The Research Behind the Story
The story is inspired by a research case in the School Transition Study
The School Transition Study (STS) looked at the influence of family, school,
and community on the development of approximately 400 low-income, racially and
culturally diverse children from kindergarten through fifth grade. The study
used a variety of methods to collect data on the children, their families, schools,
and communities. As part of this data collection, in-depth qualitative case
studies were conducted with a small sample of these children from first grade
through second grade. These case studies focused on how family educational involvement
affected children's development and school achievement.
The story of Tomasito was inspired by the real experiences of one of these
children, his family, and his teacher. This particular child was born in the
U.S. to low-income immigrant parents originally from Mexico. The child's mother
had less than a high school education. The family lived in a large Western U.S.
city and was acculturating to the U.S. The fictionalized story draws on some
real events in the child's life, as well as on the actual feelings of the child,
his mother, and his teacher. However, the plot of the story is the invention
of the author, who was a member of the HFRP research team that collected and
analyzed data on these children, and the names have been changed to protect
the confidentiality of study participants. The key dynamic of the story—the
desire of both the mother and the teacher to share information about the child's
learning, despite language differences and a child who actively pushes them
apart-remains true to the original case study.
The story illuminates research themes from the School Transition Study
STS analysis showed that family involvement activities at school, as depicted
in Tomasito's story, are an important type of family educational involvement
for low-income families and can have a positive effect on children's literacy
achievement. When STS families were engaged in more school involvement activities
over the years, including attending open houses, parent-teacher conferences,
and other school organization meetings, and visiting and volunteering in the
classroom, their children's literacy achievement increased even more. This was
especially true when the mothers in these families had less than a high school
education.
The story of Tomasito brings to life some STS findings about patterns of family
involvement at school. We found that formal school involvement activities like
back-to-school nights were just one way to promote communication between parents
and teachers. Informal conversations at the beginning and end of the school
day, focusing on issues particular to the child, were also frequent activities.
In addition, we discovered that being informally present inside the school building
was important for parents as they sought to comprehend what their child was
learning at school and that some Latino families with limited English skills
learned a lot by active observation.
We also found, as have other researchers, that teachers who reach out to families
to encourage their involvement and who welcome them into the school make a difference
in families' participation at school. And we found that the children themselves—often
neglected in analyses of home–school relationships—exerted a powerful
influence on the communication between parent and teacher. These involvement
processes are apparent in the story of Tomasito.
Learn more about the School Transition Study and
the research publications that present these analyses.
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