Examining the Cultural Capital in the Parental Involvement of African American Parents of Disabled High School Students

This chapter explores the value of cultural capital in the parental involvement of African American parents of disabled high school students. The traditional approach of parental involvement is widely implemented across public education. The framework for parental involvement is outdated and racially one-sided, which causes the contributions of African American parents to be devalued by their child's school. This chapter focuses on a qualitative study of five African American mothers of disabled high school students and how they engage with their children's public education. The participants provide narrative examples of their cultural capital and they have used it to help benefit their child's education. This implies the need to revise the image of parental involvement to one that is a more diverse inclusionary model, which will help schools better support the academic achievement of students from culturally and linguistically diverse families.

“There Is No National without the Local”

Chapter 3 charts the development of the movement to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline as a national movement with deep local roots. It documents the beginnings of the movement in places like Holmes County, Mississippi, where African American parents first raised the alarm. It shows how national actors played important roles in spreading local victories, while both strengthening local organizing and working to influence federal policy. It discusses the struggle in the Dignity in Schools Campaign to create a coalition in which community groups would have a majority say and keep the coalition focused on supporting local organizing rather than Washington politics. It charts the movement’s victories, shifting discourse away from zero tolerance and getting the federal government to issue guidelines warning against zero-tolerance discipline. These victories became resources to groups in local- and state-level campaigns, creating a rolling series of policy wins across the country.

Engaging African American parents: insights from a cultural arts after school program

Purpose Literature indicates African American parents can feel real or perceived discrimination that strains their interactions with teachers, resulting in them feeling alienated from their children’s school. Design/methodology/approach This is an exploratory case study of two African American parents, who although guarded in their relationships with teachers, exposed their vulnerabilities to Project ESTEEM faculty as they requested support in resolving behavioral and academic challenges with their children. It is an exploratory case study in that the field notes were taken prior to defining the research question, positioning it as research that sets the stage for a future more comprehensive study. The researchers, as participant observers recorded field notes of events and interactions that occurred. The research question was, “What were the factors that influenced the relationships between the Project ESTEEM faculty and African American Parents? The subquestions were “What were the distinctions of alienation that challenged the parents’ relationships in the schools? and "How were the factors that challenged the parents’ relationships with teachers mitigated in Project ESTEEM faculty’s relationships with the parents?” A constant comparative method was used beginning with open coding, followed by identifying patterns, themes and subthemes reflecting the specific needs of the parents in relationship to the overall theme. Findings The stories highlight sociocultural contexts influencing the alienation of some African American parents in their children’s education through an analysis of the relationships fostered with Project ESTEEM faculty. Research limitations/implications This case study reports the experiences of two parents from one community and school, participating in a specialized program. Originality/value The significance resides in the representation of alternate viewpoints in understanding the alienation experiences of African American parents from schools.

Giving Voice to Aspirations: Engaging African American Parents With Children With Disabilities

African American children and youth are disproportionately represented in special education, school suspensions, expulsion, and the school-to-prison pipeline. Research indicates that increasing the engagement of African American parents in their child’s education is an indicator of academic success for African American students. This article discusses ways that schools and educators can engage African American parents with children with disabilities in school through a parent aspirational meeting that builds on the aspirations African American parents have for their children while in school and beyond the boundaries of school.