Enhancing the participation of immigrant families in schools through Intermediary Organizations? The case of Parents’ Associations in Catalonia
This paper discusses the results of an action-research project developed in a federation of Parents Associations (PAs) in Catalonia, aimed at helping PAs involve immigrant families. First, I nuance the idea of participation in schools to highlight some of the problems associated with participative i...
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| Formato: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión aceptada para publicación |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2017 |
| País: | España |
| Recursos: | Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) |
| Repositorio: | O2, repositorio institucional de la UOC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:openaccess.uoc.edu:10609/152939 |
| Acesso em linha: | https://hdl.handle.net/10609/152939 https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2017.1349959 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palavra-chave: | participation family–school relations Intermediary organizations parents’ associations immigrant families spain |
| Resumo: | This paper discusses the results of an action-research project developed in a federation of Parents Associations (PAs) in Catalonia, aimed at helping PAs involve immigrant families. First, I nuance the idea of participation in schools to highlight some of the problems associated with participative initiatives targeting ‘hard to reach’ parents. Then, I borrow the notion of Intermediary Organizations (IOs) to assess in what ways PAs may be able to become a valuable resource to help schools involve immigrant parents. In this regard, I analyse the situation of Pas located in multicultural contexts. Then, three specific PA projects are discussed to illustrate PA’s strengths and weaknesses when leading their own projects. In conclusion, I argue that, in order to work as truly IOs, PAs must: (a) build on the experiences of successful PAs leading projects; (b) strengthen their organizational closure; and (c) lessen their responsibility to carry on important school services. |
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