Black Parents’ Success Strategies for Their Children’s Education and Employment

• In Event: Roundtable Session 1
  In Roundtable Session: African Americans: Home, School, University, and Community

Abstract

Our recent Economic and Social Research Council funded project examining the educational strategies of Black middle class families found that despite their class location they continue, like their US counterparts, to experience racism. They also sought strategies to navigate the education system in relative isolation with few support networks or means of sharing information. Informed by these findings, this paper describes the outcome of a new project, shaped by Black parents and an applied critical race praxis, which has spawned a series of virtual and in-person networks enabling parents to share experiences, strategies and information about education. This challenges preconceptions of Black parents as disengaged and demonstrates how academic research can creatively inform meaningful practice.

Author

• Nicola Rollock, The University of Birmingham