Race And Parent Involvment In School

An exploratory study was conducted in order to examine the experiences of Black parents with parent involvement at predominantly White schools. Eleven interviews with Black parents were completed and analyzed qualitatively using the grounded theory approach (Corbin & Strauss, 2008) and the case study method (Yin, 2009). Parental involvement has been identified as a factor that influences student academic outcomes from preschool through high school (Henderson & Berla, 1994). Research has found Black families are more likely to be involved at home when compared to White families; however, White families are more likely to be involved at school when compared to Black families (Eccles & Harold, 1996). Since research on African American families has centered on families at racially segregated public schools, there has been little investigation of the experiences of Black families in predominantly White school settings. Given the historical context of the education of Blacks in America and parent concerns with the social and emotional development of their children within school settings, African American families at predominantly White schools may engage in parent involvement practices that do not follow the traditional framework of parent involvement accepted by schools and researched in the literature. This study revealed several themes connected to African American parent involvement at predominantly White schools. These themes were the importance of education, cross-racial tensions, parent self-efficacy, biculturalism and cultural competence. Implications for future research were discussed. Recommendations were made for Black parents, educators, school counseling personnel and school-sponsored parent organizations regarding the improvement of Black parent involvement in activities and programs at predominantly White schools.

Acknowledgments Prologue Introduction: Stalking Culture and Meaning and Looking in a Refracted Mirror 1: Schooling and Imagining the American Dream: Success Alloyed with Failure 2: Becoming a Person: Fictive Kinship as a Theoretical Frame 3: Parenthood, Childrearing, and Female Academic Success 4: Parenthood, Childrearing, and Male Academic Success 5: Teachers and School Officials as Foreign Sages6: School Success and the Construction of "Otherness" 7: Retaining Humanness: Underachievement and the Struggle to Affirm the Black Self 8: Reclaiming and Expanding Humanness: Overcoming the Integration Ideology Afterword Policy Implications Notes Bibliography Index Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

In recent decades a growing number of middle-class parents have considered sending their children to—and often end up becoming active in—urban public schools. Their presence can bring long-needed material resources to such schools, but, as Linn Posey-Maddox shows in this study, it can also introduce new class and race tensions, and even exacerbate inequalities. Sensitively navigating the pros and cons of middle-class transformation, When Middle-Class Parents Choose Urban Schools asks whether it is possible for our urban public schools to have both financial security and equitable diversity. Drawing on in-depth research at an urban elementary school, Posey-Maddox examines parents’ efforts to support the school through their outreach, marketing, and volunteerism. She shows that when middle-class parents engage in urban school communities, they can bring a host of positive benefits, including new educational opportunities and greater diversity. But their involvement can also unintentionally marginalize less-affluent parents and diminish low-income students’ access to the improving schools. In response, Posey-Maddox argues that school reform efforts, which usually equate improvement with rising test scores and increased enrollment, need to have more equity-focused policies in place to ensure that low-income families also benefit from—and participate in—school change.

One of the myths about families in inner-city neighborhoods is that they are characterized by poor parenting. Sociologist Frank Furstenberg and his colleagues explode this and other misconceptions about success, parenting, and socioeconomic advantage in Managing to Make It. This unique study—the first in the MacArthur Foundation Studies on Successful Adolescent Development series—focuses on how and why youth are able to overcome social disadvantages. Based on nearly 500 interviews and case studies of families in inner-city Philadelphia, Managing to Make It lays out in detail the creative means parents use to manage risks and opportunities in their communities. More importantly, it also depicts the strategies parents develop to steer their children away from risk and toward resources that foster positive development and lead to success. "Indispensible to anyone concerned about breaking the cycle of poverty and helplessness among at-risk adolescents, this book has a readable, graphic style easily grasped by those unfamiliar with statistical techniques." —Library Journal

It seems like common sense that children do better when parents are actively involved in their schooling. But how well does the evidence stack up? The Broken Compass puts this question to the test in the most thorough scientific investigation to date of how parents across socioeconomic and ethnic groups contribute to the academic performance of K-12 children. The surprising discovery is that no clear connection exists between parental involvement and student performance. Keith Robinson and Angel Harris assessed over sixty measures of parental participation, at home and in school. While some of the associations they found were consistent with past studies, others ran contrary to previous research and popular perceptions. It is not the case that Hispanic and African American parents are less concerned about education--or that "Tiger parenting" among Asian Americans gets the desired results. Many low-income parents want to be involved in their children's school lives but often receive little support from school systems. For immigrant families, language barriers only worsen the problem. In this provocative work, Robinson and Harris believe that the time has come to reconsider whether parental involvement can make much of a dent in the basic problems facing American schools today.

