| Parental involvement has been shown to have an impact upon student achievement. Minority parents, especially those from African-American families, assist in their children's learning by monitoring their school attendance, setting appropriate behavior goals, and aiding in homework completion. Yet, many minority and low-income parents are not involved in their children's learning because they are unaware of the resources and information that are available. Because of the school's organizational structure and their own educational experiences, some minority parents find schools uninviting. Because of this lack of knowledge and of school sincerity, they choose not to engage in home-school collaborations.;Schools play an important role in disseminating information to parents and to the community. Through the use of written communication---flyers, newsletters, bulletins, and report cards---schools provide parents with much of the necessary information that they need. Often, minority families are not able to gather any useful information from these methods of communication because of mixed messages that are embedded in the writing.;They also present a middle-class view of the school that does not resonate with low-income families. Therefore, written school communication must address the various factors that impact the participation of Black families in the education of their children. Specifically, this dissertation examines how and why written school communication promotes or inhibits African-American parent involvement at the middle school level.;Using ethnographic qualitative research methods, such as an opened-ended questionnaire, focus groups, and review of selected publications, this study examined parent perceptions of school documents. Two focus groups were conducted with parents of sixth and seventh grade students from two public middle schools in Northern Virginia. In addition, participation sign-in sheets from school events and workshops were reviewed as a part of the document analysis. Thematic categories were generated from the focus groups and questionnaires. From the review of documents, a statistical analysis was conducted to determine the effectiveness of written materials in soliciting parent involvement. A case study of one Black parent's reactions to the written school documents is provided.;With the institutionalization of the study's conclusions and recommendations, school systems and local districts may be able to produce culturally affirming communications that can be understood by minority families, particularly Blacks. The recommendations offer practitioners useful strategies that may improve and empower Black parents in the education of their middle school children. |
