avulla he kompensoivat kielimuurista johtuvia haasteita.

Suurin osa opettajista oli tyytyväisiä suhteeseensa vanhempien kanssa. Opettajat kuvasivat erilaisia tapoja ylläpitää toimivaa koti- kouluyhteistyötä vanhempien kanssa, mutta jotkut heistä kokivat, että kielimuuri teki kommunikoinnista haastavaa. Opettajat pitivät tärkeänä, että vanhemmat osallistuivat lastensa koulunkäyntiin ja näkivät, että sillä oli suuri vaikutus näiden oppimiseen. He olivat toisaalta myös havainneet haasteita, jotka hankaloittivat vanhempien osallisuutta. He olivat tukeneet vanhempia kannustamalla, tarjoamalla englannin kielen tunteja, antamalla neuvoja, opettamalla vanhempia auttamaan lapsiaan ja avaamalla oppimistavoitteita. Selkeiden tavoitteiden laatiminen, joihin myös vanhemmat voisivat sitoutua, tukivat näiden osallisuutta. Myös erilaiset työpajat koettiin toimivaksi tukimuodoksi.

Tämä tutkielma voi auttaa kaksikielistä peruskoulua tunnistamaan sen vahvuuksia sekä luomaan ja vaalimaan myönteisiä suhteita oppilaiden vanhempiin. Se voi myös auttaa heitä tunnistamaan niitä kouluorganisaation osa-alueita ja käytäntöjä, joita tulisi kehittää vanhempien osallisuuden tukemiseksi.

Avainsanat – Keywords

Vanhempien osallisuus, koulu-kotiyhteistyö, englannin kielen opetus, kaksikielinen opetus, Honduras

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PREFACE

In the spring 2018, my plan to travel to Honduras in order to work in a Christian bilingual primary school as a volunteer teacher was under way. For a student of Early Language Education for Intercultural Communication, not many things could be more inspiring than to gain experience, learn and grow as a teacher in a largely different cultural context. At the time I was also in the middle of designing my thesis and trying to settle on a topic.

Eventually, I decided to take part in the on-going research project, Developing Multilingualism and Multiculturalism in the Context of Early Language Education: Parents’ Views, led by professors Ritva Kantelinen (University of Eastern Finland) and Victoria Pogosian (Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia). It has been, and continues to be, conducted in Finland, Russia, and other countries and its aim is to study parents’ current views and experiences regarding their children’s language learning in pre-primary and primary education. As a future (language) teacher, reflecting the importance of parental involvement in children’s language education, how it could be supported and how to build an effective partnership was something I felt I needed to immerse myself in. Furthermore, I was not interested only in learning more about the teachers’ point of view, but the parents’ as well.

Also, my goal was to write a thesis that could be of use for someone, and overall the opportunity to conduct this research in the Christian bilingual primary school in Honduras (pictures 1 and 2) was too appealing to miss, so I contacted the school principal. Consequently, my conventional travel preparations now included a lot printing and other ways to prepare for this project.

That summer, 2018, I taught 20 lively 2^nd and 3^rd graders (picture 3), which in itself was an invaluable experience for me, and certainly educational. Dividing my time between lesson planning and teaching, all the work that was involved in interviewing 6 teachers and 6 parents,

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and conducting a questionnaire, and all the other activities that were part of the life at the campus was, frankly, not always easy—although I did not expect it to be. But quite as frankly I can say that I am grateful for the staff for all their help, support and interest they took in my thesis as they were using their time to help me, and even let me take a day or two off from teaching so that I could focus on the thesis more intensively. The warm and welcoming community, the devotion and dedication of the people, and of course the magnificent nature left an indelible impression on me.

PICTURE 1. Campus

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PICTURE 2. Students on Recess

PICTURE 3. The 2^nd and 3^rd Grade Classroom in the Bilingual Primary School

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LIST OF PICTURES

PICTURE 1. Campus ... 5

PICTURE 2. Students on Recess ... 6

PICTURE 3. The 2^nd and 3^rd Grade Classroom in the Bilingual School ... 6

LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1. Honduran Educational System ... 14

TABLE 2. Six Major Types of Parental Involvement in Education ... 24

TABLE 3. Example of the Analysis Process of One of the Teacher’s Interview ... 38

TABLE 4. Summary of Findings and Implications. ... 77

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1 INTRODUCTION

“It just helps me to feel like I'm doing what I'm supposed to do.” (T 6)

One of the most important aspects of education is having an efficient partnership with the parents as their influence on the children’s learning is unchallenged and crucial. The aim of this partnership is to build a bridge, or a network, between the school and families, to share information and support the child’s development and learning; it works for the good of the school and the families, and in particular, for the children who are in the center of it.. For teachers, to get to know the families in order to be there for them and have them actively involved is invaluable as well as rewarding. At best, it supports the teacher’s role in educating, teaching, and caring for the students. At the same time, an effective partnership enables families to be clear on what the children are learning and what are their needs; it can boost their confidence in parenting and decision-making in supporting the child. It can help both teachers and parents to feel like they are doing what they are supposed to do, as a team.

Parental involvement in children’s language learning process is equally effective and its implications extend to language education. Research suggests that parental involvement can have a significant positive influence on students’ L2 achievement, and parents can be influential in constructing their children’s understanding of the importance as well as their attitudes towards learning languages. (Xuesong 2006; Ebuta & Ekpo-Eloma 2014; Hosseinpour, Sherkatolabbas & Yarahmadi 2015; Morteza, Marzieh & Zangoei 2014; Bartram 2006.)

