Unseen Journeying: Latinx Mothers’ Experiences and Navigation of Pre-Referral Home-School Collaboration

Abstract

Research has documented various home-school collaboration obstacles faced by Latinx mothers whose children receive special education services. However, minimal attention has focused on Latinx mothers of students in the pre-referral stage—the time when students facing significant academic difficulties may be struggling in the classroom but have not yet been referred to special education evaluation. Responding to this gap in the literature, this qualitative study investigated how Latinx mothers experienced and navigated pre-referral home-school collaboration, which was conceptualized as the dynamic process occurring between family members and school personnel working towards common goals related to student growth. In alignment with Chicana Feminist Epistemology, plática methodology was employed to gather the accounts of 12 Latinx mothers whose children had undergone the pre-referral stage in the last 6 years. A novel conceptual framework and a phronetic iterative approach were used to analyze transcripts of the pláticas, or the 28 meaning-making conversations held with these women individually or in groups. In the presentation of the findings, the pre-referral experience was metaphorically compared to a physical journey. Five themes emerged from this study: mothers on the same journey but distinct paths, information revealing potential paths, navigational efforts on multiple fronts, diverse supports and constraints, and compelling emotions and dispositions. These themes highlighted the diversity of experiences and the influence of external and internal factors. Based on these themes, recommendations for practice, policy, and research were offered to showcase the mothers’ insights and propose actionable initiatives, including the use of this study’s framework as a tool for intervention.