Abstract: There is a significant body of research that establishes the benefits of early parental involvement in schools. However, very little attention has been devoted to exploring the experiences and expectations of immigrant Pakistani parents in this context. For this study, the researcher explored the experiences and expectations of immigrant Pakistani parents regarding parental involvement in their children's schools in the United States. The theoretical perspectives that guided this study were based on the teachings of Bronfenbrenner, Epstein, and Spry and Graham who explained how the environment and the surrounding community influence the child. A qualitative research design, using a phenomenological lens, was employed to interview eight Pakistani parents from diverse backgrounds. This ensured that a wide range of Pakistani parental experiences were observed and recorded. The primary data collection instruments were interviews, and publically available documents from the school websites. Findings from the study demonstrate that Pakistani parents are very involved in their children's schooling. Their involvement includes the academic realm as well as extra-curricular activities. Although Pakistani parents want their children to succeed in school, they also desire that their children maintain their cultural and religious identities and therefore regularly engage in transnational activities including celebrating Eid, and Ramadan. Half of the parents interviewed reported at least one negative experience at school. While not all these can be attributed to the events of September 11, 2001 (9/11), some of these undoubtedly occurred because of negative stereotypes regarding this community that developed after the events of 9/11. Study participants provided several recommendations for schools to promote parental involvement by immigrant Pakistani parents. These include appropriate cultural and religious inclusion and greater opportunities to present workshops or lectures to the school community, especially during festivals or holidays that are important to them.

The 2nd Edition of Reconceptualizing Literacy in the New Age of Multiculturalism and Pluralism honors the genius of Dr. Peter Mosenthal. His contributions to the field of literacy were unprecedented. Many described him as a superb researcher who never lost sight of the purpose of education. He made us laugh as he led us in a nursery rhyme song during his National Reading Conference (LRA) Presidential Address and made us think as he explained the significance of educational implications in all research articles. He also mentored and taught graduate students in gentle and carefully attentive ways, showing his respect and appreciation for the work of each individual in the field. He was a remarkable person. The second edition of this book includes many experienced and new scholars from around the world. Qualitative and quantitative research methodologies are scattered throughout and the practical and theoretical are well represented. New Literacies and Global Perspectives are added sections in this volume. In this era of the “Common Core”, Reconceptualizing Literacy in the New Age of Multiculturalism and Pluralism, presents a rational educational balance for literacy development across the curriculum.

This book examines the challenges that Pakistani-American families have faced in their attempts to assimilate within the U.S. school culture since the September eleventh terrorist attack. Negative stereotyping has permeated into schools, and affected Pakistani-American students and their families. Reza examines this phenomenon from a parental lens in order to describe how 9/11 has altered the involvement of Pakistani-American parents in their children’s schools, and whether or not schools are appropriately addressing these issues and concerns. Reza connects formal initiatives taken by U.S. schools to promote greater integration while encouraging multiculturalism, and relays the experiences of Pakistani-American parents to provide readers with a unique perspective on the challenges that this population faces in assimilating within the U.S. school culture. Recommendations are offered to policymakers and educators on how to promote greater Pakistani-American parental involvement in U.S. schools.

Today’s educational landscape requires practitioners to move from a teacher-centric to a more inclusive and student-centric approach. To address the diverse needs of students, educators must understand the challenges they face, and learn how to address them. This volume highlights the significance of diversity and inclusion practices in educational institutions.

This volume brings together articles and narratives exclusively written to encourage and assist a variety of educational professionals in the disciplines of preschool education, elementary education, higher education, arts, teacher development and leadership. It also touches on areas of multicultural studies in the humanities and the social sciences. The material and information provided here serves as an excellent resource for university coursework and as a supplemental reading tool for journal reviews, response reports and additional groupwork and online course assignments. This text will be of particular interest to educators, principals, school administrators, speech pathologists, psychologists, students, teachers and other college and university personnel within a variety of diverse disciplines.

The Igbo community in Chicago is a newer immigrant community, compared to the German, Polish, Italian, or Irish communities. Just as for these older immigrant communities, education is essential for Igbo immigrants who have come to start a new life in the United States. Adapting well and thriving in the new environment requires immigrants to tread the path of education. The number of Igbo children and other such immigrants is increasing. The way they are educated is importantnot only to the individual child, but also to society. Igbo children are enrolled in both public and private schools in the Chicago metropolitan area. Ka umu anyi wee karia anyi (So that our children will be more successful than us) is one of the many reasons Igbo families in Chicago are involved in the education of their children. Education of children occurs in the home, the school, and the community. This study seeks to understand the nature of parental engagement of Igbo families in Chicago in the education of their children. Not all immigrants are the same. Knowing about Igbo experiences will enable scholars and educators to recognize both similarities with and differences from other immigrant communities. It is immaterial whether their kind of involvement fits the prescribed or standardized form of parental involvement in the literature or in practice elsewhere. The crucial question is, given their circumstances, are Igbo parents perceptions and practices of parental involvement promoting the education of their children in Chicago?

Winner of the 2006 Edward Fry Book Award presented by the National Reading Conference The voices of teachers, parents, and students create a compelling ethnographic study that examines the debate between traditional and progressive pedagogies in literacy education and the mismatch of cross-cultural discourses between mainstream schools and Asian families. This book focuses on a Vancouver suburb where the Chinese population has surpassed the white community numerically and socioeconomically, but not politically, and where the author uncovers disturbing cultural conflicts, educational dissensions, and "silent" power struggles between school and home. What Guofang Li reveals illustrates the challenges of teaching and learning in an increasingly complex educational landscape in which literacy, culture, race, and social class intertwine. Advocating for a greater cultural understanding of minority beliefs in literacy education and a more critical examination of mainstream instructional practices, Li offers a new theoretical framework and critical recommendations for teachers, schools, and parents.