All for Our Children: Migrant Families and Parent Participation in an Alternative Education Program

Children from migrant agricultural families have some of the lowest socioeconomic and educational indicators in the American Southwest, and migrant parents are often characterized by school personnel as “hard to reach” and uninvolved in their children's education. This study analyzes the process of school participation among migrant parents who participated in a community-based adult education program. It examines the participants' own process of self-actualization and the specific programmatic features that promoted educational and attitudinal changes that affected children's schooling. The data indicate the emergence of beneficial, assertive interactions between parents and school personnel that improved schooling for migrant children.