Portrayals of parental involvement: descriptions of family and school relationships in a low-income African American community

This sociocultural research investigated parent involvement in young children’s schooling in a low-income African American community. The study adopted an emic approach, using semistructured interviews to examine 14 caregivers’ involvement practices from their perspectives. Analyses were based on verbatim transcriptions of the interviews. Qualitative and frequency analyses based on each caregivers’ portrayal revealed these families were intimately involved in their children’s schooling and worked to offset potential involvement barriers. More research examining parent involvement from caregiver and community perspectives is needed to better understand the relationship between their involvement and their goals and values for their children’s development and education.