Chapter 16: Models to Promote Parent Involvement in Children’s Education Within the U.S. Virgin Islands

Family engagement in children’s education is a strong predictor of student success (Epstein, 2010a). The scope of this chapter informs and encourages the knowledge of family engagement as a resource for strengthening student-learning outcomes. Engaging families may allow the field of teacher education to successfully steer students into productive futures. Home, school, and community partnerships are essential ingredients of teacher education models in the 21st century.

For Caribbean parents, in particular, and teachers in general, within the U.S. Virgin Islands, there is a need for current research on family engagement with diverse families to offer strategies for working with these families. Three main models of parent involvement are discussed, including Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s theoretical model of the parental involvement process, Epstein’s framework of six types of involvement, and the academic parent-teacher teams model, all of which can be embedded within teacher education in diverse classrooms, essential to Caribbean discourse. These models are defined and applied specifically to families of the U.S. Virgin Islands. This chapter is aimed at teachers, educators, researchers, scholars, and policymakers engaging and encouraging families towards future positive student outcomes.