A la escuela! Identification of the information needs of Hispanic/Latino parents in North Carolina, and how school district’s Web sites may address those needs: An exploratory user study.

by Cueva Chac?on, Lourdes M.

The Hispanic/Latino community is a fast growing and younger community in North Carolina. Therefore, we can expect that public service providers, commerce and professionals aren’t familiar with their language, culture and information needs. As immigrants, Hispanic families face several challenges in their process of adaptation. The language, among others, is also a big barrier for Spanish-speaking parents to learn about, and get involved in their children’s school activities, delaying and making more complex the adaptation to U.S. schools system.

Results of this study reveal that the information needs of the group studied are related to learning about the school enrollment process, the structure of the U.S. education system, and additional services provided at schools. Based on these results and qualitative data collected from Web browsing sessions with Hispanic parents, an effective Web site design oriented to the Latino community is proposed.