Improving students’ academic performance and reducing conflicts through family involvement in primary school learning activities: a Mexican case study

ABSTRACT Research shows that family involvement in learning activities at school improves students’ academic performance and social cohesion. This study analyses the impact of involving families through interactive groups, dialogic literary gatherings and tutored library in a Mexican primary school in a highly underprivileged urban area, within the framework of the Schools as Learning Communities (SaLeaCom), project in Latin America. Using communicative methodology, data were collected through interviews (school principal and members of the non-profit Vía Educación which manages the project locally), focus groups (mothers, teachers and students), observations in classes, internal school reports and the comparative results of the national 2015 and 2018 standardised tests. Results show a drastic improvement in academic performance, surpassing the national average in mathematics and language by 15% and 5% respectively, and reducing conflicts in 61%. This provides evidence of how academic success and social cohesion are possible in a Mexican school like the one studied.