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Nevertheless, many questions emerge when addressing family–school partnership and parental involvement. Understanding their importance and to practice them can often be two different things. How can a teacher actually support the families, in practice? Why are some parents more involved than others, or hard to reach? Just as each family has its personal needs that should be recognized, there can also be personal barriers that hinder involvement or the effectiveness of building a relationship—it can be a matter of self-perception, expectations, attitudes, resources, or simply circumstances. Perhaps it is even the organizational structures of the school that push families away. (Hoover‐Dempsey, Walker, Sandler, Whetsel, Green, Wilkins & Closson 2005, 114; Mapp & Hong 2010, 346.)

Each community, and school, of course has its own strengths and challenges, and so does the Christian bilingual primary school in Honduras. It poses some interesting perspectives to be studied, though—especially so as the school provides a clear advantage to its students by teaching English, which can ultimately affect what opportunities one receives in life. But how do parents experience their role in their children’s English education, when not knowing English themselves? How can a teacher create a trusting and supportive partnership with the parents; and what difference does it make in the Honduran families? And what more could the parents wish from the teachers, and teachers wish from the parents?

The aim of this thesis is to look into how the parents and teachers’ respective views and experiences related to parent–teacher partnership and parental involvement in the English education and what kind of dialogue is realized between these two sides. Further, both parents and teachers’ hopes and ideas in regard to developing the partnership are investigated. This research can help the school to identify its strengths and foster them—as well as acknowledge the areas that could be developed in order to bring the school and the families closer together, and support the families’ efforts to be involved in their children’s English education.

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2 THE HONDURAN CONTEXT

2.1 Honduran Educational System and Contemporary Situation

Honduras, located in the middle of Central America between Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador, populates 9,3 million people. Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Western Hemisphere, facing problems with crime and extreme violence. Approximately 61% of the people lived in poverty in 2016. (The World Bank; World Population Review; Murphy-Graham 2012, 51.)

Honduran educational system consists of pre-primary education, basic (divided into primary and lower secondary) education and upper secondary education (see table 1). Pre-primary education (educación prebásica) lasts six years and is divided into two cycles (ciclos); the 1st cycle aimed for 0–3-year-old children and the 2nd for 3–6-year-old children. Primary and lower secondary education together cover the nine-year basic education (educación básica). Primary education is compulsory yet free from ages 7 to 12 and is divided into two cycles for ages 6–9 and 9–12. After primary school, students have the option to attend the third cycle, i.e. lower secondary school. At age 15, students can decide whether they want to proceed to upper secondary education (educación media), choosing between academic (cientifico humanista) or vocational (técnico profesional) education which take from two to three years to complete. At age 18, it is possible to continue at university level. School curricula, syllabi and textbooks are regulated by the government in all schools. (Meyer, 2017; Gavin 2017, 3; Curriculo Nacional Básico 2003, 23; Currculo Nacional Básico 2004, 5.)

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TABLE 1. Honduran Educational System (Curriculo Nacional Básico 2004, 5).

Nivel Descprición

Educación Prebásica I Ciclo II Ciclo

0 a 3 años de edad Duración: 3 años

No Obligatorio

3 a 6 años de edad Duración: 3 años Sólo ultimo año obligatorio

Educación Básica I Ciclo II Ciclo III Ciclo

Educación Media Modalidades

Bachillerato Científico Humanista Bachillerato Técnico Profesional 15 a 17 años de edad

Duración: 2 años

Primary school enrollment level is 90%, the remaining percentage having no access to education, but approximately half of the students drop out before graduating. One third graduate without repeating grades, and one third of those who graduate, attend secondary school.

Enrollment rates in pre-primary and secondary schools remain low. (Causey 2016; Gavin 2017, 4; Meyer 2017; Schaefer 2013.) According to the Secretary of Education (Secretaría de Educación 2010, 17), in 2008, the poorest received 4.9 years of education on average, and the richest over double the amount, 10.2 years. Even though the strategy for reducing poverty is to provide better access to education, especially to secondary schools, in the rural areas few can continue studies beyond the 6th grade. Secondary schools are scarce outside cities and attending school regularly can be challenging. Many children are required to help their families economically, and since free education is provided only until the 6th grade, not many families can afford schooling further than that. (Murphy-Graham 2012, 51–52; Causey 2016.)

In Honduras, schooling is impaired with “low teacher attendance, shortened class days and high grade-repetition rates” (Pavon 2008, 196). In addition, reducing illiteracy, improving the coverage, increasing the average level of schooling and academic performance, and decreasing high dropout rates and absenteeism are some of the challenges Honduran educational system faces. (Secretaría de Educación 2010, 15.)

The children who attend school do not necessarily receive consistent education that provides minimum proficiency in the school subjects (Gavin 2017, 5; Meyer 2017). Especially the schools in rural areas lack adequate teaching materials, equipment, furniture and technology.

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In the public sector, students receive considerably fewer instructing days and teaching hours compared to the private sector. (Secretaría de Educación 2010, 22.)

