Date of Award

2015

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

Abstract

Parents have tremendous influence in the lives of their children. As a result, it is valuable to investigate how high school parents participate in their children's high school education experiences. African American fathers in particular, have been placed under scrutiny by the media and general population for not being involved in the education experiences of their children, while the research literature dispels this generalization.

This study investigates how African American fathers, in a suburban community, participate in the education experiences of their high school children. This research study took place at a Du Page County, Illinois, high school under the pseudonym Suburban High School (SHS). The investigation of this topic uses a qualitative case study methodology and thematic analysis of interviews with ten African American fathers, observations at academic and co-curricular events, and interviews with ten educators, who work with African American fathers at SHS. Field notes were compiled to capture the subjects and observations at this research site illustrating the nature of parent involvement at Suburban High School.

Through these qualitative methods, this study aims at developing meaningful data to compare and reify how African American fathers participate in their high school children's education experiences. This study contributes to the existing research literature about African American father involvement in their children's education.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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