Abstract:

One challenge for many urban elementary principals is getting African American parents involved in their children's education. During the International Successful School Leadership Project (ISSP) on principals who improved the academic achievement of children in challenging schools, two predominantly African American urban elementary schools were found that had high minority parent involvement. The purpose of this study was to learn what made their parents differ from the minority parents discussed in the literature. A case study format was chosen with a purposeful selection of 33 interviewees. Forty-six additional transcriptions from previous studies were also utilized as data. Data was collected through interviews, observations and documentation. Constant comparison was used to analyze data. It was learned that safety, teaching efficacy, social and cultural capital impact upon minority parents involvement. This study is significant because it closes a gap in the literature by demonstrating that teaching efficacy does affect minority parent involvement. It also closes a gap in the literature by introducing a parent-centered parent involvement model that is sensitive to the societal demands of minority and low-income parents.