2.2 Description of Early English Language Education in the National Curriculum

According to National Curriculum for the 1st cycle of Basic Education (2003, 60–61) English is described as the target language in foreign language teaching for social necessity due, mainly, to the strong historical, economic, cultural and social relations with the United States. Various educational centers have contributed to providing access to English language education but often teaching only at upper secondary level, to which a great majority of the population does not have access. Many bilingual schools have emerged and taken the initiative to respond to the expectations for teaching a foreign language at the preschool and primary levels, and so, a growing number of children have the chance to study English. In 2003, English was included in the 2nd cycle of Basic Education in order to provide English language education for the majority, to meet the challenges of the 21st century and to develop the citizens’ communicative skills in a foreign language in the globalized world. (Diseño Curricular Nacional para la Educación Básica 2003, 60–61.)

In the National Curriculum, the English language education is described to raise awareness of intercultural matters and other languages, to enable students to communicate effectively and gain a new appreciation of themselves and their environment. It works as a tool for students to access cultural goods and the possibilities to improve their quality of life in a meaningful way.

Through English language education, students can acquire those kinds of communicative and academic competences, that the nation needs in order to develop. (Diseño Curricular Nacional para la Educación Básica 2003, 60–62.)

The English language curriculum consists of oral and written language studies and reflection on the language—literary production and expression integrated in these sections. The oral and written language studies focus on strengthening students’ reading and writing, listening and speaking skills joined with Spanish. By the end of the 1st cycle of Basic Education, the students should be able to use oral and written English to meet the need for communication, recreation

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and problem-solving, and appreciate plurilingualism as a source of individual and social enrichment. They should produce simple written and oral messages relating to people, situations, classroom activities and events in their immediate environment, and interpret simple and contextualized oral and written messages, coming from everyday communicative contexts and the media and linked to their experiences and interests. (Diseño Curricular Nacional para la Educación Básica 2003, 60–62.)

Students should show awareness of literary arts, identifying, interpreting, enjoying and recreating oral and written literary productions (stories, drama, rhymes, riddles, songs, tongue twisters, traditional children's games, etc.) As a means of playful and emotional expression and as form of appropriation of culture. In addition, they should be aware of different languages in the country (Spanish, Garífuna, Miskito, Tawahka, Tolupan, Pech, Ch'orti' and English), value them as national cultural heritage and a source of personal enrichment, having ethnic and cultural self-esteem and valuing one’s bilingualism or multilingualism. (Diseño Curricular Nacional para la Educaión Básica 2003, 60–62.)

2.3 The Christian Bilingual Primary School

The Christian bilingual primary school is located next to a small farming village, El Suyatal, of 3000 people. The school offers Christian education in a bilingual context and aims to provide education for the community, another option to the state education that is run by teachers of the government. There are no other bilingual schools nearby, so it is important to the community.

The school is missionary work based. Many of the students do not belong to the church but most of the teachers do. (Private discussion with a board member 2019.)

The school accepts only students who start in the kindergarten or 1^st grade, already have good enough English proficiency or transfer from another bilingual school (Private discussion with the headmaster 2019). They add on one grade each year when the oldest students move on to the next grade. In the summer 2018, there were approximately 100 students between kindergarten and 7th grade and a little more than 10 teachers and teacher assistants, both native and non-native, working as missionary volunteers for varying lengths of time.

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Teaching takes place in two languages, Spanish and English. The bilingual education is rather immersion or emergent style oriented, Spanish and English often held separate, using one teaching language at a time. Bilingual teachers could utilize the ESL (English as a Second Language) teaching approach and use both languages in their instruction if they wanted but volunteers with no official teacher training were encouraged to use emergent style and keep everything in English. (Private discussion with the headmaster 2019.)

Approximately 14 different subjects were taught in the school in 2018, some of which the school had decided to add in the curriculum following other bilingual schools’ practices. The subjects taught were math, Bible, Spanish, science, music, art and practical arts, P.E., social studies in both languages, and English studies consisting of spelling, language, grammar, phonics and reading. According to one of the teachers (2019), some of the subjects taught in English used curriculums from different sources, e.g. private Christian school curriculums or curriculums used in homeschooling. Not all subjects had an official curriculum, so the teachers used materials that they deemed useful and suitable for their class or which they created themselves. Spanish language studies and social sciences in Spanish were however regulated by the Honduran government and the subjects followed the national curriculum.

Learning English is considered important in the school as it opens a lot of opportunities, both inside and outside Honduras (Private discussion with a teacher 2018). It also gives the students the advantage of meeting people all over the world who they would not meet if they were monolingual or attending a regular school (Private discussion with a board member 2019). The parents’ attitudes towards the bilingual education are very positive. Not many parents have higher education or speak English themselves, which can make supporting the children’s language learning challenging. Many social issues affect the family life and children’s learning, as well as the teachers’ work.

The school has a highly positive impact on the community, and they strive to connect with the families, involve them and support them. The school aims to reach the people in the community through the education they offer and share the gospel with them. (Private discussion with a board member 2019.) The school is a part of a larger organization that also has a health center beside the school. Furthermore, they offer private lessons for handicapped children as well as work for the locals on their plantations.

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3 ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION

3.1 English Language Education Globally

Learning foreign languages in today’s globalized world is an essential 21^st century skill that promotes communication and collaboration and raises global awareness; through foreign language proficiency, one is able to operate in culturally and linguistically diverse contexts and gain cross-cultural skills, “develop respect and openness to those whose culture, religion, and views on the world may be different” (Partnership for 21st Century Skills 2011, 5). Especially interest in teaching English as primary language has rapidly increased worldwide (Enever 2015, 17). Indeed, numerous development and English language projects have been implemented globally. English plays an important role facilitating international employability, mobility and tourism. (Coleman 2010.) On the other hand, there are also some issues that lie in the uneven distribution to English education and its overemphasized importance, which may become “a means of barring access to the less privileged” (Coleman 2010, 16).

