Parents’ Roles and Involvement in an Urban Secondary School’s Ambitious Mathematics Program

• In Event: Math Education Support Structures of RPP (Research-Practice Partnership), Teacher Leaders, Principals, Parents, and Future Math Professionals

Abstract

In this paper, we analyzed parents’ perceptions of their role in an ambitious mathematics program (AMP) at a high-need school. Using a framework by Civil et al. (2005), we found parents were primarily positioned as parents and to a lesser extent as learners. Through thematic analysis, we developed a framework that unpacked the specific roles through which parents embodied their broader roles as parents and learners from least to most direct involvement with an AMP. Common roles for parents as parents included checking their children’s grades and homework and ensuring resources for their children’s success. We linked these roles to the nature of the AMP’s communication with parents, thus warranting the need for more research on parent involvement with AMPs.

Authors

• Esperanza Ochoa, San Diego State University

• Charles E. Wilkes, University of California - Davis

• Ernesto Daniel Calleros, San Diego State University

• William C. Zahner, San Diego State University