Rendering the Invisible Visible: A Study of Black Families Participating in Families Advocating for Their Children's Education (FACE)

• In Event: 31.091 - Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: 31.091-22 - African American at Risk

Abstract

This study examines how 12 Black families, outside of the sanction of the school district, identified and organized ways to advocate for engagement with their children’s educations. The study was conducted in a large, majority African-American school district in the Northeast. A case study methodology was utilized and included interview, focus group, participant observation and document analysis methods. Preliminary findings reveal that existing parental engagement frameworks did not adequately capture the families’ advocacy and parental engagement in their children’s education. Additionally, while there were several challenges and barriers that impede the families’ advocacy and engagement, there were also numerous strategies and assets that the families' employed to fight for power and position in the decision making for their children’s education.

Author

• Tamyka Morant, University of Maryland