Abstract
This chapter addresses the reality of the achievement gap between African American and white students. Then, it examines how fostering higher levels of father involvement might be a way of significantly bridging that gap. This chapter traces how various groups embraced father involvement as a means to closing the gap and the extent to which the research supports this approach. The chapter then examines what are some of the means of enhancing father engagement, the programs in place with that aim, and how these facts can serve as a guide for further advancement in African American father involvement.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Allen, W. D., & Conner, M. (1997). An African American perspective on generative fathering. In A. J. Hawkins and D. C. Dollahite (Eds.), Generative fathering (pp. 52–70). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Bailyn, B. (1960). Education in the forming of American society. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina.
Baskerville, S. (2002). The politics of fatherhood. Political Science & Politics, 35(4), 695–699.
Berger, L. M., Carlson, M. J., Bzoteck, S. H., & Osborne, C. (2008). Parenting practices of resident fathers: The role of marital and biological ties. Journal of Marriage & the Family, 70(3), 625–639.
Bergman, P. M., & Bergman, M. N. (1969). The chronological history of the Negro in America. New York: Harper & Row.
Blankenhorn, D., & Clayton, O. (2003). Introduction. In O. Clayton, R. B. Mincy, and D. Blankenhorn (Eds.), Black fathers in contemporary American society: Strengths, weaknesses, and strategies (pp. 1–8). New York: Russell Age Foundation.
Bobbe, D. (1933). DeWitt Clinton. New York: Minton, Balch & Company.
Brown, B. B., Bakken, J. P., Nguyen, J., & Von Bank, H. G. (2007). Sharing information about peer relations: Parents and adolescent opinions and behaviors in Hmong and African American families. In B. B. Brown and N. S. Mounts (Eds.), Linking parents and family to adolescent peer relations: Ethnic and cultural considerations (pp. 67–82). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Borman, G., & Hewes, G. (2003). Long-term cost effectiveness of Success For All. Educational Evaluation & Policy Analysis, 24(4), 243–266.
Bullock, H. A. (1970). A history of Negro education in the South: From 1619 to the present. New York: Praeger.
Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2009). Correctional populations in the United States and prisoners in 2008. Washington: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Carleton, D. (2002). Landmark congressional laws on education. Westport: Greenwood Press.
Carlson, M. J. (2006). Family structure, father involvement, and adolescent behavioral outcomes. Journal of Marriage & the Family, 68(1), 137–154.
Cherlin, A. J. (1978). Remarriage as an incomplete institution. American Journal of Sociology, 84(3), 634–650.
Coles, R. L. (2009). The best kept secret: Single black fathers. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Copeland, D. A. (2000). Debating the issues in colonial newspapers. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Conner, M. E., & White, J. L. (2006). Fatherhood in contemporary black America: Invisible, but present. In M. E. Conner and J. L. White (Eds.), Black fathers: An invisible presence in America (pp. 3–16). Mahwah: Erlbaum Associates.
Cornelius, J. D. (1991). When I can read my title clear: Illiteracy, slavery, and religion in the antebellum South. Columbus: University of South Carolina Press
Cornog, E. (1998). The birth of empire: DeWitt Clinton and the American experience, 1769–1828. New York: Oxford University Press.
Cubberley, E. (1920). The history of education. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
D’Agostino, J. A. (2002). National fatherhood initiative. Human Events, 38(17), 12–13.
Downer, J. T., & Mendez, J. L. (2005). African American father involvement and preschool children’s readiness. Early Education & Development, 16(3), 317–340.
Downer, J., Campos, R., McWayne, C., & Gartner, T. (2008). Father involvement and children’s early learning: A critical review of published empirical work. Marriage & Family Review, 43(1/2), 67–108.
Eavey, C. B. (1964). History of Christian education. Chicago: Moody Press.
Epstein, J. (2001). School, family, and community partnerships. Boulder: Westview Press.
Fagan, J. (1998). The influence of father involvement on African American elementary school children. Journal of Negro Education, 68(3), 234–251.
Fagan, J. (1999). Predictors of father and father figure involvement in pre-kindergarten. Philadelphia: National Centers on Fathers and Families.
Fagan, J., & Stevenson, H. (2002). An experimental study of an empowered intervention for African American Head Start fathers. Family Relations, 51, 191–198.
Flouri, E., & Buchanan, A. (2004). Early father’s and mother’s involvement and child’s later educational outcomes. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 141–153.
Harrison, W. P. (1893). The gospel among the slaves. Nashville: M. E. Church.
Horn, W. F. (2001). Turning the hearts of fathers: Faith-based approaches to promoting responsible fatherhood. In J. Fagan and A J. Hawkins (Eds.), Clinical and educational interventions with fathers (pp. 191–214). Binghamton: Haworth Press.
