Previous studies demonstrate the positive effects of parental involvement on student grade point averages (GPAs), standardized tests scores, and other academic outcomes. Because of the positive role of parental involvement on youth academic achievement, many parents and school personnel desire more collaboration between the family and the school. However, obstacles often arise prohibiting such positive interactions, especially for inner-city African American parents. In this study, parents and school personnel at a predominantly African American inner-city high school completed in-depth interviews regarding the barriers to involving parents in their children's education. Parents and school personnel identified barriers that fit into four descriptive categories: (a) time poverty, (b) lack of access, (c) lack of financial resources, and (d) lack of awareness. Suggestions for decreasing barriers were also discussed. Findings suggest that taking family context into consideration during the planning phases of school-based programs and events improve parental involvement. Implications and recommendations for practitioners are discussed.

This study sought to understand the perceptions of parental involvement and parental uninvolvement at a predominantly African American inner-city high school. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 parents and 10 staff at an inner-city public high school. Five major themes emerged regarding the meanings of parental involvement at this school: Participation at School, Being There Outside of School, Communication, Achieve and Believe, and Village Keepers. Results showed that some participants’ perceptions of parental involvement were consistent with earlier understandings of parental involvement. Results also highlighted areas in which earlier models may not address the context of inner-city schools.

High rates of youth pregnancy and STIs play a major role in the physical, mental, and emotional health of young people. Despite efforts to provide sexuality education through diverse channels, we know little about the ways in which young people perceive school- and community-based efforts to educate them about sexual health. Forty-eight African-American young people participated in six focus groups to discuss their sexuality education experiences. Three major themes emerged that highlight experiences and perspectives on optimal strategies for promoting sexual health. These themes were: 1) experiences with school-based sexuality education (SBSE); 2) seeking information outside of schools; and 3) general principles of youth-centered sexuality education. Young people in the focus groups expressed their varying satisfaction with SBSE due to the restricted content covered and lack of comfort with the instruction methods. Participants described how they reached outside of SBSE for sexuality education, turning to those in the community, including local organisations, health care providers, and peers, also expressing variability in satisfaction with these sources. Finally, participants identified three important principles for youth-centred sexuality education: trust and confidentiality, credibility, and self-determination. These findings give voice to the often-unheard perspectives of African-American young people. Based on their responses, it is possible to gain a better understanding of the optimal combination of school, family, peer and community-based efforts to support them as they move towards adulthood.

The persistent underachievement among African American boys has led to increased empirical inquiry, yet little research considers within-group variation in achievement nor positive youth characteristics that help explain positive achievement outcomes. This study conceptualized culturally-based factors (racial pride and religiosity) as adolescent assets that would promote African American boys' achievement and also enhance positive effects of other youth assets (positive educational utility beliefs) on achievement. Our sample included 158 adolescent boys (M = 17.08) from a large, socioeconomically diverse suburban community context. Accounting for demographic background variables, educational utility beliefs were positively associated with academic grade performance. A significant educational utility beliefs and racial pride interaction indicated a stronger, positive association of educational utility beliefs with grade performance among boys with higher racial pride relative to those with lower racial pride. Also, there was a stronger positive association between educational utility beliefs and grades for boys reporting lower religious importance, but boys endorsing both lower educational utility beliefs and religious importance were at highest risk for low grade performance. Overall results suggest the importance of considering culturally-based factors in studying achievement motivation processes among ethnic minority adolescents.

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