3.2 Age Factor in Language Learning

The advantages of starting foreign language learning early on are often promoted for socio- political reasons, and as established, the importance of learning languages, English specifically, results from globalization (Enever 2015, 17). However, much debate has been going on over

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the existence of an age factor in language learning and whether young language learners are better off compared to older beginners (Singleton 2003, 3).

There is not enough evidence to claim that there is a specific critical period that would allow young learners, traditionally meaning children prior to puberty, automatically learn a second language better than older ones, or that the decline in language learning capacity with age could be explained in terms of the critical period theory. (Singleton 2003, 8–16; Pfenninger &

Singleton 2017, 7–11.)

Various co-occurring factors in language learning favor young learners but they “have nothing to do with effects of biological ageing per se” (Pfenninger & Singleton 2017, 10). For instance, Halliwell (1992) presents, that young children’s creative use of language and risk taking when communicating is characteristic for them, as well as their ability to tolerate ambiguity and leaning on paralinguistic features of communication when creating meanings. Young children tend to focus less on accuracy and may for example make up new words. She continues by adding that not only do imagination and fantasy have a significant role in their lives, but they also have “an instinct for interaction and talk”, which play a part in the way they learn languages. (Enever 2015, 19–20.) Johnstone (2009, 34) also mentions that for young children acquiring linguistic sound systems is relatively easy. Moreover, early start provides a great potential in establishing positive attitudes in young learners that can affect their future language learning (Enever 2015, 25). Young learners’ attitudes towards learning foreign languages are generally very positive (Cenoz 2003, 79), but cannot be straightforwardly connected with age.

A negative first contact with a language can leave a lasting mark on aptitudes, motivation and long-term learning. (Pfenninger & Singleton 2017, 96.)

In language learning, older beginners, on the other hand, may benefit from their knowledge of how language works, and they have a more sophisticated concept of the world. Their interactive and cognitive skills are more developed, and they have obtained a wider range of learning strategies. These strategies may aid them especially in instructional settings. (Enever 2015, 25;

Johnstone 2009, 34; Pfenninger & Singleton 2017, 11.)

However, Johnstone (2009, 34) suggests that the key benefits of starting early lie in spending more time learning the language and having the opportunity to make use of both the young and the older learners’ advantages – young ones thus employing two sets of advantages, whereas older ones can employ only one. (Enever 2015, 21–22; Johnstone 2009, 34.) In terms of critical age period, most studies argue that even though it is evident that adult starters acquire the

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language at a faster rate, the older age may be a disadvantage in ultimate attainment of the language (Nikolov 2009, 4). Krashen (1985, 12) suggests that, “older acquirers progress more quickly in early stages because they obtain more comprehensible input while younger acquirers do better in the long run because of their lower affective filters”. Pfenninger and Singleton (2017, 107) similarly present that motivation has a greater effect on language achievement than age.

3.3 Bilingual Education

Baker (2011) makes a contrast between two forms of bilingual education; weak and strong forms. Weak forms of bilingualism aim at replacing the first language with an additional one which, in fact, leads to monolingualism and in most cases, strives for cultural assimilation.

Strong forms, however, supports children’s first language development while acquiring a second language, creating truly bilingual individuals. The societal and educational objective is enrichment and to enforce pluralism. (Ger & Bahar 2018, 30–31; Baker 2011, 194.)

Various models of bilingual education can be distinguished based on the relationship between native language and the foreign language. In early exit models the students’ first language is used during the first 1–4 years, after which instruction is delivered in the target language; in late exit models the first language is used the first 6–8 years (van Ginkel 2017, 10).

Submersion models imply that that only the target language is spoken, the native tongue often being a minority language. This would be classified as a weak form of bilingual education that can lead to crippled competence in both languages, resulting in negative cognitive outcomes (Baker 2001, 167; van Ginkel 2017, 10.) Unlike in submersion models, in immersion models the native language is usually a majority language. The models originate in Canada, where in the need of more effective French language education, immersion programmes were founded.

Immersion models are strong forms of bilingual education where only the target language is used even though both languages are developed (Ger & Bahar 2018, 30–31; van Ginkel 2017, 10). Immersion models aim to attain a functional language proficiency in L2, all the while supporting L1 competence, and obtain normal academic achievements for each grade. Content teaching takes place either totally or partially in L2, but the students are allowed use L1;

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gradually, they are encouraged to communicate more and more in L2. (Potowski 2007, 7–8.) In early immersion models during the first years, the students’ language development often lags behind compared to their mainstream peers but eventually they catch up. However, students in early total immersion models are shown to perform equally well in school subjects as these peers but research shows that necessarily it is not the case in early partial immersion, which provides 50% of the education in L2, or late immersion models, as the children’s L2 skills may be “insufficiently developed to be able to think mathematically and scientifically in that second language”. (Baker 2001, 233–234.)

