Term
Summer 2019
Capstone
Thesis
Degree Name
MAT
Primary Advisor/Dissertation Chair
Joe Lewis
Secondary Advisor/Reader One
Anne Meister
Peer-Reviewer/Reader Two
Jill Oxborough
Abstract
This capstone thesis explores the question: What are African American parent perspectives on segregation and integration in a large urban district in the Midwest? I review the literature on Critical Race Theory, counterstorytelling as a narrative research approach, historical factors leading to re-segregation in American schools, African American family engagement paradigms, African American families and school choice, and the effects of segregation on students. My narrative research approach centers the voices of four African American women who tell the stories of their school experiences as students and parents of Black children in the same urban district. While each parent had a unique perspective on the priorities she weighed in choosing her children’s schools, all four described a substantial amount of time, energy, and effort in the ongoing process of finding the best learning environments for their kids. They also described the covert and overt racism they and their students experienced through multiple facets of the school system. My analysis shows how the school experiences these women have had as Black parents are racialized in a way that is distinct from white middle-class families, and I conclude with recommendations for researchers, educators, and policymakers.
Research Methodology
Ethnography, Interview, Narrative (portariture), Counterstorytelling
Keywords
Parent Involvement, Social Justice, Segregation, School Choice
Recommended Citation
Rendon, Beatrice, "African American Parent Perspectives On School Segregation And Integration" (2019). School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations. 4463.
https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_all/4463
dc_type
text
dc_publisher
DigitalCommons@Hamline
dc_format
application/pdf
dc_source
School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations