School Leaders Perceptions of Family Engagement Practices with Immigrant Preschool Families in Virginia

School leaders across the country seek ways to increase family engagement. Children learn and grow when parents, teachers and community collaborate in ways that encourage student development (Epstein and Sheldon, 2014). Current family engagement models do not support families of diverse socio-historical backgrounds and are not differentiated (Coady, 2019). "Every family needs a voice in certain school decisions" (Constantino, 2016). The purpose of this qualitative study, informed by phenomenological case study, was to describe school leaders' perceptions of family engagement practices with immigrant preschool families in central Virginia school divisions. The researcher conducted one-on one interviews with school leaders that support site based preschool programs in public school. The intended outcome of this study was to provide Virginia preschool school leaders with qualitative data to support the engagement of preschool immigrant families in Virginia. Data collected included four preschool leaders. An analysis of the data indicated that all school leaders perceive relationship building, open two way communication, and community partnerships as key components to family engagement with immigrant preschool families in Virginia. It is anticipated that this study's results could help school leaders implement practices that will impact the engagement of immigrant preschool families in Virginia as well as support student academic achievement. The findings will indicate school leaders lived experiences with preschool immigrant families.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Department dc:contributor.department

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Harris, Lesley R.

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Lowery, Charles L.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Brinkmann, Jodie Lynn
• White, Tinkhani Ushe
• Price, Ted S.

• Family Engagement
• Head Start
• Title 1
• Preschool
• English Language Learner
• immigrant populations

Statement dc:rights

• Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:42333

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/124298