Exploring the Influence of Gender on the Expectations and Child-Rearing Practices of African American Mothers

• In Event: Considering Issues of Race and Culture in Educational Leadership

Abstract

This narrative inquiry explores the influence of gender on the transmission of expectations through the daily childrearing practices of African American mothers. The goal of this inquiry is to provide a deeper understanding of African American mothers’ expectations for their daughters and their sons. Over a series of interviews, using in- depth, semi- structured interviewing methods, five African American mothers engaged in structured conversations to convey narratives of their childrearing practices. As research in progress, the researcher intends to use a narrative coding process that will reveal ‘temporal, social, and place’ considerations within the participants’ stories. A final coding process will identify a shared narrative of the influence of gender on the childrearing practices of these mothers.

Author

• LeAnna Majors, California State University - Long Beach