The Systemic Academic Pandemic: How Black Families Experience School Engagement After Race and COVID-19 Collide

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 9:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Counternarratives to Enhance Supportive Educational Environments (Table 10)

Abstract

This study explored the lived experiences of Black families engaging with predominantly White public schools in the midwest. It provided an understanding of how family history and values impacted their engagement experiences before, during, and after the pandemic and explored their desires for future engagement with their children’s schools.

Critical Race Theory provided a multifaceted viewpoint of the counter-narratives provided by Black parents and guardians in relation to school engagement. Application of the five tenets of CRT revealed permanence of racism to be the most prevalent influence on family engagement. Results also indicated that experience of racism and the remote learning did not deter or lessen the families’ determination to be actively involved in their children’s education.

Authors

• Tamara Huff, Wichita State University

• Kristin G. Sherwood, Wichita State University