In two-way immersion or dual language programmes, which date to the United States, both languages are used throughout education. The structure is similar to immersion programmes but both native and non-native speakers in regard to the majority language attend. This model allows the students to interact with native-speaker peers, increasing the amount of L2 input for both groups. The programme has two major variations. The 90:10 model suggests that at in the lowest grades, 90% of the instruction is content instruction in L2, and 10% in the L1 in order to develop oral first language proficiency—gradually, more and more L1 instruction is introduced. In the 50:50 models half of the instruction is in L1 and half in L2. (Lindholm-Leary 2001, 31–32; van Ginkel 2017, 10.)

Another example of an immersion model is CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) approach that the European Commission launched to promote multilingualism and mobility throughout Europe. According to Mehisto, Marsh and Frigols (2008), CLIL is “an umbrella term for immersion, bilingual education and enriched language programs” (Ger & Bahar 2018, 30–31). Through CLIL, students learn some of the subjects, such as history or science, in the target language and some in their first language. Characteristic to CLIL is the emphasis not only on language but on content learning as well, which are taught simultaneously and interactively.

(The CLIL Guidebook 2016.)

The effectiveness of bilingual education does not only depend on the use of the second language but multiple factors contributing to the cause. Clearly, there are various types of bilingual programs but in addition, it is necessary to recognize effectiveness at the individual, classroom and school levels, and even regionally, understanding the socio-cultural, political and economic contexts. Baker (2001) suggests that taking into account the students’ needs and backgrounds, expecting high results from them while providing encouraging feedback, individualized support and opportunities for them to be involved in decision-making positively affects the

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effectiveness of bilingual education. The curriculum plays an essential role; it should be meaningful, “intellectually challenging --, a curriculum that has coherence, balance, breadth, relevance, progression and continuity, a focus on basic skills but also on developing higher- order thinking skills” (Baker 2001, 263). He also addresses the importance of systematic and authentic assessment and providing smooth language transitions from grade to grade.

Moreover, a well-functioning, supportive management, a shared vision, commitment on the teachers’ behalf and staff development programmes increase effectiveness. Lastly, the role of the parents should not be underestimated; their involvement and building a two-way collaboration between homes and the school can make a strategic difference. (Baker 2001, 261–

263.)

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4 PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND FAMILY-SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP

4.1 Parental Involvement in Children’s Academic Education

Education starts from home and therefore it is not an understatement to say that parental involvement holds a crucial role in children’s educational path and success. Parental involvement comprises the practices and resources that parents employ in order to enhance their children’s academic success, including communicating with their children and the school personnel (Robinson & Harris 2014, 5). Involvement can take place in the form of home-based involvement, where parents, together with the child, engage in activities related to school in the home environment, e.g. by helping with homework, providing an appropriate study environment and discussing education. School-based involvement refers to the activities performed at the school to support the child, such as attending school meetings and events or initiating contact with teachers. (Seginer 2006, 27; Pomerantz & Moorman 2007, 374–375.) Epstein (2010, 85) has further classified the types of parental involvement into six categories, namely parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making and collaborating with community (see table 2).

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TABLE 2. Six Major Types of Parental Involvement in Education. Modified from Epstein (2010, 85).

Parenting Providing a home environment that supports children as students.

Communicating Having effective forms of school-to-home and home-to-school communications about school programs and children’s progress.

Volunteering Volunteering to help teachers, administrators, students, and other parents.

Learning at home

Helping students at home with homework and other curriculum-related activities, decisions, and planning.

Decision making

Parent leadership, participation and representatives; being involved in school decision making and improvement processes.

Collaborating with community

Identifying and integrating resources and services from the community to strengthen school programs, family practices, and student learning and development.

It is evidential that parents’ engagement in their children’s studies positively affects their educational achievement, having an influence both in skill and motivational development (Pomerantz & Moorman 2007, 374–376). The support that parents provide is linked to active participation in schoolwork, effective work habits and success with homework. Furthermore, students’ development and use of personal attributes and skills that are necessary to successful learning at school, are largely affected by parents’ involvement. Involvement helps students to acquire self-regulation and effective learning strategies which are important in taking responsibility for schoolwork. Also, development of several social skills that support learning are due to parents’ involvement. Parents’ valuation of education contributes to students’

positive beliefs of their abilities to learn and succeed. Encouragement and praise enhance their orientation on schoolwork and positive attitudes towards school and (life-long) learning. On a larger scale, it has been shown that parental involvement in early interventions and working as partners with teachers, are related to long-term educational achievements. They can lead to lower levels or retention in grade and lower drop-out rates, stronger literacy, as well as higher rates of on-time graduation and transition to higher education. (Hoover-Dempsey, Whitaker &

Ice 2010, 31–35.)

However, Pomerantz and Moorman (2007) point out that not all involvement equally promotes student achievement. Rather, when parents support the students’ autonomy, it fares better results compared to controlling, which in result may hinders their performance. One explanation may be that “it provides motivational resources that foster positive engagement in

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school” (Pomerantz & Moorman 2007, 383). Additionally, involvement focusing on the process seems to foster more positive results in achievement, emphasizing the role of effort and learning, in comparison to person-focused involvement, demonstrated for example by person- focused feedback, “because importance is placed on the attributes children already possess.

Thus, such involvement may not provide children with an opportunity for developing skills.”

Also, if parental involvement emphasizes positive effect and is characterized by positive beliefs of their children’s potential, it is evidential that it enhances student performance. (Pomerantz &

Moorman 2007, 383–388.)