Hossain, Z., & Roopnarine, J. L. (1993). Division of household labor and child care in dual-earner African American families with infants. Sex Roles, 29, 571–583.
Henry, C., Plunkett, S., & Sands, T. (2011). Family structure, parental involvement, and academic motivation in Latino adolescents. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 57(6), 370–390.
Jay, J. (1801). In H. P. Johnson (Ed.), The correspondence and public papers of John Jay, 1782–1793 (p. 58). New York: Columbia University.
Jeynes, W. (1999). The effects of religious commitment on the academic achievement of black and Hispanic children. Urban Education, 34(4), 458–479.
Jeynes, W. (2000). The effects of several of the most common family structures on the academic achievement of eighth graders. Marriage and Family Review, 30(1, 2), 73–97.
Jeynes, W. (2002a). Divorce, family structure, and the academic success of children. Binghamton: Haworth Press.
Jeynes, W. (2002b). Educational policy and the effects of attending a religious school on the academic achievement of children. Educational Policy, 16(3), 406–424.
Jeynes, W. (2003a). A meta-analysis: The effects of parental involvement on minority children’s academic achievement. Education & Urban Society, 35(2), 202–218.
Jeynes, W. (2003b). The effects of black and Hispanic twelfth graders living in intact families and being religious on their academic achievement. Urban Education, 38(1), 35–57.
Jeynes, W. (2005a). A meta-analysis of the relation of parental involvement to urban elementary school student academic achievement. Urban Education, 40(3), 237–269.
Jeynes, W. (2005b). The effects of parental involvement on the academic achievement of African American youth. Journal of Negro Education, 74(3), 260–274.
Jeynes, W. (2006a). Standardized tests and the true meaning of kindergarten and preschool. Teachers College Record, 108(10), 1937–1959.
Jeynes, W. (2006b). The impact of parental remarriage on children: A meta-analysis. Marriage and Family Review, 40(4), 75–102.
Jeynes, W. (2007a). American educational history: School, society, and the common good. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Jeynes, W. (2007b). The relationship between parental involvement and urban secondary school student academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Urban Education, 42(1), 82–110.
Jeynes, W. (2008a, Feb.). Factors that reduce or eliminate the achievement gap. Speech given at Harvard University Conference on the Achievement Gap, Cambridge, MA.
Jeynes, W. (2008b, April). The academic contributions of faith-based schools. Speech given at the White House Conference on inner city children and faith based schools, Washington DC.
Jeynes, W. (2008c). Preserving a critical national asset (pp. 78–79, 109). Washington: White House.
Jeynes, W. (2010a). Parental involvement and children’s academic achievement. New York: Taylor & Francis.
Jeynes, W. (2010b). The salience of the subtle aspects of parental involvement and encouraging that involvement: Implications for school-based programs. Teachers College Record, 112(3), 747–774.
Joe, S., & Niedemeier, M. (2008). Social work research of African Americans and suicidal behavior: A systematic 25-year review. Health & Social Work, 33(4), 249–257.
Jones, C. W., & Unger, D. (2001). Diverse adaptations of single-parent, low income families with young children. In J. F. Gillespie (Ed.), Diverse families, competent families (pp. 5–23). New York: Haworth.
Jordan-Zachery, J. S. (2009). Making fathers: Black men’s response to fatherhood initiatives. Journal of African American Studies, 13(3), 199–218.
Kim, M. B. M. (2010). Fathering in low-income black families. In R. L. Coles and C. Green (Eds.), The myth of the missing black father (pp. 147–169). New York: Columbia University.
Lamb, M., & Lewis, C. (2010). The development and significance of father-child relationships in two parent families. In M. Lamb (Ed.), The role of father in child development (5th ed., pp. 94–153). Hoboken: Wiley.
Laws, D. M. (2009). The fatherhood initiative: Implications for social welfare family policy. (Doctoral Dissertation, Walden University, 2009). Dissertation Abstracts International, 70(1-A), 369.
Litieco, B. L. (2010). African American men rearing children in violent neighborhoods. In R. L. Coles and C. Green (Eds.), The myth of the missing black father (pp. 192–211). New York: Columbia University.
Lightfoot, S. L. (1978). Worlds apart: Relationships between families and schools. New York: Basic Books.
Logsdon, J. M., & Launius, R. D. (2000). Reconsidering Sputnik: Forty years since the Soviet Satellite. Sydney: Harward Academic.
Mapp, K. L., Johnson, V. R., Strickland, C. S., & Meza, C. (2008). High school family centers: Transformative spaces linking schools and family in support of student learning. Marriage & Family Review, 43(1/2), 338–368.