Major new reflections on race and schools—by the best-selling author of “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?“ A Simmons College/Beacon Press Race, Education, and Democracy Series Book Beverly Daniel Tatum emerged on the national scene in 1997 with “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?,“ a book that spoke to a wide audience about the psychological dynamics of race relations in America. Tatum’s unique ability to get people talking about race captured the attention of many, from Oprah Winfrey to President Clinton, who invited her to join him in his nationally televised dialogues on race. In her first book since that pathbreaking success, Tatum starts with a warning call about the increasing but underreported resegregation of America. A selfdescribed “integration baby“—she was born in 1954—Tatum sees our growing isolation from each other as deeply problematic, and she believes that schools can be key institutions for forging connections across the racial divide. In this ambitious, accessible book, Tatum examines some of the most resonant issues in American education and race relations: • The need of African American students to see themselves reflected in curricula and institutions • How unexamined racial attitudes can negatively affect minority-student achievement • The possibilities—and complications—of intimate crossracial friendships Tatum approaches all these topics with the blend of analysis and storytelling that make her one of our most persuasive and engaging commentators on race. Can We Talk About Race? launches a collaborative lecture and book series between Beacon Press and Simmons College, which aims to reinvigorate a crucial national public conversation on race, education and democracy.

This leading text examines the meaning of multicultural education from historical and conceptual perspectives. It provides a thorough analysis of the theory and practice of five major approaches to dealing with race, language, social class, gender, disability, and sexual orientation in today's classrooms.

The disproportional representation of Black students in special education has been an issue of concern for many years in the United States. A review of the literature illustrates the struggle of African American children in the American educational system: from the Civil Rights Movement and desegregation to the re-segregation of these same children into special day classrooms. What the literature fails to report is how parental involvement might help educators address the problem of overrepresentation and the perceptions of the families who are affected by their children being placed in special educational settings. The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the experiences and perceptions of African American parents who have male children receiving special education services in schools. Critical race theory was utilized as a framework to examine and challenge the manner in which race and racism impacts practices and procedures by school personnel dealing with African American parents. As such, qualitative data were gathered and analyzed to bring to light African American parents' experiences with the special education system servicing their male children. Many of the parents in this study stated that they had experienced obstacles that prevented them from meaningful participation in the educational planning for their children as members of the IEP process. The perceived obstacles that limited their parental involvement in special education were the following: communication between parents and the IEP team members; knowledge of special education laws; parental rights and roles in the process; African American academic success and placement; and school staff understanding of African American students culture and the need for diversity. The findings of this study yield important implications for policy and practice. These changes require a paradigm shift towards inclusive educational practices that support all students in the general education setting and a renewed commitment to improving parental involvement among African American parents at both the site and district levels. Educational leaders can support this shift through providing professional development and trainings to parents and site administrators on the legal guidelines established by Public Law 94-142 (IDEA). Future research include studies which could provide the field with more information as to why inequities in special education continue to plague African American males and their families.

This book examines the resources available to parents and the actions parents can take to further their childrens education. It is the first study of the subject based on major survey data, drawing from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988a national survey of 26,000 eighth graders, their parents, teachers, and school administrators. The authors explore several important debates, including the extent to which parental involvement can mitigate the constraints of poverty for minorities and disadvantaged students, school choice and equality of educational opportunity, and the effects that school-sponsored activities involving parents have on educational performance. }Parental involvement with children at home, in school, and in the community is one of the most important factors in educational success. Yet we know very little about the most effective approaches to parental intervention. Moreover, not all parents have the same resources or opportunities to act on the educational expectations they have for their children.This book examines the resources available to parents and the actions parents can take to further their childrens education. It is the first study of the subject based on major survey data, drawing from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988a national survey of 26,000 eighth graders, their parents, teachers, and school administrators. The authors explore several important debates, including the extent to which parental involvement can mitigate the constraints of poverty for minorities and disadvantaged students, school choice and equality of educational opportunity, and the effects that school-sponsored activities involving parents have on educational performance.Certain to change the thinking of educators and policymakers, this book is essential reading for scholars and parents as well. }

In this important book, award-winning author Stuart Greene enters the ongoing conversation about low-income African American families and their role in helping their children flourish. Greene focuses on parents’ self-defined roles within the context of race, urban development, and an economy that has created opportunity for some and displaced others. Moving beyond analysis to action, the author describes a partnering strategy to help educators understand the lived experiences of children and families and to use their funds of knowledge as resources for teaching. This book combines critical race theory, critical geography, first-hand accounts, and research on literacy practices at home to provide a powerful tool that will help teachers and administrators see families in new ways. Book Features: Describes a partnering model that encourages educators to consider the social, cultural, racial, and economic factors that shape parent engagement with schools.Identifies important areas of misunderstanding between African American parents and their children’s teachers.Incorporates personal narratives of children whose voices are rarely part of research on parent involvement. “Race, Community, and Urban Schools will make a difference in the lives of teachers and administrators. As you read this book, you may find yourself moved, intrigued, or saddened by some of the examples Stuart Greene provides. And throughout, you will find yourself rethinking, reprocessing, and recreating some of your most cherished ideas or preconceived notions about African American families.” —From the Foreword by Patricia Edwards, Michigan State University “This powerful—and hopeful—book challenges dominant portrayals of African American parent disengagement in their children’s education and exposes relations of race, power, and urban restructuring that exclude low-income parents of color. Through counterstories of parents’ deep commitment to their children’s education, Stuart Greene opens a space for us to think differently about creating democratic family-school partnerships.” —Pauline Lipman, professor, University of Illinois at Chicago