4.2 Parental Involvement in English Language Education

There seems to be surprisingly little research on parental involvement specifically in English language learning context. However, existing research suggest that parental involvement can have a significant positive influence on students’ L2 (second language) achievement (Xuesong 2006; Ebuta & Ekpo-Eloma 2014; Hosseinpour, Sherkatolabbas & Yarahmadi 2015; Morteza, Marzieh & Zangoei 2014). A study conducted by Castillo and Camelo (2013) indicates that parental involvement in the students’ English studies can positively affect their English proficiency, especially vocabulary knowledge, and literacy development. Parental involvement improves communication between teacher, parents and children, and studying English together is significant as it can work as a factor connecting parents and children. More specifically, parents’ participation in English homework tasks in a collaborative way can be used as a strategy to enhance family interaction and relationships (Ávila Daza & Garavito 2009) and the cognitive and emotional support which parents provide related to homework may help the students assume positive roles in English learning and contribute to learning, achievement and gaining confidence (Hurtado Torres & Castañeda-Peña 2016). Bartram (2006) suggests that parents are influential in constructing their children’s understanding of the importance as well as their attitudes towards learning languages. In many cases the students not only mirror the parents’ attitudes, but the parents’ knowledge and experiences of the target language also affect their orientation. Indeed, Mellati, Khademi and Zangoei (2014) present that parents’ literacy does not solely predict students’ achievement, and that parents’ attitudes affect their learning.

Castillo and Camilo (2013, 69) state that “it can be safely concluded that parents do not

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necessarily need a high L2 proficiency to support their children’s L2 learning, but they do need to understand what learning, in general, entails and what L2 learning demands.”

Nonetheless, Forey, Besser and Sampson (2016) have found that parents’ weak English language proficiency, that is, having the feeling of not knowing enough English can hinder involvement as it affects their sense of self-efficacy. Lacking skills can lead parents to feel that they are unable to help their children. It is noteworthy to discuss, though, what is it that the parents understand their involvement comprising; for example, Forey et al. (2016) describe how the parents who participated in the study thought English to be primarily “about learning grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary. The way parents could help their children, therefore, was to teach these skills”, which then strongly affected their self-efficacy. Also, a study conducted by Hosseinpour et al. (2015) indicates that parents who have knowledge of the language and come from a higher educational background are more involved in and their attitudes more positive towards their children’s English language programmes.

Research directed by Barge and Loges (2003) present some of the ways in which parents are involved in their children’s English studies. Common involvement activities include keeping track on the children’s assignments and homework and monitoring that they get completed, assisting when needed. They follow the students’ progress through observation and directly asking the students. In addition, the information provided by the school in different forms is essential. Kalaycı and Öz (2018) demonstrated that often parents revise vocabulary and grammatical structures, help with homework, spelling and pronunciation, provide exposure to English through songs and cartoons, or explain the importance of learning English. Creating a positive, motivating home environment adds to enhancing student language development.

4.3 Parental Role Construction Affecting Involvement

Indeed, it is suggested that the parents’ role construction, meaning the beliefs system regarding their involvement is one factor explaining the parents’ motivation, or the lack thereof, to be involved, as well as their sense of self-efficacy (Hoover-Dempsey, Whitaker & Ice 2010, 37–

54). This process of role taking can further explain what kind of involvement practices they employ regarding their children’s academic and English language education.

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The parents’ expectations regarding taking responsibility, and ideas about whether their help in fact contributes to their children’s achievement play a part in this construction. Ultimately, the parents act on their beliefs and expectations by selecting ways of being involved that align with them. Parents with weak self-efficacy feel insecure about the utility of their involvement or abilities which may lead to avoidance, whereas strong self-efficacy contributes to setting high goals and working to achieve them in order to help their child to succeed. These roles are in great part formed socially when interacting with teachers and students. Repeated, explicit school invitations and providing opportunities to be involved often seem to determine whether parents become engaged (Christenson 2004; Anderson & Minke 2007) as they are the greatest predictor of how the parents view their roles; possibly because these invitations relay the school’s expectations and provide concrete ways for parents to participate. (Whitaker &

Hoover-Dempsey 2013). Student invitations as well have a strong influence on the parents’

involvement behaviors. Furthermore, a positive school climate has been shown to affect the parents’ role beliefs, making them feel that their involvement is welcome and valued by the school. (Hoover-Dempsey, Whitaker & Ice 2010, 37–54; Whitaker & Hoover-Dempsey 2013, 7–38.) Thus, it is evidential that teachers and schools can support the parents in a way that enables them to find their role and become more confident in fulfilling it.

The parents’ life context is another major explanatory factor in involvement. The type of involvement which the parents choose, as well as the parents’ opportunities to be engaged in them, is often related to the families’ demographic and cultural background. Socioeconomic status can be influential as to how the parents use or have access to various resources, e.g.

support systems, that enhance involvement. Moreover, knowledge, skills, time and energy affect which the type of involvement the parents choose—and they may, on their part, not only shape parents’ role construction and self-efficacy but also determine the scope of options to become involved. Generally, involvement, especially school involvement, may be challenged by inflexible working hours, responsibilities related to large families, or parents’ insufficient knowledge of the subject matter as their children move on to the next grade. (Hoover‐Dempsey, Walker, Sandler, Whetsel, Green, Wilkins & Closson 2005, 113–116; Hoover-Dempsey, Whitaker & Ice 2010, 31–52.)

