Black Parent Engagement: Motherwork in Racially Charged School Environments

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Nine
  In Roundtable Session: Experiences of Parents and Schooling in the Diaspora (Table 3)

Abstract

This study focuses on Black mothers’ performances of parent engagement in the face of racially harmful school environments. It illuminates invisible and undervalued labor that traditional parent engagement models have not captured. In this critical inquiry, we draw on data from 20 in-depth interviews of Black mothers analyzed through the theoretical lens of motherwork. Our analysis suggests that these Black mothers regularly act as educators to their kids, school staff, and the parenting community. Additionally, their labor often focuses on collectively advancing the needs of marginalized children, not just their own child’s academic futures. Elevating this counter-narrative presents a springboard for schools to recognize these labors as parent engagement and dismantle the systems that necessitate the unjust burden.

Author

• Karla R. Thomas, Northwestern University
  Presenting Author