This presentation is based on my research completed via the Masters of Education program. I have combined research with my own experiences as an Ojibway child, mother and finally my experiences as a teacher.

1. Parent Involvement/
Engagement in
First Nation schools
Inside of Teepee. Photography by Fay Zoccole, 2013.
My Experience

2. • My own stories
• Definition and benefits of Parent
Engagement
• First Nation students: What’s it like
• Barriers that impede Parent
Engagement
• Two Popular Theories: Which theory
works best?
• Conclusion
Presentation Bundle

3. Veronica Davis. Photograph by Mike Davis. 1978.
My own story
Rene Meshake. Photographed by Joan Meshake, 2012.

4. • Involvement: Parents support
their children through
communication with teacher
and support for their child.
• Engagement: Parents that are
fully engaged and actively
participate in school-sponsored
activities or help their children
in ways visible to their children
and others
Definitions: Parent
Involvement & Engagement

5. • Education gaps
• No special education
supports and services
Zoccole kids in Weagamow. Photograph by Fay Zoccole, 2007.
First Nations students:
What’s it like?

6. •
•
•
•
•
•
A safe place to learn
To know there culture
Nice teachers
Library with lots of books
Extra-curricular activities
Role models from their
communities
What do students
want/need?

7. • They want their children to
be successful.
• Access to resources for
special needs children.
• They want their children to
develop their own talents.
Zoccole kids and me. Photograph by Fay Zoccole, 2006.
What do parents want?

8. • Parents to be involved
• Supports for students with special
needs
• Professional development: How to
work with First Nation families?
• Learn about community protocols
and expectations
What do teachers want?

9. • Residential school experience
• Teacher’s negative
assumptions
• Heavy use of professional
jargon
• Meetings not planning around
needs of parent/families
• Clash of cultures
Teepee in Marten Falls. Photograph by Fay Zoccole, 2012.
Barriers that impede
parent engagement

10. • Classrooms and hallways
• Parents are recognized as
equal partners
• Supportive and utilizing of
language revitalization
• Parents, elders and senior
students are part of staff
meetings
• First Nation teachers
Learning literacy by utilizing the medicine wheel. Photograph by Fay Zoccole, 2011.
What does a school that nurtures
relations with First Nation parents
look like?

11. Epstein’s Parental Involvement Framework
Parenting
Communication
Parent volunteering
Learning at home
Decision Making
Collaborating
Which theory works best?

12. • Parents are not partners in the
school
• Parents are positioned in
subservient ways
Criticism: What’s wrong
with this theory?

13. Support families
Parental Education Programs
Parenthood Education
Parent Involvement & Parent Participant
Programs
School. Clip Art Pictures. Retrieved from : www.embroyoniccjourney.blogspot,com.
Theory 2: Kellaghan, Sloane,
Alvarez & Bloom

14. Find the strength in
communities and students

15. Teacher
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Parents
Students
Teacher needs to work with parents to reach students.
View parents as equal partners in their child’s education.
The school serves the families.
Focus on the strengths of students and community.
Questions?
Conclusion

16. Assembly of First Nations. (2012). The National Panal on First Nation Elementary and Secondary Educationn for Students on
Reserve.
Balli, S. J. (1996, Winter). Family Diversity and the Nature of Parent Invovlement. Education Forum, 60(131725), 1-6.
Beader, A. (2010, February). Stepping Into Students' Worlds. Educational Leadership, pp. 56-60.
Becker, J. M. (2011). A five-year Follow-Up: Teachers' Perceptions of the Benefits of Home Visits for Early Elementary Children.
Early Childhood Education, 191-196.
Bower, J. &. (2011). Can the Epstein Model of Parental Involvment Work in a High-Minority, High-Poverty Elementary School? A
Case Study. ASCA Professional School Counseling, 77-87.
Bryan, J. &. (2008, December). Strengths-Based Partnerships: A School-Family-Community Partnership Appraoch to Empowering
Students. ASCA, pp. 149-156.
Cairney, T. (2000). Beyond the Classroom Walls: the rediscovery of family and community as parents in education. Educational
Review, 52(2), 163-174.
Epstein, J. & Sanders, M. (2006). Prospects for Change: Preparing Educators for School, Family and Community Partnerships.
Peabody Journal of Education, 81(2), 81-120.
Kellaghan, T., Sloane, K., Bloom, B., & Alcarez, B. (1993). The home environment and school learning. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
References