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4.4 Building Family-School Partnership

Clarke, Sheridan and Woods (2010, 61) define family-school partnership as “a child-centered connection between individuals in the home and school settings who share responsibility for supporting the growth and development of children”. Whereas parental involvement is more related to learning, partnership is an interpersonal relationship between home and school that is supportive and enables collaboration.

However, there are parents who can be hard to reach, and appear to be uninterested in being reached in any way, and so, trying to build a relationship with them can feel fruitless.

Christenson (2004, 87–88) presents various psychological and structural barriers to family- school partnerships. Lack of time, emotional and economic constraints, families and teachers’

limited skills and knowledge on how to go about it, and fear of conflict can result in reluctance to work together with teachers. Inadequate management of conflict situations, blaming and labeling is harmful. Also, educators’ own attitudes, beliefs of fears regarding families or their role may be an obstacle. For example, it has been shown that schools may assume that parents with lower socioeconomic status are less likely to be involved due to lack of knowledge, skills, time or motivation, and thus end up providing less support or resources for them to actively participate, which can effectively limit their access to involvement. (Hoover‐Dempsey, Walker, Sandler, Whetsel, Green, Wilkins & Closson 2005, 114.) Mapp and Hong (2010, 346) summarize that the school practices may not be welcoming or answering the parents’ needs. At times the parents’ meetings are heavy on information, rules and policies, focusing on the number of attendees rather than cultivating interpersonal relationships. These meetings can be intimidating to parents. According to Valdés, (1996) cited by Mapp et al. (2010), families coming from backgrounds that are racially, ethically, socioeconomically and educationally different from those of the school staff, can find the events unwelcoming and frightening, especially if they have had have negative school experiences. Further, narrow understanding of parental involvement can push families away, especially those with limited means, time, or capacity to take part in specific activities such as volunteering or parent-teacher associations (Mapp & Hong 2010, 349–350).

Which may hinder building a partnership between schools and parents of English language learners (ELLs) are related especially to the school having little knowledge of the culturally and linguistically diverse families, and the families’ lack of familiarity with the school system. Not

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just difficulties to communicate in oral or written manner, but culturally different expectations from both the school’s and the families’ behalf affect developing efficient family-school partnerships. (Waterman & Harry 2008.)

Fundamental to a healthy family-school partnership is sharing the goals and beliefs regarding a child’s development and achievement, and understanding that both families and the educators in the school context have important roles in the child’s life—and also that together both in- school and out-of-school experiences contribute to the child’s educational success. A good relationship needs maintaining and commitment. It should be recognized that its development requires time, accessibility, flexibility and sensitivity as well as continuity from both sides. This partnership is based on trust, which is also linked with parents having “more positive attitudes with regard to the value of their involvement in schools”. (Clarke, Sheridan & Woods 2010, 64–69.)

The focus of family-school partnership should shift from school-centeredness to parent- centeredness (Mapp & Hong 2010, 359), and in its core is understanding different families and their life contexts (Christenson 2004, 93). Clarke et al. (2010) argues that effective communication works as a medium to exchange information and resources, and to understand each other’s goals and needs, which creates a network of support. Frequent informal communication enhances the quality of parent-teacher relationship. Paying attention to the quality and quantity of communication is helpful when aiming to improve effective communication practices. Most important to parents and teachers, according to the study conducted by Blue-Banning et al (2004) as cited by Clarke et al. (2010, 70) is “listening carefully to the other person; avoiding the use of jargon; being nonjudgmental, sensitive, and non-blaming; and including positive comments in addition to describing the challenges that a child currently experiences at home and school.” (Clarke, Sheridan & Woods 2010, 70.) It is important, especially in the case of ELL parents, that teachers initiate communication with the parents, and offer them information in a clear, comprehensible way which allows them to follow up, ask questions and make comments (Waterman & Harry 2008).

In building a family-school partnership, equality takes an essential role. Conflicts between families and educators are often due to questions of authority and power. The expertise of both the teachers and the parents should be acknowledged, valued and utilized in supporting the child. It’s critical that teachers regard families as co-equal educators and provide them information that helps them to extend the learning environment at home, be more involved and

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support the child’s learning and development through different practices. The families can then share their experiences with the teacher and give feedback; both parties thus gain valuable information from the other in a reciprocal manner. In conflict situations avoidance is a common practice, but even then, and especially then, openness should be the priority in order to maintain a good relationship which will not impaired with unresolved displeasure. (Clarke, Sheridan &

Woods 2010, 69–73.)

Open-ended parents ‘meetings, with the help of an interpreter if needed, can promote two-way interaction and encourage parents to discuss and become more aware of the school practices.

Skill-based workshops about meaningful topics be helpful to answer the different needs that parents have. Moreover, parents should be made more engaged in school decision making as cultivating parental leadership can contribute to a collaborative partnership. (Waterman &

Harry 2008.)

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5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The objective of this research is to view the parents and teachers’ perspectives regarding parent–

teacher partnership and parental involvement in English education in the context of the bilingual school in Honduras. By including both points of view it is possible to get a more holistic understanding of the phenomenon and see in which respect they align.

The research questions are following:

1. What are parents’ views related to family–school partnership?

o What kind of experiences do parents have related to family–school partnership?

o How could family–school partnership be developed according to the parents?

