Exploring Black Parents’ Critical Consciousness in Relation to Their Engagement With Their Children’s Schools

• In Event: Resistant and Agentic Outcomes in the Face of Racism Among Black Families

Abstract

Despite growing consensus that parent involvement is integral to children’s educational success, Black parents’ involvement in schools remains largely misunderstood from a deficits-based perspective embedded in structural racism. Schools often expect parents to be engaged in a deferential manner without sharing their own ideas or opinions (Cooper, 2009; Doucet, 2011; Lareau & Horvat, 1999). When Black parents do not act in prescribed ways, they are viewed as uninvolved and educators label them as “hard to reach” (Gutman & McCloyd, 2000; Olivos, 2006). This creates a dichotomy between white, middle-class parents who are seen as present, helpful, and caring and Black parents who are seen as contrary and not deferential, especially those who are working- or middle-class (Cooper, 2009). This study utilizes the lenses of critical race theory and critical consciousness to explore parents’ analysis of an educational system that is inherently inequitable and how they involve themselves in their children’s schools. Below we present the questions that guide this study:
How do Black parents recognize systemic educational inequities?
How do Black parents describe their motivations for interacting with their children’s schools?
How do Black parents describe their school engagement?
How does their critical analysis of educational inequities influence their engagement?
Using semi-structured interviews with a sample of (n = 20) Black parents who were recruited from 5 middle schools in Southeastern Michigan rapid and rigorous qualitative data analysis (RADAR; Watkins, 2017) was used to explore an emergent understanding of parents’ thoughts, motivations, and actions to engage with their child’s school. For instance, one mother shared, “I need [schools] them to take me seriously, I need them to know that I'm intelligent too and we need to handle this situation…I don't want to be that crazy Black parent, you know, causing problems.” In this quote, this mother noted her understanding that teachers and administrators may have their own preconceived beliefs about her as a Black parent before she even enters the space. This realization and other shared experiences revealed a nuanced relationship between beliefs and actions as parents held both critical and traditional views, expressed themes of internal and external efficacy in their motivation and engaged critically and traditionally in their child’s education. Results are consonant with the literature on traditional and non-traditional forms of Black parents’ engagement and add to the nascent understanding of the ways that parents make sense of structural oppression within schools and respond to them. Considering the deficit perceptions that are prevalent within schools of Black parents, it is imperative to fully understand the ways in which Black parents make sense of negative perceptions held about themselves and their children and how those thoughts influence their engagement with their children’s schools. This demands more thoughtful approaches to partnership and collaboration with Black families that consider barriers, vulnerabilities, and systemic inequity that may impact parent action and child outcomes.

Authors

• Aixa Daphne Marchand, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Presenting Author

• Isis Settles, University of Michigan
  Non-Presenting Author

• Stephanie Johnson Rowley, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Non-Presenting Author

• Matthew A Diemer, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
  Non-Presenting Author

• Shubhangi Kumari, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
  Non-Presenting Author