Diversity in public education: Acknowledging immigrant parent knowledge

Abstract

Immigrant parents bring their values, language, culture, religion, and educational backgrounds to our schools, enriching our educational environments. The literature on immigrant parents, however, uses a deficit model. This study explored the value of and knowledge of immigrant parents on the margins of the public education system. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with thirty-eight immigrant parents from fifteen countries. The results of this study illustrate the significance of immigrant parent knowledge, cultural, first language and religious knowledge, and the need for teachers and school administrators to recognize and make use of parent knowledge.

Keywords: Immigrant parent knowledge, cultural knowledge, first language knowledge, religious diversity.