"They're Going to Tear the Doors Off this Place": Upper-Middle-Class Parent School Involvement and the Educational Opportunities of Other People's Children

Authors:
  • DMDaniel J. McGrath
    Daniel J. McGrath
  • PKPeter J. Kuriloff
    Peter J. Kuriloff
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Abstract
This study explores social class and racial differences in parents' school involvement. Furthermore, it examines involved parents' intentions concerning school. Data are from a yearlong observation of parent-educator relations at a suburban school district in the northeastern United States. Highly involved parents tended to be White, upper-middle-class mothers. This happened, in part, because involved mothers frequently acted in ways that excluded other mothers, particularly African Americans. Involved mothers pressed administrators for additional tracking. This was a strategy for separating their children from lower status children and positioning their children for higher education. We discuss implications for school policy.

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