Graduation Semester and Year
2021
Language
English
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Social Work
Department
Social Work
First Advisor
Jandel Crutchfield
Abstract
African American youth perform lower in main subjects and are suspended at higher rates compared to their peers. In Fort Worth ISD only three out of ten 3rd graders read on grade level, and 62% of African American female students and 52% of African American males are suspended. Parent engagement is a tool found to improve attendance, grades, and campus behavior leading to future college enrollment. However, campuses focus on a parent involvement approach that is reported to be ineffective for families of color as race, culture, socioeconomic status, and other factors can be disregarded. With the disparities found amongst African American youth in Fort Worth ISD, along with the change in learning due to COVID-19, this study sought to gain the perspectives of African American parents on Fort Worth ISD engagement efforts before and during COVID-19, and how transportation impacted parent engagement. Nine African American mothers were interviewed for this study. Results found that parent engagement perspectives were mixed before COVID and decreased during COVID. Parents also shared the importance of engagement and how schools can successfully engage them. Parents perspectives are needed to improve practices that will lead to long term academic success of their students. Recommendations for future practices included.
Keywords
Parent engagement, African American parents, African American students
Disciplines
Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social Work
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Dixon, Arin D., "PARENT ENGAGEMENT IN AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES: PRE-COVID AND PERI-COVID PERSPECTIVES OF SCHOOL EFFORTS" (2021). Social Work Theses. 136.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/socialwork_theses/136
Comments
Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington