The power of African American parent perceptions on student achievement

• Main Author: Camm, Melody Luretha
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: W&M ScholarWorks 2009
• Subjects: Educational Administration and Supervision; Elementary Education; Ethnic Studies
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539618818; https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2028&context=etd

With the implementation of No Child Left Behind, schools have been challenged to maintain Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) for low achieving subpopulations. Current research supported by historical data suggests that African American parent involvement could possibly be the missing link to African American student achievement. This study explores the possible connection between African American parent perceptions of their school involvement and student achievement. It surveyed 738 fourth grade parents from five Title I and five Non-Title I schools to see if there was a significant difference between the parent involvement perceptions of African American Parents and Non-African American Parents, as well as investigated the possible relationship of these perceptions to student achievement. Although a correlation was not found between African American parent perceptions and student achievement, other comparative analyses done indicates that there are interesting similarities and differences between Title I and Non-Title I parent populations. These findings may contribute to existing research concerning school factors that can be enhanced in order to encourage parent involvement. Implications for practice and future research are also discussed.