Skip to main content
Log in

Are We Neglecting African American Males: Parental Involvement Differences Between African American Males and Females During Elementary School?

  • Articles
  • Published:
Journal of African American Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to ascertain if there are differences in levels of involvement between parents of African American males and females at school entry. In addition, measures of parental involvement will be examined to determine how they relate to academic achievement in 3rd grade. Data for this project was derived from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten–Third grade (ECLS-K) longitudinal file. Through the use of logistic and multiple regression techniques, results from this study suggest that gender differences in parental involvement are present in elementary school. Implications will be discussed in terms of increasing African American achievement and future research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abdul-Adil, J., & Farmer Jr., A. (2006). Inner-city African American parental involvement in elementary schools: Getting beyond urban legends of apathy. School Psychology Quarterly, 21, 1–12. doi:10.1521/scpq.2006.21.1.1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birzer, M., & Smith-Mahdi, J. (2006). Does race matter: The phenomenology of discrimination experienced among African Americans. Journal of African American Studies, 10, 22–37. doi:10.1007/s12111-006-1001-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, J. (2003). Early schooling and academic achievement of African American males. Urban Education, 38, 515–537. doi:10.1177/0042085903256220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donovan, M., & Cross, C. (2002). Minority students in gifted and special education. Washington, DC: National Academies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J., & Harold, R. (1996). Family involvement in children’s and adolescents’ schooling. In A. Booth, & J. Duncan (Eds.), Family–school links: How do they affect educational outcomes? (pp. 3–34). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, J. (1995). School/family/community partnerships. Phi Delta Kappan, 76, 701–713.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, J. (1996). Perspectives and previews on research and policy for school, family, and community partnerships. In A. Booth, & J. Dunn (Eds.), Family–school links: How do they affect educational outcomes? (pp. 209–246). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fan, X. (2001). Parental involvement and students’ academic achievement: A growth modeling analysis. Journal of Experimental Education, 70, 27–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan, X., & Chen, M. (2001). Parental Involvement and students’ academic achievement: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 13, 1–22. doi:10.1023/A:1009048817385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fantuzzo, J., McWayne, C., & Perry, M. (2004). Multiple dimensions of family involvement and their Relations to behavioral and learning competencies for urban, low-income children. School Psychology Review, 33, 467–480.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, A. (2000). Bad boys: Public schools in the making of Black masculinity (law, meaning, and violence). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson, R. F. (2003). Teachers’ perceptions and expectations and the black–white test score gap. Urban Education, 38, 460–507. doi:10.1177/0042085903038004006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harry, B., & Anderson, M. (1994). African American males in special education: A critique of the process. The Journal of Negro Education, 63, 602–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harry, B., & Klingner, J. (2006). Why are so many minority students in special education? Understanding race and disability in schools. New York: Teachers College.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, N., & Craft, S. (2003). Parent school involvement and school performance: Mediated pathways among socioeconomically comparable African American and Euro-American families. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 74–83. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.95.1.74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, R., & Bartee, R. (2003). The achievement gap: Issues of competition, class, and race. Education and Urban Society, 35, 151–160. doi:10.1177/0013124502239389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeynes, W. (2005). A meta-analysis of the relation of parent involvement to urban elementary school academic achievement. Urban Education, 40, 237–269. doi:10.1177/0042085905274540.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lareau, A., & Horvat, E. (1999). Moments of social inclusion and exclusion: Race class, and cultural capital in family–school relationships. Sociology of Education, 72, 37–53. doi:10.2307/2673185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, V., & Burkam, D. (2002). Inequality at the starting gate: Social background differences in achievement as children begin school. Economic Policy Institute: Washington D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Losen, D., & Orfield, G. (2002). Racial inequality in special education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mandara, J. (2006). The impact of family functioning on African American males’ academic achievement: A review and clarification of the empirical literature. Teachers College Record, 108, 206–223. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9620.2006.00648.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLoyd, V., Hill, N., & Dodge, K. (2005). African American family life: Ecological and cultural diversity. New York, NY: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meece, J., & Kurtz-Costes, B. (2001). Introduction: The schooling of ethnic minority children and youth. Educational Psychologist, 36, 1–7. doi:10.1207/S15326985EP3601_1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menard, S. (1995). Applied logistic regression analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Series: Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences, No. 106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mertler, C., & Vannatta, R. (2005). Advanced multivariate statistical methods. Los Angeles, CA: Pyrczak.

    Google Scholar 

  • Monroe, C. (2005). Why are “bad boys” always Black? Causes of disproportionality in school discipline and recommendations for change. Clearing House (Menasha, Wis.), 79, 45–50. doi:10.3200/TCHS.79.1.45-50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Center of Education Statistics (2007). The nations report card: Reading highlights 2007. Jessup, M.D.: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, S., & Turner, M. (2005). Housing discrimination in metropolitan America: Explaining changes between 1990 and 2000. Social Problems, 52, 152–180. doi:10.1525/sp.2005.52.2.152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skiba, R., Michael, R., Nardo, A., & Peterson, R. (2002). The color of discipline: Sources of racial and gender disproportionality in school punishment. The Urban Review, 34, 317–342. doi:10.1023/A:1021320817372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, M. B. (2006). Phenomenology and ecological systems theory: Development of diverse groups. In W. Damon, & R. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology Chap. 15, theory volume (vol. 1, pp. 829–893, 6th ed.). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, M. B., Harpalani, V., Cassidy, E., Jacobs, C., Donde, S., Goss, T., et al. (2006). Understanding vulnerability and resilience from a normative development perspective: Implications for racially and ethnically diverse youth (Chap. 16). In D. Chicchetti, & E. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook of developmental psychopathology (vol. 1, (pp. 627–672)). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, M., Dupree, D., Cunningham, M., Harpali, V., & Munoz-Miller, M. (2003). Vulnerability to violence: A contextually sensitive developmental perspective on African American adolescents. The Journal of Social Issues, 59, 33–49. doi:10.1111/1540-4560.t01-1-00003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swanson, D., Cunningham, M., & Spencer, M. (2003). Black males’ structural conditions, achievement patterns, normative needs, and opportunities. Urban Education, 38, 608–633. doi:10.1177/0042085903256218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swanson, D., Spencer, M., Harpalani, V., Dupree, D., Noll, E., Ginsburg, S., et al. (2006). Psychosocial development in racially and ethnically diverse youth: Conceptual and methodological challenges in the 21st century. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 743–771.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B., & Fidell, L. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Department of Education (2004a). ECLS-K base year public use data files and electronic codebook. Washington, D.C: National Center of Education Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Department of Education (2004b). ECLS-K longitudinal kindergarten–third grade public use data files and electronic code book. Washington, DC: National Center of Education Statistics.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Department of Education (2007a). NAEP mathematics assessments. Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Department of Education (2007b). NAEP reading assessments. Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2005). Early childhood longitudinal study, kindergarten class of 1998–99 (ECLS-K), psychometric report for the third grade. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Department of Justice. (2004). Profile of jail inmates 2002. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report. Office of Justice Programs.

  • Wong, C., & Rowley, S. (2001). The schooling of ethnic minority children. Educational Psychologist, 36, 57–66 Commentarydoi:10.1207/S15326985EP3601_6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Scott Graves.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Graves, S. Are We Neglecting African American Males: Parental Involvement Differences Between African American Males and Females During Elementary School?. J Afr Am St 14, 263–276 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-008-9065-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-008-9065-2

Keywords

Navigation