Conflicting Time Orientation of the Low–Income Families

A recurrent theme among the low–income families was that they did not engage in long term planning, but lived from day to day. Their lives are clearly not regimented by the same type of schedules, day planners or even clocks that are common for teachers. The management of their many health issues can be seen as demanding and impacts on the family functioning and also how they manage time by suddenly overtaking their day. Educators must respond to the needs of the families and recognize that long term planning is difficult for them and ensure that they understand the need to deal with these families in the same time and space if they truly want to encourage their participation in school affairs.

Cultural Mismatch Between Teachers and Students

Teachers are typically from the middle class and through their socialization are familiar with the culture and ways of the middle class. A variety of parenting practices that correlate with positive learning outcomes have been identified in the literature. One of these practices involves active participation in the child's school. It was shown in this study that parental participation in school activities was limited compared to the middle class. Sometimes teachers erroneously perceive parents' reduced school involvement or inconsistent participation as a lack of interest or not caring about or valuing education. However, often the parents fall short in their level of academic preparedness, not having achieved a high level themselves, or they may be consumed with their own affairs of life leaving little time or energy to volunteer at school or help their children with schoolwork. Schools also need to remain cognizant of the fact that not all homes are physically or emotionally set–up to support children in doing their homework and not all parents have the skills needed to help their children with schoolwork.