Civil Society Goes to School: Parent-Teacher Associations and the Equality of Educational Opportunity

Abstract

Where do parent-teacher associations (PTAs) and other similar school-linked nonprofits form? What role do PTAs play in distributing educational opportunities between and within public schools? In this paper, we link IRS data describing nonprofit organizations associated with North Carolina public schools to school- and student-level administrative data in order to answer these questions. Our analyses suggest PTAs form in a wide variety of school contexts, but high-revenue PTAs form primarily in affluent, predominantly white schools. Students in schools with active PTAs enjoy relatively strong achievement growth compared to their peers in schools without active PTAs. However, our analyses suggest that in reading, the benefits associated with PTAs flow disproportionately to nonpoor students.

Accounting for Parent Money in a Public School

“…Data were collected through a 28-month ethnographic study of PSX parents as part of a study of broader study of inequality in civic organizations. Parental involvement in and support of public schools are recognized as paradigmatic examples of democratic civic-mindedness, and as a site for the reproduction of social inequality as well (Murray et. Al 2019, Putnam 2000.…”

“…Parent money in public schools can be seen as opportunity hoarding because such funds provide school-based academic advantages over schools without such parent investments (Murray et al 2019), because parents who donate to the school are in a better position to exert influence within the school in order to secure advantages such as placing their children with highly regarded teachers or disregarding teacher's placement recommendations and opting for accelerated and advanced courses (Lewis and Diamond 2015), and because the children of parents who support the school may receive preferential treatment in the classroom (Calarco 2018, Posey-Maddox 2014. There have been few evaluations of the accuracy of the opportunity hoarding explanation.…”

“…The civic engagement and social capital explanation maintains that parent money in public schools is an expression of community orientation and a form of civic engagement channeled through PTAs, which are important school-based civic associations (Christensen et al 2016, Crawford and Levitt 1999, Murray et al 2019, Putnam 2000. PTAs provide funds and other necessary resources, and involved parents represent and advocate for the school through their visibility and participation in broader social and governmental institutions such as school boards and city councils.…”

Using Administrative Data for Social Science and Policy

“…This double issue includes two studies that use aggregated data files. Brittany Murray and colleagues report the positive relation between strong parent-teacher associations and growth in student achievement (2019). Portia Miller, Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal, and Rebekah Coley find that community-level resources explain variation in student achievement (2019).…”

A Snapshot of Educational Research in 2019

“…The book "Multicultural Education: Problems and Perspectives" by Banks and Banks (2019) provides us with an interesting perspective: Differentiating opportunities for boys and girls to enhance their Equity in gender, as well as a safe environment for LGBTQ students (LGBTQ -lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning) [2]. Murray et al (2019) highlight the role of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) in creating new opportunities, eliminating inequality, and inequity in education [16]. However, the participation of parents and teachers of these associations is declining, especially for newly opened schools, the establishment of this association is challenging.…”