Transforming Difficulties into Possibilities: Family Training as an Action for Educational Success in Contexts of Poverty

Abstract

This research focuses on the implementation of a series of actions and training workshops with families of a school located in a socially excluded area in the city of Cordoba, Spain. The study explores how the participants perceived the experience and the educational and social benefits of this formative process. The research methodology was based on a participatory action research approach, which involved successive cycles of research and action in different phases: planning and analysis of the problem, action, observation and reflection. Five key informants, selected according to the criterion of structural heterogeneity, participated in the research. Semi-structured interviews and field journals were used as research instruments and content analysis was the technique of choice to analyses the information. The results reveal that the participants found the workshops to be highly beneficial both personally and in terms of the image they project to their children. They also faced challenges regarding their continuity in the activity, such as prejudices or different communication codes. The discussion underlines the importance of conducting training activities with families in contexts of poverty as an educational action that can increase their interest and motivation towards the school and hence enhance their participation in school life.