The Counter-Narrative of the Multi-marginalized in Educational Institutions: Parents Advocating for Their Children in Schools

Marginalized groups around the globe often experience feelings of isolation and alienation as it relates to schools. Socially just leadership can help to craft welcoming spaces for all students and their families in educational settings. Savvy educational leaders will seek to understand the situations confronting those who are shrouded in marginalization and will make efforts to develop trusting relationships. This workshop focuses on the experiences high-poverty, rural, Appalachian parents of elementary students in schools as they advocate for educational opportunities for their children. The presenters will strive to illuminate the inhibitions of the marginalized and offer strategies that school leaders, endeavoring to be socially just, might apply to accommodate marginalized groups. In addition, the presenters will provide an overview of parental perspectives and share data and case studies regarding the circumstances of marginalized parents in their quest for optimal opportunities for their children. The perspectives and attitudes of parents regarding their involvement in schools that can translate into greater social capital for them and their children will be illuminated in this workshop.

Target audience

The target audience for the workshop will be practitioners from schools, faculty in educational leadership and teacher education, educational personnel from public and private sector entities, and governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Instructional goals

This workshop will afford the presenters with an opportunity share ideas about:

Planned workshop activities

The presenters will use innovative activities to communicate understandings about the experiences of the marginalized students and parents in education. Workshop activities and research case studies will assist participants in sharing their views. Polling technology, group activities and experiential exercises will be used to reveal common misconceptions, assumptions and generalizations regarding issues of poverty, marginalization, parental voice and parent engagement in schools. Further, the workshop will include a discussion about the attributes of democratic and socially justice leadership in schools and how these traits might facilitate more compatible school settings for those who are marginalized.

The presenters will share their expectations with the participants at the very beginning of the session. They will also encourage the participants to communicate their understandings regarding the workshop and its outcomes. The workshop will be a shared enterprise among the presenters and participants.

This session will also encourage participants to share their views on social justice leadership. Multiple viewpoints and approaches will be examined for effecting change to support social justice leadership in schools. The workshop will have an embedded assessment in the workshop program to create a medium for feedback for the presenters and for the participants to integrate what they have learned.

Instruction Staff:

Dwan Robinson, Ohio University
Rashmi Sharma, Ohio University