...the probability that a Black parent views college as important for their child was higher if their children attended schools where many or most teachers were Black compared to schools with fewer Black teachers.
Black parents are also doing the work to ensure that their children are on the educational trajectory to succeed.
The students know me. The teachers know me. The administration knows me, and I engage in a way that feels best for me and my family at this point.— African American parent, focus group participant
Key Finding 1: Aspirations and Engagement
A significant majority (84%) of African American parents and caregivers believe it is important that their child attend and graduate from college. African American parents and caregivers are also deeply invested and engaged in their child’s education.1Learning Heroes. (2016). “Parents 2016: Hearts and minds of parents in an uncertain world.” Retrieved October 13, 2021, from hcmstrategists.com/resources/parents-2016-hearts-and-minds-of-parents-in-an-uncertain-world/.
Figure 1 shows that 84% of Black parents agreed that it was extremely or quite important that their child attend college compared to 87% in the previous study in 2012. There are several competing priorities when considering postsecondary education, with costs often playing a key role in parents’ decision calculus.
An important and related finding shows that Black parents rated their children’s school higher and had greater aspirations for their children to go to college when many or most of the teachers were Black compared to schools where few or no teachers were Black. Specifically, in schools where many or most of the teachers were Black, 71% of Black parents indicated that college was extremely important. Contrarily, in schools with few or no Black teachers, only 53% of Black parents indicated that college was extremely important.2Crosstab results statistically significant, <p.05
A logistic regression model was used to further assess the relationship between parent perceptions of college and the presence of Black teachers.3For more information on the model, see Appendix The model predicted that the probability that a Black parent views college as important for their child was higher if their children attended schools where many or most teachers were Black compared to schools with fewer Black teachers.
| Digging Deeper |
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Black parents and caregivers under the age of 35 place a higher value on their children receiving a postsecondary education than older parents. There were also a higher percentage of Black parents that said college was extremely important (77%) among parents that rated their child’s school as excellent compared to those who rate their child’s school as “not so good” (39%). Moreover, when assessing this variable among the six city samples, Houston, Texas had the highest percentage (93%) of Black parents agreeing that it is important or extremely important that their child attend college. |
Research abounds on the positive influence of Black teachers on students’ lives and aspirations, yet we know little about how Black parents’ aspirations of college are tempered by Black teacher representation.4Meier, K. J., Wrinkle, R.D., & Polinard, J. (1999). Representative bureaucracy and distributional equity: Addressing the hard question. The Journal of Politics 61 (04): 1025–1039. Cherng, H, & Halpin, P. (2016). The importance of minority teachers: Student perceptions of minority versus white teachers. Education Researcher. 45(7): 407-420. Gershenson, S., Holt, S. B., & Papageorge, N. (2016). “Who believes in me? The effect of student–teacher demographic match on teacher expectations.” Economics of Education Review 52: 209-224. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775715300959 Roch, C. H., W. Pitts, D.W. & Navarro, I. (2010). “Representative bureaucracy and policy tools ethnicity, student discipline, and representation in public schools.” Administration & Society 42(1): 38-65. Interactions with school and staff or potential school outreach could play a role in parents’ evaluation of college for their child. Moreover, previous research shows that Black teachers have high expectations of Black children.5Gershenson, S., Holt, S., & Papageorge, N. (2016). “Who believes in me? The effect of student–teacher demographic match on teacher expectations.” Economics of Education Review 52: 209-224. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775715300959 In fact, Black students who had just one Black teacher by third grade were 13% more likely to enroll in college than those who did not—and those who had two were 32% more likely.6Gershenson, S., Hart, C., Hyman, Lindsay, C. & Papageorge, N. (2018). “The long-run impacts of same-race teachers,” NBER Working Papers 25254, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. Thus, not only does increased Black teacher representation positively influence student aspirations for college, but it also influences Black parent aspirations for their child. The implications are vast, as parents and family play a key role in motivating their child to attend college.
Overall, Black parents still overwhelmingly want their child to pursue a postsecondary education despite some rhetoric suggesting that parents do not see value in higher education. One parent in the focus group discussed their dreams and ambitions for their child explaining that,
In the focus groups, Black parents also discussed the salience of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and some parents mentioned they would encourage their children to attend. One parent discussed the intrusive and supportive advising that occurred at the HBCU they attended,7In UNCF’s Imparting Wisdom: HBCU Lessons for K-12 Education, we discuss how intrusive advising at HBCUs is action-oriented and geared toward motivating students to seek help when needed and be proactively intentional about their success. Such strategies are one of the many reasons that HBCUs are not only hallmarks of innovation and academic rigor, but also places where students can feel supported and welcomed. “I must say it [the HBCU I attended] was really supportive…My professor would call me if I missed class, like, ‘Hey, what’s going on? Are you okay?’ And I did appreciate that support.” When discussing college options, one parent even mentioned, “I would only encourage my child to attend an HBCU.”
While family is a significant factor in college choice and enrollment, school dynamics have a significant influence as well. UNCF conducted focus groups with 100 HBCU students and the data revealed that sometimes their school counselors dissuaded them from attending an HBCU.8Anderson, M.B.L. (2020). HBCUs: Promoting Benefits and Attendance. American School Counselor Magazine. Vol. 57:1 One student explained, “They talked to us about college and gave us options for ACT…but definitely, going to [an] HBCU wasn’t something ever talked about. They pushed the state schools, the public schools and even the state schools in surrounding states. HBCUs weren’t something ever talked about.” Another student mentioned, “They actually dissuaded us from going to HBCUs because they just felt like it couldn’t do anything for us.”
Similarly, in a recent joint UNCF and Charter Schools Growth Fund study of HBCU students, many suggested that their high schools did not often include HBCUs in college fairs and while some staff were supportive, many intentionally did not showcase HBCUs for students.9Emerson, R. (2022). Making the Case for K-12- HBCU Partnerships. A Report by the Charter Schools Growth Fund and UNCF.
While parents overwhelmingly support their children going to college, 65% feel it is a serious problem that African American students in their communities are not enrolling in or completing college at adequate levels. Fifty-nine percent of recent Black high school graduates enrolled in college, compared to 62% for white students.10Table 302.20. Percentage of recent high school completers enrolled in college, by race/ethnicity and level of institution: 1960 through 2021. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_302.20.asp?current=yes Nationwide, the 6-year graduation rate for African American college students is 40% compared to 60% for all students.11National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). Indicator 23: Postsecondary Graduation Rates. Ed.gov. nces.ed.gov/programs/raceindicators/indicator_red.asp. Unfortunately, African American students have the lowest 4-year graduation rate among all student groups.
In addition to supporting higher education, Black parents are also doing the work to ensure that their children are on the educational trajectory to succeed. Similar to our previous findings, parents and caregivers are deeply invested and engaged in their child’s education. Figure 2 shows that 84% of Black parents check their child’s homework or read to their child daily or weekly, 63% review their child’s test scores and other grades to track progress and 51% attend PTA meetings monthly or every few months. Both before and during the pandemic, Black parents were deeply invested in their child’s learning environment.
The findings also indicate that parents are engaged with their child’s teachers. Eighty-three percent speak to their child’s teachers on a monthly to daily basis. Black parents in the focus groups underscored this engagement. “I was very active because you don’t count on the school to teach your kids. I mean, there’s certain things you expect them to teach, but overall, you have to teach as a parent. I was very active in PTA, especially in middle school. I was the president.” Another parent in the Atlanta focus group mentioned, “The students know me. The teachers know me. The administration knows me, and I engage in a way that feels best for me and my family at this point.”
Footnotes
