Views of Multilingual Families’ Communication With East Coast Migrant Head Start Programs

Abstract

Partnerships between schools and families directly impact children’s school experiences and learning outcomes. Multilingual families experience unique barriers as they seek to partner with schools to educate their children. This research study focused on exploring families’ perceptions of access to multilingual early childhood programs and communication processes between multiple stakeholders of an early childhood program in their rural multilingual community. Researchers collected data from 42 families with and without children enrolled in a Head Start program in North Carolina. Results revealed that most families believe they have access to the Head Start program and hold a positive perception of the communication processes in the Head Start program. However, barriers related to enrollment and cultural and linguistic issues were evident. This study impacts multilingual families’ access to early childhood programs and their children’s future academic, career, and life success.