Parents in poverty and science education reform: A relational systems approach

本研究的重点是贫困城市社区的父母及其建立的关系，以及他们在积极实施以改革为基础的科学教育的小学中发挥的作用。我们打算围绕家长和科学教育展开研究，超越不发达的家长参与对学生有益的观念。我们想知道这种参与在城市贫困中心参与学校科学改革的情况，父母如何与参与学校科学改革的其他人协商他们的行动和理解，以及关系系统模型如何有助于揭示父母在贫困城市地区学校科学改革中扮演的角色。因为我们关注的是城市贫困的家长，也因为我们打算了解家长参与学校科学改革的复杂性和深度，我们将共同努力，从社区、家庭无家可归者收容所吸引一半的家长参与。考虑到20%的城市贫困儿童上学，而本研究所代表的城市支持大量无家可归的家庭，这些问题很重要。具体来说，这个REPP提案概述了一个研究项目，旨在分析德克萨斯州奥斯汀市为贫困城市儿童服务的小学中父母关系和互动的性质、质量和影响，这些小学正在努力在当前科学教育改革倡议的范围和精神范围内改善科学教学。虽然人们普遍认为，哪里有好的城市学校，哪里就会有关心和积极的父母，但很难在日常实践中构建一个父母互动的账户，这不仅仅是一个普遍的信念，即关心和积极的父母对有效的学校改革很重要，或者是“好父母”为孩子的教育所做的一长串事情。使用定性研究方法，我们将研究以下问题：-信念和行动。在贫困的城市环境中，父母如何看待学校在科学教育改革中的“最佳实践”，以及他们在帮助制定这一过程中的角色是什么？在科学教育改革过程中，家长的这种信念如何与他人（儿童、教师、管理人员、社区领袖）对最佳实践和家长在这一过程中的角色的期望“相称”？在家里，父母是如何践行他们的信念的？在社区里？在学校吗?-维持关系。在贫困的城市环境中，父母如何就信念和实践达成共识，并与彼此以及与学区内的行为者（教师、管理人员和他们的孩子）建立持续的关系，以根据当前的最佳实践理念重塑科学教育，特别是当他们的信念和实践与这些受众的期望不同时？这些关系的性质和性质是什么？什么样的支持结构（制度的、物质的、智力的）维持这些相互作用和关系？——科学教育改革。记录和分析学校中家长和参与者之间维持关系的形成、性质和质量——以及这些关系所支持的信念和行为——以何种方式揭示了对贫困城市中心儿童进行科学教育的学校改革意味着什么？我们如何在科学教育改革中发展、完善和实施这一模式？

The focus of this research is on parents in poor urban communities and the relationships they establish and the roles they play in elementary schools that are active in implementing reform-based science education. We intend to move the research around parents and science education beyond the underdeveloped belief that parent participation is good for students. We want to know what this participation looks like in centers of urban poverty involved in school science reform efforts, how parents negotiate their actions and understandings with others involved in school science reform, and how a relational systems model might help to shed new insights on the roles parents play in school science reform in poor urban areas. Because we are focusing on parents in urban poverty and because we intend to understand the complexity and depth of parent participation in school science reform, we will make a concerted effort to draw half of the parent participant pool from community, family homeless shelters. These questions are significant given that 20% of all children attend school in urban poverty, and the city represented in this study supports large numbers of homeless families. Specifically, this REPP proposal outlines a program of research designed to analyze the nature, qualities, and impact of parental relationships and interactions in elementary schools serving poor urban children in Austin, TX that are working to improve science instruction within the scope and spirit of current science education reform initiatives. While it is generally acknowledged that where you find good urban schools you will find caring and motivated parents, it has been difficult to construct an account of parental interaction, grounded in everyday practice, that goes beyond either a general belief that caring and motivated parents matter in effective school reform or a laundry list of things that "good parents" do for their children's education. Using qualitative research methodology, we will research the following questions:- BELIEFS AND ACTIONS. How do parents in poor urban settings perceive "best practice" in science education in schools initiating science education reform, and what do they see as their role in helping to enact such a process? How do such parental beliefs "measure up" against expectations held by others in the science education reform process (children, teachers, administrators, community leaders) about best practice and parents' roles in such a process? What do parents do to enact their beliefs: at home? in the community? at schools?- SUSTAINING RELATIONSHIPS. How do parents in poor urban settings negotiate common understandings about beliefs and practices and build sustaining relationships with each other and with actors within the school (teachers, administrators, and their children) in school districts acting to reshape science education in line with current ideas of best practice, especially if and when their beliefs and practices differ from expectations held by these audiences? What are the nature and qualities of these relationships? What kinds of support structures (institutional, material, intellectual) sustain these interactions and relationships?- SCIENCE EDUCATION REFORM. In what ways does documenting and analyzing the formation, nature, and qualities of sustaining relationships between parents and actors within schools- and the kinds of beliefs and actions those relationships support-shed light on what it means to enact school reform in science education for children in poor urban centers? How might we develop, refine, and implement this model in science education reform?