2. How do parents describe their involvement in their children’s English education?

3. What are teachers’ views related to family–school partnership?

o What kind of experiences do teachers have related to family–school partnership?

o How could family–school partnership be developed according to the teachers?

4. How do teachers describe parental involvement from teacher perspective?

o How do teachers describe the importance of parental involvement in the children’s English education to children’s learning from teacher perspective?

• How do teachers describe supporting parental involvement in English education in practice?

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6 METHODOLOGY

6.1 Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods

Both qualitative and quantitative research have long traditions and they have often been viewed as opposite methods that exclude each other based on their different ontological views (Flick 2007, 6–10; Tuomivaara 2015, 28).

Qualitative research has had a firm position within human and social sciences, even though in recent years it has increasingly expanded into other disciplines as well (Brinkmann, Jacobsen

& Kristiansen 2014, 38; Flick 2007, 6–7). Qualitative research covers a variety of theoretical backgrounds rather than providing one single approach, and in each of them, qualitative research can be defined by using different emphases (Flick 2007; Tuomi & Sarajärvi 2018, 55–

58). Nevertheless, characteristic to qualitative research is aiming to study real-world phenomena while subjectivity has a key role in the research process, and further, when considering the nature of knowledge. Generally, in qualitative research a relatively small number of cases is investigated in detail and the researcher may place him- or herself in the subjects’ ordinary lives. Qualitative data can be described as more unstructured as opposed to quantitative data and relies on verbal descriptions rather than numerical. (Hammersley 2013, 9–15; Tuomi & Sarajärvi 2018, 19–20.)

The objective of quantitative research, on the other hand, is to “create, expand, and refine theory through systematic observation of hypothesized connections among variables” (Allen, Titsworth & Hunt 2009, 4). Quantitative research aims at testing a set of hypotheses by

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managing variables. The researcher looks for causal relationships and studies their statistical likelihood; that is, whether they are produced systematically rather at random. Sample sizes are generally large which helps maximize the validity of the generalization. The data is measured and handled in a numerical form, and the researcher’s subjectivity is seen to cause biased results, which then cannot be reliably replicated. (Hammersley 2013, 10–12.)

However, Tuomivaara (2015, 28) defends the view that when leaving ontological questions aside, the relationship between qualitative and quantitative research methods should be flexible.

The same phenomenon can be studied both quantitatively and qualitatively, the distinction boiling down to the question of research materials and their argumentation. (Tuomi & Sarajärvi 2018, 19–21). In practice the methods are often combined in different levels, possibly putting more emphasis on one or the other, in order to accommodate the purpose of the research. (Flick 2007, 6–10).

In this research both quantitative and qualitative methods have been used to gain a better understanding of the studied phenomenon and its components. In its broadest sense this could be called mixed methods; however, the qualitative aspect is emphasized, the methods are only loosely connected and the explicit procedure which is necessary in order to conduct a mixed methods research has not been purposefully applied. Instead, the quantitative research methods are used to verify and support the qualitative methods; the patterns found using qualitative methods can be identified quantitatively in a slightly larger sample size which increases validity.

6.2 Data Collection Methods

For this study, two types of data were collected by the researcher (the writer of this paper).

Firstly, the parents, whose children study in the bilingual primary school, answered questionnaires. Secondly, six parents and six teachers working in the same school were interviewed by using the qualitative semi-structured interview method.

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6.2.1 Questionnaires as Quantitative Data Collection Method

Questionnaires are a versatile method for both “to obtain subjective information about participants and to document objective, measurable impact--“ (Phillips & Stawarski 2008, 1), which also can be used together with other data collection methods. They are a useful tool to collect large amounts of factual data. (Gurthie 2010, 129.) For this study, the questionnaires were provided by the research project Developing Multilingualism and Multiculturalism in the Context of Early Language Education: Parents’ Views, led by professors Ritva Kantelinen (University of Eastern Finland) and Victoria Pogosian (Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia) and hence, have been used to conduct studies in various countries and contexts and in several different languages. The questionnaires have translated from English into Spanish by native Spanish speakers thus, they have been piloted.

The questionnaire used in this research (appendix 5) contained two types of questions; close- response and open-response questions. Open-response questions allow the participants to answer in their own words, for example by filling in, which then can be then categorized and coded. Close-response questions have limited answering options, making the research easier to replicate. One example of close-response questions are Likert scales which measure attitudes and perceptions. The scale has points from low to high and the participants choose an option that best corresponds their opinion. (Gurthie 2010, 129–133.) In the questionnaire there were four close-response questions. Also, a five-point scale was used, and the participants chose an option between “strongly agree” > “somewhat agree” > “not agree or disagree” > “somewhat disagree” > “strongly disagree”.

Qualitative sampling often follows a random selection of population (Flick 2007, 27–28).

Cluster sampling takes place when a whole group of people, such as all the households in a certain area, is sampled (Chantler & Durant 2014, 124), which is also the method used in this study.

All the parents whose children studied in the bilingual school were asked to participate. In the beginning of July, after a month’s stay in Honduras, the parents were introduced the research in a parents’ meeting at the school with the help of an interpreter. It was emphasized that the questionnaire would be anonymous. All 60 questionnaires that were brought from Finland were distributed, one per household, and asked to be brought or be sent back with their children within a week. However, only six were returned within the next month so the research was

Parental involvement and family-school partnership in English education in a Christian Bilingual Primary School in Honduras