Marks, L., Hopkins-Williams, K., Chaney, C., Nesteruk, O., & Sasser, D. (2010). My kids and my wife have been my life: Married African American fathers staying the course. In R. L. Coles and C. Green (Eds.), The myth of the missing black father (pp. 19–46). New York: Columbia University Press.
Marsden, G. M. (1994). The soul of the American university. New York: Oxford University Press.
McClellan, E. B., & Reese, W. J. (1988). The social history of American education. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
McLanahan, S., & Sandefur, G. (1994). Growing up with a single parent: What hurts, what helps. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Middleton, R. (2004). Religion and education. In M. C. Ryan (Ed.), Living in colonial America (pp. 65–74). San Diego: Greenhaven Press.
Moynihan, P. (1965). The Moynihan Report. Washington: U.S. Department of Labor.
National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983). A nation at risk. Washington:National Commission on Excellence in Education.
Ogbu, J. U. (1992). Adaptation to minority status and impact on school success. Theory into Practice, 31, 287–295.
Ogbu, J. U. (1993). Differences in cultural frame of reference. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 16, 483–506.
Pasley, K., & Minton, C. (1997). Generative fathering after divorce and remarriage. In A. J. Hawkins and D. C. Dollahite (Eds.), Generative fathering. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Patrikakou, K., & Weissburg, R. P. (2001). Parents’ perceptions of teacher outreach and parental involvement in children’s education. In J. F. Gillespie and J. Primavera (Eds.), Diverse families, competent families (pp. 103–119). New York: Haworth Press.
Pinkney, W. (1788). Speech before the Maryland House of Delegates. Baltimore.
Potter, C., & Carpenter, J. (2008). Something in it for dads. Getting fathers involved in Sure Start. Early Child Development & Care, 18(7/8), 761–772.
Reglin, G. L. (1993). At risk “parent and family” school involvement strategies for low income families and African American families of unmotivated and underachieving students. Springfield: Charles Thomas.
Roach, R. (2001). In the academic and think-tank world, pondering achievement-gap remedies take center stage. Black Issues in Higher Education, 18(1), 26–27.
Rowe, M. L., Cocker, D., & Pan, B. A. (2004). A comparison of fathers’ and mothers’ talk to toddlers in low-income families. Social Development, 13, 278–291.
Rush, B. (1773). An address to the inhabitants of the British settlements in America on slave keeping. Philadelphia.
Schwartz, M. J. (2000). Born in bondage: Growing up enslaved in the antebellum South. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Thompson, G. L. (2007). Improving the schooling experience of African American students. In S. J. Paik and H. L. Walberg (Eds.), Narrowing the achievement gap (pp. 153–170). New York: Springer.
Troen, S. K. (1988). Popular education in nineteenth century St. Louis. In E. McClellan and W. J. Reese (1988). The social history of American education (pp. 119–136). Urbana: University of Illinois.
U.S. Center for Education Statistics. (1966). Equality of educational opportunity. Washington: U.S. Center for Education Statistics.
U.S. Census Bureau. (1998). Statistical abstracts of the United States. Washington: U.S. Census Bureau.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2009). Statistical abstracts of the United States. Washington: U.S. Census Bureau.
Urban, W., & Wagoner, J. (2000). American education: A history. Boston: McGraw Hill.
Vahey, M. F. (1998). A hidden history: Slavery, abolition, and the underground railroad in Cow Neck on Long Island. Port Washington: Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society.
Wadley, J. (2010). Family support helps African American boys with depression. Retrieved from http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2010/02/story.php?id=7619.
Wallerstein, J. S., & Lewis, J. (1998). The long-term impact of divorce on children: A first report from a 25-year study. Family and Conciliation Courts Review, 36(3), 368–383.
Washington, B. T. (1969). A new Negro for a new century. Miami: Mnemosyne.
Weir, T. (2008). Addressing the father gap. USA Today, 4th June.
Willison, G. F. (1966). Saints and strangers. London: Longmans.
Wilson, P. E. (1977). Discrimination against Blacks: A historical perspective. In W. T. Blackstone and R. D. Heslep (Eds.), Social justice and preferential treatment (pp. 161–175). Athens: University of Georgia.
Wilson, W. J. (2003). The woes of the inner-city African American father. In O. Clayton, R. B. Mincy, and D. Blankenhorn (Eds.), Black fathers in contemporary American society: Strengths, weaknesses, and strategies (pp. 9–29). New York: Russell Age Foundation.
Wirtz, W. (1977). On further examination. New York: College Entrance Examination Board.
Woodson, C. G. (1915). The education of the Negro prior to 1861. New York: Knickerbocker Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jeynes, W. (2013). Father Involvement, African Americans, and Reducing the Achievement Gap. In: Pattnaik, J. (eds) Father Involvement in Young Children’s Lives. Educating the Young Child, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5155-2_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5155-2_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-5154-5
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-5155-2
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)