The Role of the Rural Context in Supporting Parental Involvement in the Early Years

• In Event: Roundtable Session 56
  In Roundtable Session: Weaving Family and School Tapestries: Neuroatypicalities, Rural Context, and Social Class Divide Experiences

Abstract

The goal of this study is to describe ways in which low-income, African American parents perceived the rural character of their local school as supporting their efforts to build positive home-school relationships during the primary grades. Data for this study were generated during interviews and focus groups with parents whose children attended a rural school. Parents in the study named two key resources for supporting their children: the quantity and length of their relationships with school staff and the accessibility of the school, both of which they linked to the rural character of the school. In addition, several parents spoke about the ways that these resources mediated challenges they experienced.

Author

• Amy Noelle Parks, Michigan State University